Android 9 Pie came out in August 2018 and Android Q (Quinoa? Quiche? Quesadilla?) has already been released to beta (if you own a Pixel), so, understandably, people are wondering when they can get a taste – leading to unscrupulous developers offering fake OS update apps.
We shouldn’t need to tell you this, but the desire for Pie is driving people to do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Unsavoury things, like downloading third-party apps that promise free upgrades to Pie… things. This isn’t how OS upgrades work. The only way you can update Android is using Android’s, or your phone carrier’s, OTA, or by manually flashing it. Apps can’t do it, because that would be super dodge. You’ve never even been able to upgrade via an app, so I’m not sure why we’re even having this conversation.
Because your mom has a phone and she doesn’t need to install anymore malware, which is what these free Pie update apps almost certainly contain. We’re doing this for your mom.
If you’re looking for Pie, you might be lucky enough to own a phone eligible for legit upgrade now or in the near future. The rest of us will just have to satisfied with Oreo, Nougat, or (shame) Marshmallow.