Google draws a line: the US group is phasing out software support for several Pixel phones this year. This also includes two smartphones that have found many buyers thanks to their excellent price-performance ratio. Owners will not receive Android updates or security updates in the future.
Hardware and software from a single source, software updates directly from the manufacturer: many hope that Google’s Pixel series will become the Android counterpart of the iPhone. At least when it comes to software updates, Google smartphones still have room for improvement, because for four Pixel phones Google will end software support in 2022 – after only three years on the market.
Google is ending software support for the Pixel 3a (XL) and Pixel 4 (XL)
The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL as well as the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL are affected. All four Pixel phones will get their final update from Google this year. The Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will end in May, and Google will then pull the plug on the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL in October. Only until then does the search engine operator guarantee Android updates and security updates.
Important in this context is the wording: “(…) guaranteed until at least,” says the Google forum. It is unlikely that Google will voluntarily provide the Pixel smartphones with updates for a longer period of time. Google probably leaves the semantic back door open just in case – for example, when massive security gaps become known and Google has to play out an update for all Pixel phones that are still reasonably up-to-date. Three-year-old smartphones are not ancient technology.
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Pixel 3a (XL) was a real blockbuster for Google
While the success of the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL has been more limited, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a XL have had a larger response from buyers. This was probably mainly due to the price, which was already cheap for the standard model with an RRP of 399 euros and went down continuously in the months following the market launch. The 3a series was sold correspondingly often. It is likely that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will no longer receive any updates in a few months the many owners don’t like it at all.