Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
- Google's original Pixel phones from 2016 will get one final software update next month.
- That means current Pixel owners should start thinking about upgrading their phone, considering the first-generation Pixel will soon stop getting security updates and new software features.
- It doesn't come as much of a surprise - Google's support page indicates that the 2016 Pixel was only intended to be supported until October 2019.
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If you own an original Google Pixel phone from 2016, you might want to consider upgrading soon.
The search giant will push one last software update to its first-generation Pixel and Pixel XL in December, the company recently told The Verge. The discovery came after the outlet found that the Pixel did not get a recent software update that was pushed to other Pixel devices this month.
However, by releasing a new software update in December, Google appears to be supporting its 3-year-old Pixel phone for longer than it had initially intended to do so. Google only guaranteed security updates, telephone, and online support for its original Pixel until October 2019, according to a support page that details for how long Google plans to support each of its phones.
Those who recently purchased Google's latest smartphones, the Pixel 4 and 4 XL, can expect to receive updates for quite some time. Those phones are guaranteed to be supported with updates through October 2022, while the Pixel 3a will be supported until at least May 2022, the Pixel 3 will get updates until October 2021, and the Pixel 2 will get support until next year in October 2020.
Even though Google has supported the original Pixel for slightly longer than expected, it's probably still a good idea to think about upgrading sometime soon. Software updates are crucial for keep your phone safe from new security vulnerabilities that may arise, so it may be a bit risky to keep operating on a phone that's no longer receiving security patches. Plus, you won't be able to get all the newest software features coming to Android devices in the future. Android 10, for example, brought a dark mode and a new Live Caption feature for easily transcribing audio, and the company is already thinking about what's next for Android 11.
If you want to stay in the Pixel family but don't want to splurge on the $800 Pixel 4, the cheaper Pixel 3a is also worth considering. For $480, the larger Pixel 3a XL model offers impressively long battery life and a great camera with support for night mode.
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