Pixel 8 ‘seven years’ Android OS support creates a storm, but what’s Google trying to achieve with this?

Google recently broke the norm at its Pixel 8 keynote when the company promised up to 7 years of Android OS and security updates for the two phones. This marks a major leap from its promise of 3 OS updates and 5 years of security updates for Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 devices. With the new commitment, Google has crept past Samsung’s 5 years of software support (with 4 OS updates) and even challenges the iPhone’s software longevity.

This extended software support means the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will receive updates through to Android 21. Essentially, you should be able to keep your Pixel 8 fresh until 2030, which is insanely long. Google says it was able to make this shift thanks to the support testing infrastructure and the Tensor G3, but questions still linger as to why the company has suddenly made this change.

Google has often been accused of lagging behind Apple and Samsung, but after the latest commitment, some critics claim that no one will be sticking with the same phone for seven years. There’s definitely some truth in this argument, but Google still went ahead and promised 7 years of support. Why do this when you know people won’t be holding onto this phone for 7 years? What is Google trying to achieve by offering this lengthy support?

Well, let’s take a deep dive inside Google’s possible reasoning behind the extended 7-year software support for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

A quick glance at the Pixel 6 through to the Pixel 8 reveals a similar design pattern. Not much has changed, and it’s not a bad thing given how well-engineered the phones are. The Pixel 8 is yet another refinement to the Pixel 6, and it’s likely the Pixel 9 will also look pretty much the same. To Google’s defense, every other OEM does this, with the likes of Apple and Samsung leading the pack. If anything, this implies smartphone design has plateaued, but not in a bad way.

In fact, there have been calls for smartphone companies to stop releasing phones yearly since we end up with identical slabs with minor (mostly internal) upgrades to justify the launch. By electing to support the Pixel 8 with up to 7 OS upgrades, is Google considering this option so that the phone remains relevant and useful for years to come?

Prolonged security updates and feature drops mean the Pixel 8 will never miss out on new features or compromise on security because of age. So, even if Google doesn’t release a new phone for over a year or two, the Pixel 8 will still get new features through OS updates for 7 years to keep it at par with other Android devices. This way, there would be some real excitement around the new Pixel releases compared to the attention the phones get annually.

Google’s main competitors in the smartphone industry are Apple and Samsung. Prior to this commitment, these two had outshone Google’s 3 OS updates and 5 years of security updates by offering longer support. But being a software-first company, Google was always going to aim at grabbing the spotlight in this regard. In the official announcement, Google is not shy to remind everyone that no major smartphone brand offers this committed level of support and longevity.

Not long ago, the company also announced 10 years of automatic updates for Chromebook owners. This brought ChromeOS support on par with macOS and inched it closer to Windows laptops that just never stop giving back, a win that Google is keen to extend to other areas, namely Android. Essentially, this makes Google the de facto leader in terms of software support ahead of Samsung and Apple, which is something fans will revel in.

The average smartphone owner doesn’t buy a new phone every year or two. Instead, they’ll buy a new phone if and when need arises, not just because there’s a new model. And according to Google, having 7 years of software updates makes the Pixel 8 a “more sustainable smartphone choice” since it will remain secure and perform well for years. Having the incentive to hold onto a phone for this long also poses environmental benefits owing to reduced e-waste since you won’t have to replace your phone every 3 years due to lack of software support.

But whether you believe longer software support is an environmental benefit or not, your bank account will definitely benefit from longer device support. It’s a huge win for consumers.

Google is also matching the 7-year software support with equally 7 years of repair parts. After all, it would be half-witted to provide all that software support if the hardware can’t keep up. Still on hardware, most phones are good enough to last years, and having continued software updates throughout their lifetime is the best thing owners could ever want.

Google Pixel phones are sold in less than 20 markets across the globe, at least officially. But this doesn’t mean Pixel phones don’t find their way into a majority of these markets. People in unsupported markets get hands on Pixel phones through the refurbished market. Thanks to sites like eBay and Amazon, these phones end up in other markets months, a year, two, or even three years after officially launching, meaning they are usually close to or past their software support window.

With 7 years of software support, people in markets where Google doesn’t officially sell Pixels will have a chance to get refurbished phones that are still receiving software updates for probably a couple or more years, which is another great way for Google to penetrate deeper into new markets. The iPhone’s software support longevity has been at the heart of the company’s solid reputation across the globe, so Google is simply implementing what has brought one of its rivals such massive success.

Furthermore, re-selling a device that is still eligible for at least two more years of software support will definitely have a positive impact on the overall price. This is what has often made the iPhone’s refurbished market stand out from the rest. Unlike regular Androids, you not only get a solid device, but also a device that is still receiving regular updates for a few more years.

For anyone conscious about their finances and online security as well, having an affordable (read refurbished) device that is still receiving software support is always a welcome idea. The same is also true for the selling entity since they can get the most out of the buyer by offering them a phone that is still receiving software updates.

The Pixel 8 event was heavily focused on AI, which isn’t a surprise considering how popular it’s become over the recent past. Nearly every major company has something related to AI going on, and the Pixel phone is at the core of Google’s AI innovations.

At the launch of the first Pixel in 2016, Google was adamant that the next decade would see a shift from a mobile-first to an AI-first world. The Pixel was meant to be at the heart of providing users with hardware and software that takes full advantage of AI for simple, fast and smart experiences. And indeed, there has been plenty of AI-based additions to the Pixel lineup over the years, among them Call Screen, Magic Eraser, Photo Unblur, Night Sight, Real Tone, active stabilization, and so on.

But for these features to work properly and deliver optimum results, the best software and hardware have to be tightly knit together. This explains the shift to an in-house Tensor chipset that takes advantage of the massive data centers to run the company’s AI models from Google DeepMind. Given how long it takes to train AI models to perfection, Google’s choice to provide prolonged support for phones that are deeply invested in AI seems justified.

Google is also slowly expanding its hardware portfolio with recent additions like the Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds. On stage, the company noted that the experience gained from working with Pixel AI has been invaluable when designing the experience of these new devices. Granted, having longer software support ensures that Google can continue working with the same hardware to perfect more AI functions before expanding support to other platforms.

We all know Google’s track record with killing products, services and even promises. There’s a long list of them, but hopefully the 7 years of Android OS updates doesn’t end up in the same pits. The real test will be on how these devices perform after so many OS updates, especially since they often struggle past the 3-year mark. Still, if Google manages to keep this promise, it could mark a new era in terms of software support, further challenging other OEMs to follow suit.

It will be interesting to see how Samsung and Apple react to this shift, although we are unlikely to see anything drastic from either company in the near future. It will also be sketchy for Google to deny the likes of Pixel 7 and even Pixel 6 this same luxury, but time will tell.

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