The Pixel 8 has a 7-year update guarantee. That's better than the iPhone!

Google has just announced the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, offering a raft of upgraded features. However, the company has also revealed a very ambitious software update policy.

Google announced that the Pixel 8 series will offer seven years of updates. This includes seven years of security patches, seven years of Feature Drops, and seven years of OS updates.

How does Google’s new Pixel software update policy compare to iPhone and Android rivals?

This new policy is better than Apple’s unofficial update policy for iPhones. For one, Apple doesn’t actually offer an official pledge for its handsets, so you’re at the mercy of the Cupertino company when it comes to receiving updates. The firm is generally good about offering six or more major iOS updates, but some iPhones have only received five major OS upgrades. More specifically, 2017’s iPhone 8 series and iPhone X launched with iOS 11 but won’t be getting iOS 17. Going back even further, 2016’s iPhone 7 series launched with iOS 10 but topped out at iOS 15.

Google’s revised policy also beats major Android rivals like Samsung, OPPO, and Xiaomi, which offer four major OS updates and five years of security patches. In saying so, the Fairphone 5 enjoys a longer security update pledge. Fairphone is offering at least eight years of security patches but ultimately aims to deliver 10 years of support.

Nevertheless, this commitment suggests that a Pixel 8 series device could eventually get Android 21 in 2030, seeing that the phones ship with Android 14 out of the box.

There is some bad news, though, as Google confirmed to journalists that the revised update pledge doesn’t apply to older phones. That means handsets like the Pixel Fold, Pixel 7 series, and Pixel 7a still have the old commitment (three major OS updates and five years of security patches).