Cheaper phones could soon get longer support

Apple provides at least 5 years of support, Samsung and Google provide 7 years of support for their phones, but not for all. This privilege is more or less reserved for premium phones. 1000 euros and more to buy a phone is not exactly a small amount. Most phones are sold in lower classes, where the average support period is around 2 years. The speed of receiving these updates is also an issue. Google phones are understandably the first to get access to new Android systems, but for other phones it depends on the manufacturer. The situation has improved recently and owners of Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor phones are getting new updates very quickly.

Chip vendor Qualcomm pleasantly surprised us in the editorial office. He hinted that by the end of the year, he could introduce some changes that will bring fresh air to the middle and lower class of mobile telephony.

Updating your Android phone to a new operating system or security patch requires a lot of resources and testing. The chip vendor also plays a key role in this process by providing the appropriate binaries and drivers. Google has worked closely with Qualcomm and other SoC vendors over the years to accelerate this process. And while there have been improvements, they've mostly benefited flagship phones.

Qualcomm's vice president and general manager of telephony, Chris Patrick, revealed in a recent interview that they are working with Google and other manufacturers to change the structure of the embedded code, which would allow them to perform updates in a different way. This has been happening for several years, but apparently 2024 is the right moment to make it happen.

The Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm's annual event, is coming up in October, and we can't wait to see what they'll unveil.