The new Pixel 6 series was a pleasant surprise in many ways, but it also let us down in some ways.
A recent rumor suggested that Pixel 6 would receive 4 years of major Android updates and 5 years of security patches.
However, it is a little disappointing to see that Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will only have 3 years of major updates for the Android OS.
Google claims that Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will get 3 years of big Android updates, on par with the company’s current pixels with Qualcomm technology. This is not to say that there are no updates beyond this period, as Google will offer 5 years of security updates.
Google’s full statement says:
We build Pixel smartphones to improve over time with software and feature updates, so starting with Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel will receive security updates for at least 5 years.
Users will continue to receive at least 3 years of operating system updates, after which we are committed to ensuring that pixels are kept up to date and secure. The frequency and categories of updates will depend on your hardware features and needs.
In a support page, Google provides more specific dates:
Although not what we expected, it’s more than what other Android makers offer. Samsung, for example, offers a maximum of 4 years of support for its devices, and this is a new policy that only applies to selected devices.
Hopefully, Google will extend this update policy at some point.