Google executives have confirmed to Android Police that the seamless update feature in Android N will not be making its way to current Nexus devices. The feature has been borrowed by Google from Chrome OS and removes the hassle of installing any system updates manually, as the OS itself downloads the update in the background and applies it in the next time the device is restarted or powered on.

The reason behind the feature not making its way to the Nexus 5X or Nexus 6P, is that it would require the repartitioning of the entire storage system. This means that the internal storage of the devices will need to be erased completely, and they might even need to be connected to a PC during the process.

Seamless update requires a device to have two system partitions, one online and one offline. Once an update is downloaded, the OS automatically installs it on the offline partition and switches to it the next time the device is restarted or switched on. This also means that existing Android devices are also unlikely to receive this feature once Android N lands on them. So, if you want to enjoy the new seamless updates feature in Android N, you will have to make sure that the device you buy is running Android N out of the box.

I am pretty sure that the Android community will find a way to get the seamless update feature on the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, and even older Nexus devices, even if it may require a complete format of the device storage once.