[Google is] committing to providing seven years of software support for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, including the latest Android operating system, security updates and ongoing Feature Drops.
This is pretty huge from an OEM. I know Fairphone also does this, but there are some questions about how they’ll be able to continue some forms of security updates after the SoC they’re using in their phones passes its own end-of-life date. Google shouldn’t have that issue, being their own SoC designer.
This new guarantee surpasses even what Apple’s been offering lately, with no explicit guarantees and their updates trending down towards 5-6 years.
So… 7 years GrapheneOS with full security updates → can be used with confidence until end of 2030.
Then… possibly 10 years of DivestOS with partial security updates (they still support the Nexus 7 from 2013, but obviously can’t do stuff like firmware and driver patches) → can be used until the end of 2040.
Then, if you don’t care about security updates, you can probably use it another 6 years at a minimum (Android 14 just got released, and currently virtually all apps still support Android 8 = 6 years old, and Google has set the minimum for apps running on Android 14 at SDK 23 = Android 6 = 8 years old). → can be used until 2046-48.
So in the most extreme case, a usable device for 25 years. Would be an interesting experiment in longevity and sustainability at least.
The 8 will probably be my next phone, my issue is the battery and USB-C port. Lasting 8 years with out connectivity issues and poor battery performance would be a dream.
