Google and Qualcomm jointly announced that phones packing the Snapdragon 888 could get up to four years of big Android updates.
In 2020, phonemakers began extending support for up to three years of Android updates. But Google just announced that phones running Qualcomm’s future chipsets, starting with the Snapdragon 888, will be able to get four years of Android, per Android Police. Given the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 is rumored to pack this chipset, it could be the first phone to get four years of Android. Why? Because Samsung had a banner year as the first to announce that its phones would be getting three years of Android OS and security updates, starting with the Samsung Note 20 as well as the Galaxy S20 line and extending to the mid-range Samsung Galaxy A51. Other phonemakers have followed suit like Microsoft for the Surface Duo (or are rumored to be, like Sony), but Samsung has been at the forefront of these commitments, and it makes sense that the Samsung S21 phones would be the first to get four years of updates.
