[Updated] Google Pixel users defend company's update policy following OnePlus' commitment to 4 years of Android OS support

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 02, 2022) follows:

Google Pixel phones have always been among the best when it comes to software updates. Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are guaranteed to receive five years of software support.

However, there is a catch. Instead of five Android OS versions, the phones will receive three generations of OS updates and five years of monthly security patches.

Now, to counter this, Google’s competitors like Samsung and OnePlus have started offering 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches to select devices.

This has sparked some disagreement among Google Pixel and OnePlus users, who believe that the extra year of OS updates will make a significant impact in the long run.

Some Google Pixel users are fully behind the company’s update policy, claiming that the Pixel’s timely updates cannot be matched by OnePlus.

Pixel owners feel that Google’s three years of operating system updates are equivalent to four years of OnePlus OS updates, and monthly security patches are frequently late.

OnePlus, unlike Google, does take some time before its users receive the latest updates. This can be seen with the latest Android 13 update, where OnePlus users received it weeks after Google Pixel users.

People appreciate Pixel phones for two reasons: the software support and the camera technology, which produces results comparable to the critically acclaimed iPhone. This is yet another area where OnePlus falls short.

4 years of updates = 3 years of google updates, all google phones enters the stage with new android already and all other manafacturers adds 1 year to match it. Also ask oneplus owners about the current state of updates and did they get the last android (spoiler – not)
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They announce “X years of update” but take like 6 more months to release an OS update, meaning the phone still will get behind Google’s Pixel’s line in terms of actual updates. Even if they state “3 years”, they might just release 2 OS updates as it takes them longer to do so.
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While some may wish for Google to adapt and provide what Samsung and OnePlus do, diehard Google fans/loyalists claim that OnePlus’ updates are nowhere close to Google’s.

Google has certainly gained some loyal users over the years as they are defending their decision like this.

It will be fascinating to see what Google does next. Would you want to see them match OnePlus and Samsung by providing four years of OS support? Do let us know in the comments section below.

03:34 pm (IST): According to Mishaal Rahman, Google is working on making OTA updates much faster and has submitted new patches to the AOSP to reduce the time it takes the Pixel users to install an update.

Google is working on making OTA updates faster. A new set of patches has been submitted to AOSP that speed up OTAs on devices that use the virtual A/B with compression update mechanism. Combined, these improvements bring a full OTA install time from ~23 minutes to ~13 minutes!
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