Your next Snapdragon-powered flagship phone may get 8 years of software support

Google and Qualcomm have collaborated to offer extended updates to Android phones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. This will allow OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to offer up to eight years of software support to flagships. This includes Android updates as well as security updates, ensuring that a flagship phone remains up-to-date in terms of software for years to come.

New Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered phones to receive 8 years of software updates

Qualcomm, in a blog post, revealed that it has worked with Google to allow Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) like the Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform to receive up to eight years of Android updates and security patches.

Qualcomm confirmed that for this program, there’s no need for any significant changes or upgrades to the platform and OEM code on the device. While kernel changes will require updating kernel-mode drivers, the vendor code will remain unchanged, making this program cost-effective for OEMs that plan to support their devices longer.

For you as a consumer, all this means is that your next premium smartphone with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset running Android 15 or later may get a whopping eight years of software support. But there’s a caveat there.

Notably, Qualcomm and Google have only extended the program to OEMs, and whether OEMs plan to offer such long support for their devices remains their decision. Having said that, phone manufacturers can choose to opt-out by not offering eight years of support to their new Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered phones.

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However, going by how competitive brands have become in regards to software support for their flagship phones, we may see the eight-year software support program being implemented by major brands. But we’ll have to wait and see which brand comes up and implements this program first.

Other than the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm confirmed that later this year, phones launching with new Snapdragon 8 and Snapdragon 7-series chips will also be eligible to receive extended software support.

So, we may also see mid-range and mid-premium phones supporting eight years of updates. However, again, whether OEMs participate in offering such long support for their devices will be their decision.