OPINION : Google revealed its long - await update to the Pixel demarcation in the form of the Pixel 8 and the Pixel 8 Pro in the beginning this week .
The phones extend Google ’s focus on AI with new generative AI features and improvements to Google ’s staple photography modes that appropriate the Pixels to take some of the right smartphone exposure around – but that arguably pales in comparison to one of Google ’s terminal announcements of the evening .
Alongside detail the newfangled features of the latest flagship smartphones , Google drop a massive bombshell that ’ll have ripples throughout the Android community for quite some time . That declaration ? ThePixel 8and Pixel 8 Pro will get a whopping seven yr of software support , include both seven atomic number 76 upgrades and seven years of security plot of ground .
That ’ll take the Pixel 8 through to Android 21 in 2030 – an telling effort take the headphone are coif to launch withAndroid 14next hebdomad . That is practically unheard of in the Android space , with even theFairphone 5only committing to prospicient - term security patch support until 2031 . The Pixel 8 chain of mountains takes this a measure further .
It ’s long overdue , too . The previous Pixel software promise of three atomic number 8 upgrades and five geezerhood of surety patch was okay , but in late years , it has been travel by by the ilk of Samsung with its four OS upgrades and five long time of security department spot promise for theGalaxy S23range and other recent releases .
That was n’t precisely a good look for Google , the company thatliterallydevelops the Android operating system that most smartphones incline . The fact that a producer could offer longer reenforcement than the company behind the software package was more than a little bit mortifying for the brand .
It also brings the Android group O nearer to that of Apple ’s iOS , whose long - term documentation for its gadget has long been praise by many around the world . TheiPhone Xr , which was release in 2018 , just cause the update toiOS 17for example – something that , up until now , has been extremely rare on the Android side of thing . That could polish off a huge roadblock for those lure to tack platforms .
It ’s also great both for consumer and the surround . get Modern upgrades every year will stop you from promote so often , as you ’ll belike gain access to many of the new feature of new models of smartphones running newer software , and that think less electronic barren choke to landfills around the humanity .
It should also coerce other Android manufacturers to rethink their long - full term software support to considerably compete with Google ’s fresh promise , which should gain the Android ecosystem as a whole .
That ’s a peachy start , but there ’s more work to be done on the Android OS upgrade side of things , with a notable level of atomization between manufacturers and the various skins that are used .
This means that unlike iPhones , which get updates every September like clockwork , you wo n’t be able-bodied to say ‘ my Android will unquestionably get the latest Android update in October ’ as it only does n’t function like that on Android .
Unlike Apple , which has control over every model of iPhone and can therefore take charge of all updates in - business firm and synchronize the release schedule , Android updates are handled singly by the smartphone makers , further complicated by the various custom skins like MIUI and ColorOS that some manufacturers use .
This means that Android manufacturers demand to basically update their phones on a per - modeling basis , verifying that they act well with connection providers and , of course , follow through the fresh features of the OS upgrade to work with the hardware on whirl , and that does n’t happen to a fixed docket .
That ’s further complicated by the sheer number of Android phones compare to the comparatively limited selection on whirl from Apple .
That mean that , even with foresighted - full term group O upgrades promise , you may not get the tardy update until weeks or even months after its initial vent . I would n’t anticipate mostAndroid 13devices , like theOnePlus 11andSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra , to get theAndroid 14update until the last of 2023 or , more likely , sometime early in 2024 .
So , while Google is ultimately leading the charge on long - full term Android support with the Pixel 8 series , there ’s still much to be done before it ’s really on par with what Apple offers .
