The HTC U11 Life is a strange device because of how different its software is in different regions. Globally, the device is touted as the first Android One device made by HTC as the company replaced HTC’s Sense UI skin with stock Android 8.0 Oreo. However, the American variant of the same phone does not have the Android One branding, nor does it carry the stock Android software. In fact, the American HTC U11 Life runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat customized with Sense UI. A quick bump to Oreo was promised by HTC, though, and they are following through on that promise.
HTC USA on Twitter has announced that the T-Mobile variant of the HTC U11 Life is now receiving Android 8.0 Oreo, just before the end of the year. The unlocked variant received the Android Oreo update just a few weeks ago, so the T-Mobile rollout isn’t too far behind considering that all updates for carrier-branded phones must go through testing before the eventual rollout.
The Android 8.0 Oreo update is now available for T-Mobile editions of the HTC U11 life. It's a big update, so you must be on WiFi before attempting to download. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/FMd1CO28pJ
— HTC USA (@HTCUSA) December 18, 2017
Besides the HTC U11 Life, the Android Oreo rollout for other HTC devices has been going along nicely. Not only did they release the Android One version of the U11 Life with Android Oreo on board, but they also launched another Android Oreo device—the HTC U11+—which, unlike the U11 Life Android One edition, features HTC’s Sense UI skin instead of stock Android.
Furthermore, the regular HTC U11, which launched with Android Nougat, did receive Android 8.0 shortly after the Oreo update was announced. Said update was also promised for the HTC U Ultra and the HTC 10, both of which will (presumably) receive it in early 2018. Owners of the T-Mobile HTC U11 Life should be on the lookout for an over-the-air (OTA) update coming soon to their device. Other devices do not have a timeline as of now, but it’s a matter of time until they eventually get it, given how steady HTC’s update track record is.