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If you’ve been keeping up with the latest tech headlines, then you might have heard that Google recently updated its Pixel software support guidelines, adding two more years of OS upgrades for older devices including the Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7 series, and original Pixel Fold models. The company wasn’t exactly loud about it, but eagle-eyed observers spotted the change in google’s official support web pages.
READ: Google extends Android updates support for the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel Fold
This essentially means that devices like the Pixel 6 – which originally debuted in 2021 – will still get regular software and security patches for the next two years, instead of the original three-year deadline which limited software upgrades to 2024. In a day and age where a lot of smartphone brands still offer very limited software updates (looking at you, Sony and ASUS), Google adding more years to older devices is quite rare.
In fact, Google’s smartphone update policy was always one of the biggest reasons to get a Pixel device, as this means that you won’t be using a device that’s stuck with older software for a number of years, in addition to regular feature drops that add new functionality not available upon release. With newer phones like the Pixel 8 and 9 getting up to seven years of updates, this selling point only got stronger.
READ: How Long will your Pixel Phone Keep Getting Updates?
This recent trend of longer Android OS support has thankfully seen widespread adoption among other OEMs – for example, Samsung promises that the Galaxy S24 series phones will receive up to seven years of software updates, and that’s not including rival brands like Apple, which has famously supported its older smartphones with several years’ worth of OS updates. We’re even seeing other brands start offering more regular updates for their devices, in addition to one-off software patches for older smartphone models.
Going back to Google’s two-year update extension, this is perhaps one of the better outcomes of the company’s decision to move to using first-party Tensor chips for its smartphones, giving it better control of software support in the long run. While you could say that it’s Samsung who produces the Tensor chips, it’s ultimately still Google who knows the ins and outs of its SoCs, unlike other brands whose software updates are in part determined by whichever third party company manufactures the chips inside their devices.
…one might think that budget isn’t really something that should hold back other companies from doing this sort of thing.
Considering that Google’s smartphone business isn’t probably as massive as that of more mainstream (and globally available brands), one might think that budget isn’t really something that should hold back other companies from doing this sort of thing. Take for example Samsung and Xiaomi – both have vastly improved their software update support for their smartphones, and have global reach when it comes to product availability.
In theory, it shouldn’t be hard for either to extend software support for older devices, although on the other hand, Google only had to add extended support for seven devices, given its relatively small pool of smartphone models. By comparison, there’s a vast amount of Samsung and Xiaomi phones out there, each with different hardware configurations across different regional variants and such. We also have to factor in the issue with smartphone chips that we mentioned earlier.
Perhaps I’m expecting too much. Of course unless one works at said companies, we can’t really ever know if extended software updates are in the cards for other Android manufacturers. Hopefully though if this trend carries on over in the coming years, it’s a win-win scenario for consumers, especially for buyers who aren’t too keen on upgrading their device every year.
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