Your next flagship Android phone could get 8 years of updates

Thanks to Google and Samsung, software support in the Android ecosystem has greatly improved in recent years. Their flagship devices now launch with a promise of seven years of updates, ensuring you can use these phones for more than a few years. Qualcomm wants to take things up a notch and has worked with Google to offer up to eight years of Android updates and security patches to device manufacturers using its Snapdragon 8 Elite platform.

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Qualcomm has announced that Snapdragon 8 Elite-based Android devices can receive “up to eight consecutive years of Android software and security updates.” This does not mean 2025 flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 and OnePlus 13 will receive eight years of OS updates. It is up to the device manufacturer to do this; Qualcomm is simply laying the groundwork and making things easier for them.

The San Diego chipmaker says devices using its new Snapdragon 8 and 7-series chips are also eligible for the extended software support under the program. However, this will only apply to devices launching later this year.

Even for the Snapdragon 8 Elite platform, only phones that release with Android 15 out of the box are eligible. The program does not apply to previous Snapdragon platforms.

Qualcomm collaborated with Google to provide longer software support to its platforms

So, how did Qualcomm achieve this? The company worked closely with Google to enable the Snapdragon 8 Elite “to receive up to eight consecutive years of Android updates and security patches.”

As part of the program, Qualcomm will include “two upgrades to the mobile platform’s Android Common Kernel (ACK) to support the eight-year window.” This won’t require any major upgrades or modifications from the device manufacturer, allowing them to roll out new Android OS updates seamlessly and without added complexity or expenses.

Qualcomm’s collaboration with Google ensures the program will support the next five generations of Snapdragon chips as well.

Ultimately, the final decision to support their devices for eight years will depend on the Android manufacturer. But Qualcomm is making things easier and cheaper for them to achieve this.