Google plans to stay true to its words about its promised 7 years of software support for its next Google Pixel devices. According to the leaked ad material (via Android Headlines) of the company, this will arrive in Pixel 8a as well.
The ads contain several details about the upcoming Google Pixel 8a, confirming earlier reports about it. It includes the Google Tensor G3 chip, 18W wired charging, and an IP67 rating. The material also mentions some features of the model, such as the system (Call Assist, Clear Calling, VPN by Google One), AI (Circle to Search and email summarization), photo (Best Take and Night Sight), and video features (Audio Magic Eraser). The main highlight of the material, however, is the 7-year-long software support for the device. This gives the Pixel 8a a product life as long as its other siblings in the series, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
The news, however, is not entirely surprising as Google already revealed the plan to introduce 7-year-long security updates when it introduced the Pixel 8. According to the company, it is the right thing to do based on its observations in the earlier generation smartphones it offered in the past.
Google Vice President of Devices and Services Seang Chau explained how the company came up with the decision. As Chau shared, some points contributed to this, including its switch to year-round beta programs and Quarterly Platform Releases, collaboration with its Android team, and more. Nonetheless, of all these things, the executive pointed out that it all started with the company’s observation of the devices that are still active despite being sold years ago.
“So when we look at the trajectory of where the original Pixel that we launched in 2016 landed and how many people were still using the first Pixel, we saw that actually, there’s quite a good active user base until probably about the seven-year mark,” Chau explained. “So if we think about, okay, we want to be able to support Pixel for as long as people are using the device, then seven years is about that right number.”
