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The Pixel 6 is three years old already, if you can believe it. When Google launched the phone in the fall of 2021, it promised Android version updates for three years, then security updates for an additional two years. That first date passed back in October — but not long after, it turned out the Pixel 6 was eligible for the Android 16 developer preview. At the time, Mishaal Rahman forecast here on AP that that meant the phone would see not only stable Android 16, but also likely Android 17, as well.
Well, Mishaal was right: Google’s updated its documentation to show that the Pixel 6 and several other past-gen Pixel phones will now receive both OS and security updates for a full five years from when they went on sale — which means that the Pixel 6 will get Android 16 next year and Android 17 in 2026. That’s a big deal for a lot of reasons.
Welcome to Compiler, your weekly digest of Google’s goings-on. I spend my days as Google Editor reading and writing about what Google’s up to across Android, Pixel, and more, and sum it up right here in this column. This is the Google news you need to understand this week.
Last year’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were Google’s first phones to come with a seven-year update promise; the Pixel 8 will get OS and security updates until at least October 2030. That was a big step for Google, but it wasn’t great news for people who bought a Pixel 7, which, at the time, was only guaranteed OS updates through 2025.
With this latest change, seven additional Pixel phones — the Pixel 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, and the first-gen Pixel Fold — are now guaranteed OS updates for five years from their on-sale dates. Each was always promised five years of security patches, but now, they’ll all get full-fat Android updates for that entire period, as well.
