Meanwhile an iPhone 6S released nearly seven years ago is still supported and will be for at least four more years. This is why I switched even if I didn't want to. Google needs to do better.
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Pixel 6 has a minimum of 5 years of support which is pretty close to getting the full use out of the 6 year Linux kernel LTS branch support. It could perhaps be guaranteed to be supported longer if they were confident in the ability to switch LTS branches.
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I was under the impression they were divorcing the hardware from the OS in terms of support but those efforts rarely seemed to go anywhere. Hopefully the Pixel 6 makes it possible for other venders to support 5 years, we are past the point where 2-3 year upgrades make any sense.
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It's already the case that the major OS version can be upgraded for the system image while still using a previous major OS version for the code providing the device support, i.e. the kernel drivers and HAL. it doesn't mean you don't need to keep providing security updates for it.
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It doesn't make sense and isn't possible. Firmware and device support code in the OS need to be supported for the lifetime of the device with bug fixes including security updates. It's also best if it does get updated to the new major OS version despite not needing to do it.
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There's already a minimum guarantee of 5 years of support for the Pixel 6 and a minimum guarantee of 3 major OS upgrades. Qualcomm provides 4 years of support for their smartphone SoC. The status quo is that there are 4 years of security updates on Samsung devices and others.
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Android fully supports providing security updates to a device for at least 6 years without any difficulty. I don't know where you got the impression that it doesn't. Can easily do 3 years of major updates via Treble and then 3 years of updates on that 4th major version.
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The whole point of the tweet you replied to was that every single Pixel could have provided 6 years of security updates if Qualcomm provides 6 years of security updates, but you're interpreting it as if it was a criticism of Android when it's pointing out Android supports it.
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Android may support it, device venders seem rarely to. I moved from WP to Android for nearly three years, finding a long supported device was impossible especially if you buy used as I typically do. Given that I support several family members, iOS made a ton more sense.
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I'm not an Apple fan. But this is one thing they do right. I will likely never need to upgrade my aunt's iPhone 8 while she's still alive. Given that most people, especially seniors, never upgrade their hardware until it dies, this is a major issue. Seen tons of insecure devices.
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I don't understand the relevance to my thread. My thread was not about how long phones are supported but rather how long Android versions are supported. I even clarified that how long an Android version is supported isn't directly connected to how long devices are supported.
The entire purpose of the tweet you replied to was to clarify that major Android versions receiving 3 years of support has nothing to do with many devices only receiving 3 years of support. Android 12 has 3 years of support remaining, and the Pixel 3 receiving Android 12.
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An app which only supports Android 12 or later works fine on the end-of-life Pixel 3 with the stock OS because it received Android 12. An app which only supported Android 12.1 or later would not support the Pixel 3. The Pixel 3 will be 7 years old in the situation I provided.
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