The promise of the Google Pixel series is that you’ll get years of software updates on the day that they’re released. But it looks like we’ve finally found out just how long those updates will last. Google confirmed that the original Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL will get a final software update in December, three years after the phones were released.
According to Google, the phones won’t get a security update in November, but the update in December will include a range of fixes and security patches.
It’s not all that surprising to see that the phones won’t be updated for much longer. Originally, Google promised that the Pixel would get two years of Android version updates, and three years of security updates. Google went an extra step by bringing Android 10 to the Pixel and Pixel XL, delivering an extra year of version updates.
The original Google Pixel and Pixel XL may look a little old compared to the smartphones of 2019, but in 2016, when the phones first launched, they had a lot to offer. The devices ran on the then-flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, along with 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 128GB of storage. A year later, they were replaced with the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, which were also well-received. The Google Pixel 3 was a solid phone, though the Pixel 3 XL was criticized for its notch, and the Pixel 4 was just released in mid-October.
We’ll have to wait and see how long other Pixel phones get updates. While the original Pixel ended up getting Android 10, there’s no guarantee that the extra updates will apply to the Pixel 2 with Android 11, the Pixel 3 with Android 12, or the Pixel 4 with Android 13.
The latest in the Pixel series, as mentioned, is the Pixel 4, and it offers a range of features that haven’t been seen on any smartphone before. Notably, the device offers radar tech that allows you to use air-based gestures to control the phone without touching it. The phone is also the first to offer an updated version of Google Assistant, which makes use of Continued Conversation, and has an updated camera.