Buried deep in the official spec sheets for the new Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL is something that will be very good news for people who care about long-term software support.
Google says it will update the new generation Pixels for three years at a minimum. That is for both OS and security updates, mind you.
For the first generation Pixels launched in 2016, Google promised a minimum of two years of OS updates, and three years of security updates. So this is certainly a step forward, though if it stops OS updates right after the three year mark, Google would still trail Apple in this regard. While the iPhone maker doesn't specifically promise minimum update periods for its handsets, we often see four year old smartphones receiving the latest OS versions.
Google's new three-year OS update promise probably has something to do with Project Treble being implemented in Android 8.0 Oreo, since that undertaking was specifically meant to allow longer update periods even without the involvement of the chipset producer.
Google says it will update the new generation Pixels for three years at a minimum. That is for both OS and security updates, mind you.
For the first generation Pixels launched in 2016, Google promised a minimum of two years of OS updates, and three years of security updates. So this is certainly a step forward, though if it stops OS updates right after the three year mark, Google would still trail Apple in this regard. While the iPhone maker doesn't specifically promise minimum update periods for its handsets, we often see four year old smartphones receiving the latest OS versions.
Google's new three-year OS update promise probably has something to do with Project Treble being implemented in Android 8.0 Oreo, since that undertaking was specifically meant to allow longer update periods even without the involvement of the chipset producer.