According to 9to5google, the Pixel 8, set to debut in September-October, will have a longer operating system update cycle compared to previous models. While specific details have not been released, Google aims to make it longer than Samsung and on par with iPhone.
The current update policy for Pixel devices is 5 years of platform updates and 3 generations of operating system upgrades, starting from the Pixel 6 released in 2021. However, in 2022, Samsung surpassed this with a 5-year platform update policy and 4 generations of operating system upgrades, starting with the Galaxy S21.
As for iPhones, although there is no clear announcement regarding the update cycle, we can take the example of the iPhone XS released in 2018, which can still be updated to iOS 17 (5 generations of operating system updates). Or, considering security patches, the iPhone 6S released in 2015, which has stopped receiving OS upgrades, still receives patches (almost 8 years).
If the news from 9to5google is true, it means that Google needs to update the operating system for more than 5 generations to surpass Samsung and be on par with iPhones. As for the update cycle, it will have to be longer than that.
In the world of Android, there are some exceptions such as the NVIDIA Shield, which has had a long 8-year update cycle. However, the reason behind this is that NVIDIA owns the Tegra K1/X1 chip, allowing them to control software updates themselves. This is different from other Android smartphones that often use chips from other companies (such as Qualcomm), which have limited support for older chips. Google designing its own Tensor chip is likely to help address the issue of update cycle as well.
Source: 9to5google
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