Why can Windows run on any hardware easily but Android requires specific ROMs for each phone?
In: Technology
Windows doesn’t actually run on *any* hardware…it (mostly) only runs on systems with an X86 / X64 based processors, though it has recently been modified to run on other processors like the ARM platform which is the type of processor architecture found in Android and Apple Phones.
While it may seem like Windows runs an anything…the hardware in question, *PC’s*, are built with an X86 / X64 based CPU (central processing unit) the same way most smart phones are built with an ARM based CPU.
Why so many ROMs?…Each phone platform (think make/model) is somewhat unique and generally requires specific instructions to make the hardware work correctly. Different versions of very similar phones use different hardware components and everyone of those hardware components needs a set of instructions (*like the drivers you use on your PC to make a printer or a video card work*) made for that specific piece of hardware. The ROM you download for your android is built to address the specific needs of that specific handset (phone). In the windows ecosystem, a lot of the hardware is modular, meaning you can swap one thing (like a video card) out for another in which case *YOU* would update the driver files the system uses to communicate with any hardware components you add to the system. Smart Phones are mostly no modular and can only be used with the same internal hardware they ship with. This means all the ‘drivers’ for the individual hardware components (like the Bluetooth chip, or the display driver) have to be baked into the ROM so they they are there when you install a new or different ROM. There are some similarities between Phones and PC’s when dealing with various components that are built into the PC’s motherboard. Any components built in to the motherboard generally require specific drivers that must come from the maker of the board or PC.
Hope this helps!
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