Smartphones can now last 7 years

Google and Samsung only updated smartphone software for three years. This has changed. From a report: Every smartphone has an expiration date. That day comes when software updates stop arriving and you start missing new apps and security protections. With most phones, this happened after only about three years. But things are finally starting to change. The new number is seven. I first noticed this change when I reviewed Google’s $700 Pixel 8 smartphone back in October. Google told me it committed to providing software updates for the phone for seven years, compared to three years for its previous Pixels, because it was the right thing to do.

I was skeptical that this would become a trend. But this year, Samsung, the most profitable Android phone maker, set a similar software schedule for its $800 Galaxy S24 smartphone. Then Google announced it would do the same for its $500 Pixel 8A, the budget version of the Pixel 8, arriving in stores this week. Both companies said they have extended software support to extend the life of their phones. It’s a change from the way companies once talked about phones. Not long ago, tech giants unveiled new devices encouraging people to upgrade every two years. But in recent years, smartphone sales have slowed around the world as their improvements have become more marginal. These days, people want their phones to last.

Samsung and Google, the two most influential Android device makers, are catching up with Apple, which has traditionally provided software updates for iPhones for about seven years. These measures will help phones last much longer and give users more flexibility in deciding when it’s time to upgrade. Google said in a statement that it expanded its software commitment for the Pixel 8A because it wanted customers to feel confident in Pixel phones. And Samsung said it will now provide seven years of software updates, which increase security and reliability, for all of its flagship Galaxy phones.