Google has started the countdown for the Pixel 8 series, which it is preparing to introduce at the Made by Google event on October 4. It is not clear for now how many years the phones, which fall into the flagship category in details such as technical specifications and design, will receive software support.

However, according to a recent development, the company will be below expectations in terms of update support. Because the brand recently ended the software support of a popular model. This raises questions about the new flagship models.

End of the road for Google Pixel 4a

Recently, phone manufacturers such as Samsung have overhauled their software support policies and decided to extend support to new mid-range and flagship models. But it seems that this is not the case for Google, at least for now.

The Pixel 4a model, which Google introduced to users in August 2020, lost update support after three years. It has become clear that the smartphone, which is also not on the Android 14 developer preview list, will no longer receive new versions.

However, it is worth noting that if a serious security vulnerability is detected, they will receive updates even if they are no longer supported in terms of software.

For comparison, Apple’s iPhone XR, which was introduced in 2018, has been receiving continuous software support for five years and even started to experience the recently released iOS 17 version. Similarly, Samsung’s new policy will give some of its new smartphones five years of continuous update support.