Don’t want to buy a new smartphone every few years. Then Android and Qualcomm may have the solution for you.
The iPhone is known for its years of software updates. With Android, that wasn’t true for many years, but now there are brands that give you tig years of updates. Think Samsung and the Google Pixel. Still, the rest may soon follow suit.
This has everything to do with the smartphone’s chip. Android maker Google is working with Qualcomm, the company behind the Snapdragon chips, for this.
Longer updates for your Android smartphone
The two companies plan to work together to provide software and security support for eight years of updates. The first smartphones that should be able to do so are Android devices that have the Snapdragon 8 Elite chips in them. Examples include the Samsung Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13.
This collaboration applies not only to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, but also to the next five generations that Qualcomm is developing. So you’re in good shape for the next few years if you buy a new Android device that you want to last for years.
(Image: Jeroen Kraak/WANT)
At least, that depends on the brand you buy a smartphone from. Although Google provides this support for Android, it also depends on whether companies implement software support. OnePlus, for example, does not seem to want to go beyond four years of software support. Samsung, on the other hand, already offers seven years of updates with the Galaxy S25, so there a move to eight years is more likely.
Cons
There is also another big disadvantage: not every component will still perform the same after eight years. The best example is the battery: it gets worse every year in your smartphone. So you might have to replace your Android phone’s battery once in between.
Also, after eight years, you might not be able to use every feature that comes in a new Android update. Think about AI, for example. The devices from four years ago cannot handle every AI feature. You see the same thing with the iPhone 14. That still gets updates for years, but no Apple Intelligence.
Nevertheless, it’s a nice move. It’s more durable and cheaper to just have your battery replaced instead of your smartphone. That way you can get longer use out of your smartphone if you don’t necessarily want every latest feature.
