Google Pushing 7 Years of Updates For Android Phones With Snapdragon 8 Elite

Previously, Google announced 7 years of security updates for its flagship in 2023. The company announced the Pixel 8 lineup will support seven years of guaranteed updates until October 2030. 

Moreover, Google also aims to expand its security update service to its mid-range devices Pixel 8a. Another brand name, Samsung also announced the sever-year security update for the S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra, with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 the same as Google.

Google also announced the GRF program “Google Requirements Freeze” launched in 2020. The program was initiated to make it easier for chipset vendors to support 3 years of Android OS updates. So now, the LGRF (Longevity Google Requirements Freeze) is now required to support 7 years of software updates. 

According to the Android Authority blog post, “Instead of requiring OEMs to ship updated vendor software with each Android OS update they wanted to roll out, OEMs could now ship Android OS updates with the original vendor software that the chipset was built for.”

The good news is that Qualcomm’s latest processor Snapdragon 8 Elite is the first chipset to support LGRF. The latest chipset supports a longer lifespan of devices and has advanced features. 

However,  the chipset has some drawbacks. For example, OEMs cannot ship the Snapdragon 8 Elite for four years of Android updates. Another limitation is that the chipset is designed for Android 15 and cannot be used for Android 19. 

Therefore, Google has not officially announced the details of LGRF and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. The leaked information was revealed after an event of Google with OEMs earlier this year.