Google’s Pixel 8 Software Update Plan Should Push Android Phones Further

Google’s new seven-year software program replace dedication for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro is a major step ahead for Android. But it additionally highlights one of many largest weaknesses most Android telephones face, no matter their value: They do not get sufficient software program assist. Google’s $449 Pixel 5A from 2021, for instance, will not obtain new Android OS upgrades or software program updates previous August 2024. Three years of updates can go by fairly rapidly.Smartphone gross sales proceed to say no yr over yr amid inflation, and persons are seemingly in search of units they will maintain onto for so long as doable. Market analyst agency Canalys is predicting that the North American smartphone market will decline by 12% this yr, although it additionally notes that phone-makers are nonetheless counting on the in any other case secure marketplace for premium telephones. As prospects grasp onto their telephones longer, preserving these prospects updated with new options and safety protections requires longer improve durations. And it isn’t simply inflation that underlies the necessity for telephones to get extra years of software program assist. The replace extension arrives alongside a push for telephones to develop into extra repairable. An rising variety of US states are passing proper to restore legal guidelines that cowl electronics, and proper to restore proposals lately adopted by the European Union additionally embody telephones and tablets. Now, as Google begins to push its personal Android telephones to last more, listed here are the largest causes cellphone consumers stand to learn ought to the broader trade embrace longer cellphone lifespans.  Apple’s iPhone 13 subsequent to the Google Pixel 8. Patrick Holland/CNETAndroid replace assist continues to be a large number throughout the trade Google final elevated its safety replace coverage in 2021, giving the $599 Pixel 6 and $899 6 Pro 5 years of safety updates (that is set to finish in October 2026). But software program updates stayed at three years — that means that after subsequent yr’s launch of Android 15, the Pixel 6 will seemingly obtain no new software program options. Meanwhile, over on iOS in 2021, should you purchased the then-$599 iPhone 12 Mini or $829 iPhone 13 from Apple, you have been assuredly receiving software program and safety updates for for much longer than three years. Apple’s iPhone XR and XS from 2018 every acquired this yr’s iOS 17, and although 2015’s iPhone 6S is now not getting software program updates, it is getting security-focused updates for anybody who’s nonetheless utilizing these telephones.  Looking at Samsung, Motorola and OnePlus, the state of affairs varies drastically. Until the Pixel 8 announcement, Samsung had surpassed Google’s software program replace promise by offering 4 years of software program updates, and it had matched Google’s safety replace coverage with 5 years for its Galaxy S and Z telephones. The cheaper Galaxy A sequence gives a variety of assist ranges, with Samsung’s $200 Galaxy A14 5G getting two years of software program updates however 5 years of safety updates.   Samsung Galaxy telephones, just like the Galaxy S23 Ultra seen right here, beforehand led Google’s software program replace coverage, by offering 4 years of updates. James Martin/CNETOnePlus lately began promising an analogous 4 years of software program updates and 5 years of safety updates for a few of its telephones, such because the OnePlus 11.  Motorola, in the meantime, has lengthy lagged behind, but it surely at present guarantees three years of software program updates and 4 years of safety updates for the $1,000 Razr Plus. I’ve reached out to Apple, Samsung, Motorola and OnePlus for remark about these insurance policies within the wake of Google’s announcement. As a results of these differing insurance policies, it may be fairly intimidating to maintain up with how lengthy an Android cellphone is protected to make use of. If these insurance policies might proceed to increase to accommodate whether or not somebody needed to carry onto their cellphone for 2 years or for greater than 5 years, that might at least afford individuals with essentially the most flexibility, whether or not or not they needed to get a cellphone improve.  From proper: Google’s Pixel 4 and Apple’s iPhone 11, each launched in 2019. The Pixel 4 now not receives software program or safety updates. The iPhone 11 simply acquired iOS 17. Angela Lang/CNETPhones want safety assist to stay protectedPhones are continuously linked to the web, however sadly that additionally means there’s the potential for your cellphone encountering safety points. Phone-makers continuously present updates to maintain your cellphone protected.  My colleague Andrew Lanxon explored whether or not it is protected to proceed utilizing telephones which are now not receiving safety updates. The specialists he spoke with mentioned an outdated cellphone may very well be inclined to software program points and permit malefactors to steal your information or set up malware in your system.  Unfortunately, many new Android telephones, even costly ones, include very brief safety replace timelines. I criticized the $649 RedMagic 8 Pro for offering solely two years of assured safety updates, regardless that its top-of-the-line specs ought to in any other case make that cellphone final for years. (The gaming-centric viewers RedMagic targets may flash these units with customized firmware to get new options after official replace assist ends. But most individuals haven’t got the time to DIY their very own cellphone to that diploma.) Though Google’s seven-year dedication is now the longest revealed dedication we have seen from a serious phone-maker, the Fairphone 5 at present has Google beat with an eight-year dedication to safety updates alongside entry to spare elements for do-it-yourself restore. Even although Fairphone is not almost as well-known within the smartphone market, it is made good on its guarantees thus far. Its Fairphone 3, launched in 2019, is receiving software program updates via 2026.  By comparability, Google’s Pixel 4 and 4 XL from 2019 acquired Android 13 final yr and have been up to date once more in February 2023. But they’re now not getting new updates. Samsung’s Galaxy S10 line seems to have acquired its ultimate updates earlier this yr too, in keeping with Droidlife.  Battery life has led individuals to determine to improve a cellphone, however battery alternative prices are sometimes less expensive than an improve. James Martin/CNETToday’s cellphone {hardware} can go the space, and restore prices are dropping The most typical causes to switch a cellphone usually come all the way down to battery life and efficiency, until you have misplaced or damaged your system. According to a 2019 survey carried out by Office Depot, 63% of its 1,018 respondents cited battery life points as their motive, carefully adopted by sluggish processing speeds and a damaged charging port.  However, a lot of these issues at the moment are simpler to deal with, enabling units to last more. Software optimizations assist handle a cellphone’s efficiency and battery. A misplaced system might be pinged utilizing Find My Device on Android. And prices to restore units — whereas nonetheless excessive in some circumstances — have been declining. An out-of-warranty battery alternative normally prices round $100 or much less: For occasion, getting a Samsung Galaxy S21’s battery changed at Best Buy prices $80. Google spent a part of its Pixel 8 launch occasion touting the truth that the brand new cellphone line needs to be simpler to restore, together with publicizing its continued partnership with iFixit to supply spare elements and restore guides. Google has instructed Android Authority that spare elements availability will even final the identical seven years as software program assist. Apple has additionally made an effort to scale back some restore prices by altering how the iPhone is manufactured. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max’s aluminum substructure makes it simpler to switch cracked or broken again glass. These efforts will hopefully push the cellphone trade much more towards strikes that reach the lifespan of units, making it so it’s important to change your cellphone solely if you completely should. I do want phone-makers might go one step additional, although, by making the {hardware} simply as straightforward to improve because the software program. Roughly a decade in the past, in 2013, Google developed a modular cellphone idea known as Project Ara that made it doable to primarily construct your cellphone by snapping items collectively, much like a PC. The idea theoretically would enable for easy repairs and even cellphone upgrades. But that dream was dashed, with launch plans delayed and ultimately canceled. In the meantime, telephones are more and more being made with recycled supplies, with Apple and Samsung each selling a higher use of recycled metals and plastics within the manufacturing of their flagship telephones. A bigger reliance on recycled supplies might assist scale back waste created when telephones are discarded.  If an iPhone overheats, it might not be capable of cost till it returns to a standard temperature. Nelson Aguilar/CNETSoftware updates are nice, however there’s nonetheless extra that may lengthen a cellphone’s life As telephones get extra years of software program assist, dazzling new cameras and smarter AI-powered options, it is wonderful what number of age-old issues we nonetheless expertise on the devices.  Better sturdiness — whether or not that is discovering extra methods to forestall a cellphone from scuffing, or simply making telephones much less liable to shatters after falling on pavement — could be fairly significant on units, irrespective of the worth.  Phone firms have made some strides: Apple’s Ceramic Shield has improved the iPhone’s display sturdiness, and Samsung has a complete high quality assurance facility for testing its telephones in difficult eventualities like drops and excessive temperature conditions.  Yet telephones nonetheless break. YouTube channel JerryRigEverything discovered that the brand new iPhone 15 Pro — regardless of being comprised of titanium — cracked throughout a bend take a look at that did not harm every other iPhone 15 mannequin. And although most trendy smartphones can stand as much as water and dirt, maybe warmth resistance is the subsequent space the place telephones might enhance. Currently, cellphone software program helps forestall overheating ought to your system find yourself in direct daylight for too lengthy. Apple this week issued a patch to deal with overheating complaints linked to the iPhone 15 Pro.But a number of gaming telephones I’ve examined have extra superior cooling methods than your common cellphone, enabling them to remain practical whereas powering high-end graphics. The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate has a door that bodily opens for higher airflow to the hot-running processor and GPU when paired with a cooling fan accent — which, to be honest, is overkill. But it nonetheless makes me suppose phone-makers may very well be doing extra to develop higher cooling methods.  The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate pairs up with a fan accent, which opens a door on the cellphone to reinforce cooling. Mike Sorrentino/CNETLastly, whereas proper to restore legal guidelines are bettering entry to cellphone repairs, these fixes are nonetheless troublesome to handle with out formally licensed elements and guides. For occasion, Apple’s iPhone 14 lately had its repairability rating downgraded by iFixit because of requiring a software program handshake even when utilizing real alternative elements from Apple. Compared with long-running industries like these behind kitchen home equipment and computer systems, the cellphone market sees off-the-shelf elements which are usually unusable in repairs. Meanwhile, Valve’s Steam Deck handheld gaming console is kind of easy to crack open to improve with extra storage. Some firms are promoting aftermarket Steam Deck screens with greater resolutions. Even although there’s extra that may be performed to increase the life cycle of telephones just like the Pixel 8, Google’s seven-year promise for software program and safety updates is commendable. Should the corporate observe via, it’s going to imply the Pixel 8 will obtain extra main software program updates than a lot of Apple’s iPhone fashions, whereas encouraging prospects to stay with Pixel for the lengthy haul. Now I’m simply ready for Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus and different phone-makers to catch up.