Google announces major news for Android users (scratch that!)
UPDATE:It appears as though Google and Qualcomm were over hyping their announcement. Instead of offering Android phones powered with Snapdragon 888 the potential to receive four OS updates, this number includes the last update to the Android version that the device will sport out of the box. So the only change will be the addition of an extra year of security updates as Snapdragon 888 powered Android handsets will feature up to three years of software updates (not including the build powering the device out of the box) and four years of security updates.
Are you a huge Android fan? If so, we have some mighty big news for you today. According to AndroidPolice, Google has announced that Android phones starting with the ones powered by the upcoming Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform will support four years of Android system updates instead of the typical two to three that Android phones offer. While the actual number of updates that an Android phone supports is up to the manufacturer of that handset, today's news indicates that newer Android models will have the ability to be updated as many as four times before losing support. That would include an extra year of OS and security updates.
Unlike Apple, which allows an iPhone model to continue to receive iOS updates until the hardware no longer can do justice to the software, Google typically ends Android support for handsets after three years. Apple has an advantage in that it not only develops iOS itself, it also is behind the design of the the phone running the operating system. Google, on the other hand, does develop Android but there are quite a number of individual companies that manufacture Android phones.
Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL phones received their final OS update this year when Android 11 dropped
To reiterate, most Android phones can be updated for as long as three years compared to approximately five years for an iPhone model. Google's announcement today cuts that advantage from two years to just one. But before Android users start getting giddy about that extra year of support, it will be up to Android phone manufacturers to determine whether or not to allow their phones to receive four years of Android updates.
Extending the number of years that an Android phone can receive an OS update to four will reduce the number of times that an Android user is forced to buy a new phone just to receive the latest version of the Android OS.
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