Samsung may introduce up to 8 years of Android updates for its Snapdragon chip smartphones

Samsung is constantly raising the bar for software support in the Android smartphone segment. It became the first company to promise four major Android OS updates for its phones.

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Last year, the brand took a step forward by promising to provide seven major Android OS updates for the Galaxy S24.

Google and Qualcomm have announced that they will give smartphone manufacturers such as Samsung the ability to offer up to eight years of major Android OS and security updates. Qualcomm and Google will provide the kernel updates and additional software needed to offer major Android OS updates without major changes.

Qualcomm explained that this programme provides "two Android Common Kernel (ACK) updates to support an eight-year cycle". This means that if Android smartphone brands want to, they can offer Android OS updates for up to eight years, and the support required from the chipmaker will not be an obstacle.

However, this does not mean that all Android manufacturers will start offering eight Android OS updates, especially for affordable or mid-range phones. Google and Qualcomm's partnership in this programme starts with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip (used in the Galaxy S25 series) and will support devices that come with Android 15.

Samsung already offers up to seven major Android OS updates for all of its flagship phones released in 2024 and beyond.

Source: SamMobile