I disagree!
Firmware is lower-level microcode involved in the implementation of machine instructions. The boundary between hardware and software
Android is an operating system based upon the Linux kernel specifically designed for mobile devices.
I often do firmware updates on computers to address issues with hardware. That does not mean I am making any changes to Windows, Linux, OSX or whatever is being used as an operating system of the computer I update the firmware on.
They are different.
hiya burned, nice to see a local
they are different on a pc. on an android phone they are all firmware, as is true with most handheld devices.
I was on the firmware development team for a successful semiconductor company with a major standalone hardware product.
On that company's devices there is one large application that runs on the devices. It handles everything from low level usb stacks, chip-to-chip memory management and resource management, super low level stuff right up to the on-screen UI and even an entire local web-hosted remote management interface complete with graphics. That is all on every device they sell.
And that is called the firmware. It is imho closer to being the equivalent of an entire operating system on a phone compared to a standalone computer with the operating system being loaded off disk into ram where it runs as a program.
however the distinction is still of course a matter of perspective.
you're quite correct when it comes to computers, but again let's look at routers. like linksys, dlink routers etc that most of us own for wifi access at home etc. you can do a firmware update on those. is the firmware only the low level stuff that lets it's higher level operating system and ui interface interact with the hardware (which is my vague interpretation of your definition of hardware)? No, the firmware on these devices is the entire application that does literally everything. it's the lowest level to the highest level parts of device.
I claim the common distinction is that firmware is code that is stored in rewritable memory on a device but is not forgotten when powered off. whether the code is a low lying layer that does only low level things or if the code makes your coffee and changes diapers, it makes no difference, because that would actually be defining the term based on what it does, not how it is stored. there is hardware, software, and firmware which is sort of half and half. software is forgotten without power and needs to be reloaded. hardware is always there and can't be changed or rewritten in any way shape or form. firmware is able to be written to but doesn't get lost when powered off. in a pc, the os is software. in an android phone, the os is firmware. in a commodore 64, the os was in hardware (rom).
So by that same definition, android is not to be considered as a distinction from "firmware" on an android phone. android is a part of the firmware, as is the bootloader, the recovery, the kernel, and even the radio. This was my point for mentioning it in the first place as users here were claiming firmware was updated but not android, or vice versa. That distinction can't truly be made and I suspect google engineers would agree with me (but I'll have to ask to make sure LoL).
Certainly as an android dev I've never heard of that distinction from any other android devs, but of course everyone has different experiences.
Not trying to dispute things, just pointing out how android phones are actually different from the example you cited in defense of your point of view.
as always, imho, ymmv, and so on
I'm always happy to be proven wrong. but it will take proof in this case.
Cheers