Upcoming Snapdragon-powered Android phones can get up to four years of security updates

Google's Project Treble is a modular redesign of Android's low-level system architecture to make it easier for phone manufacturers to update their devices with the mobile operating system's newest version. This program, which launched back in 2017, gets an update with a new partnership between Google and Qualcomm. The two companies will collaborate to improve Project Treble while simplifying the update process for Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered devices.

Google and Qualcomm say that by working together, they can reduce the time and resources manufacturers need to invest when updating their smartphones to the latest Google software, which will extend the lifespan of their products. So, future Snapdragon-equipped smartphones will get up to four major Android platform upgrades and four years of security patches. This upgrade will include the version of Android your phone comes with, so the high-end phones get an extra year of security updates while receiving the same amount of OS upgrades as Pixel phones.

The first handsets to take advantage of this new deal will be Snapdragon 888-powered devices, which should land on premium phones early next year.

Of course, this will require manufacturers to implement this support. And your device will remain unchanged if you have a smartphone that runs on other chipsets, like those from MediaTek. We welcome the move, though, since it will encourage people to keep using their existing phones.

Source: Engadget