It’s finally happening. An Android smartphone vendor is going to offer not three, not four, but seven years of software updates for its product. And this time, it’s Google leading the charge.
The company announced the news while introducing the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones, which go on sale Oct. 12. Google is promising both devices will receive seven years of software updates, "including Android OS upgrades, security updates and regular Feature Drops.”
That means both phones will be able to run the latest software until fall 2030 — a seemingly unprecedented feat in the Android OS ecosystem. “No major smartphone brand offers this committed level of support and longevity,” Google says. “This makes these phones a more sustainable smartphone choice, because they’ll be secure and perform well for seven years.”
It also addresses a key complaint about many Android smartphones: In the past, they’ve typically offered only three years of OS upgrades, forcing owners to use out-of-date and unpatched software unless they buy a new device.
Apple's newest iOS 17 supports iPhones dating back to 2018's iPhone XR. In addition, the company releases security updates for models that are even older. It looks like Google is trying to close the gap, noting that it’s “seeing people use their Pixel phones longer and longer.”
Seven years of support could also pressure other Android vendors to do the same. OnePlus offers four years of support while Samsung has pledged to offer four OS generations and five years of security updates. (Meanwhile, Fairphone is doing Google one better and offering eight years of support for its newest phone.)
Of course, time will tell if Google keeps its promise. The company has a history of introducing big splashy products only to kill them years later. This includes reneging on an effort over a decade ago to push timely updates for Android phones.
To prevent a repeat, Google says “we’ve been working to secure long-term commitments from partner teams, and put the necessary testing infrastructure in place,” to ensure the company can keep supporting the Pixel 8 phones until 2030.
However, there is a bit of a catch: The company isn’t committing to a strict cadence on when it’ll release the software updates to the Pixel phones. Instead, Google wants to keep the timing flexible to ensure quality.
“We also dug into how we can deliver the highest quality, best tested updates to Pixel users on a consistent basis,” the company says. “As part of this effort, our security updates, bug fixes and feature updates won’t roll out on a specific day each month. Instead, we’ll deploy updates as soon as they’ve completed the necessary tests to ensure they improve the experience for all Pixel customers.”