Qualcomm And Google Team Up For 8 Years Of Android Updates

Qualcomm has just announced that it’s extending support for Android updates on their latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. This means, devices shipping with this SOC will be eligible to receive 8 years of Android updates and security patches. The decision to offer this long of support is a result of the collaboration between Qualcomm and Google.
Qualcomm will also offer “two upgrades to the mobile platform’s Android Common Kernel (ACK) to support the eight-year window”. This won’t require any effort from the smartphone makers, thus allowing upgrades to be installed on devices without much friction. The company is promising 5 generations of Snapdragon CPUs to support this program.
Other Snapdragon 8 and 7 series processors could also receive the same treatment. Devices launching later this year and coming with Android 15 out-of-the-box will be eligible for 8 years of support. So don’t get your hopes too high if you just got yourself a new OnePlus 13, IQOO 13 or Samsung Galaxy S25.
I feel this will be a net benefit to the end consumer. We will only see this promise come to fruition on limited flagship devices. But even if Qualcomm has extended software support, it all comes down to the device manufacturers to offer said updates. If OnePlus or Samsung feel they cannot support a device for more than 4 or 6 years, then they won’t. However, I couldn’t disagree that it is a step in the right direction. Let us know your thoughts on the topic in the comments below.