Updates on Android phones may be a little better

If you’ve ever used an Android phone, you know it’s annoying to get updates. Over the past few years, things have gotten a little better from some manufacturers, but it’s nowhere near as seamless as it was on iOS.

A new update to Project Updates, a Google initiative to speed up Android updates, brings chip maker Qualcomm to the fold. Theoretically, it would help people get more updates, but in reality it only allows low-end phones to get more updates.

Google’s words are a bit vague, but most publications now seem to agree that the announcement promises three major Android updates for phones with the new Snapdragon chipset. That means if you buy a phone with Snapdragon 888 and Android 11, you should stop receiving updates after it touches Android 14. Some phones also get extra year security patches.

To summarize this update, Qualcomm now supports all of its new chips so they can get three years of major Android updates and four years of security updates. Most phones already do this, but they can only do this if Qualcomm still supports the chip in their phone. This is less of a problem for popular flagship-class chips than for low-end chipsets.

With the new update, all Qualcomm chips from 88 will support upgrades for at least four years. This means that if the phone manufacturer only offers two-year updates, it’s their fault, and they’s basically not blaming it on Google or Qualcomm.

It will not really change your life for the user and you will not get fast updates on your Samsung phone. This means that Samsung, which runs low-gloss Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets, will find it easier to provide updates on its lower-end phones.

Source: Android Police