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We’re all familiar with the irony of Samsung offering more software updates than Google- ya know, the company that develops Android. Despite this, Pixel phones are growing in popularity. Now, Xiaomi is looking to one-up Google by offering five years of software updates for its phones.
When it comes to picking out a new smartphone or tablet, the number of software updates it will get is crucial. If you’re planning on getting a phone for the long haul, you’ll want to make sure that it’s going to be supported for that duration.
In the case of Pixel phones, their update timeline is pretty middle-of-the-road. You get five years of security patches and three major software upgrades. That’s not the best, deal, but at least it’s decent.
As for Samsung, this company offers five years of software updates with four major Android upgrades. The Galaxy S23 will also lose support with Android 17, but it launched with an older version of Android.
Xiaomi now offers five years of software updates
This news was spotted in a Weibo post from Xiaomi (via Android Authority). The company is gearing up to release the new Redmi K60 Extreme Edition. Along with the news of this device, the company also announced that it’s changing its update strategy. Now, Xiaomi will start offering five years of software updates and four major android upgrades. That’s on-par with Samsung.
Right now, we don’t know the specifics on Xiaomi’s policy, so there’s still a chance that it won’t be as good as what Samsung is offering. Only time will tell in that regard. Also, we don’t know if the policy will extend to other phones like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.
Google might be making changes too
Rumor has it that Google is planning on changing its update policy with the Pixel 8 phones. Right now, we don’t know just how much better Google’s going to make its policy, but the company claims that it’s going to be better than what Samsung offers. If that’s the case, then we should be excited to see what Google is planning.