Qualcomm and Google, two tech giants have announced a collaboration to offer extended OS (operating system) and security updates to Android phones. The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the latest mobile platform from Qualcomm to power flagship phones. It is integrated in some of the most powerful devices of 2025 including OnePlus 13, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and will be packed in more upcoming flagships. All of these phones can potentially receive eight years of OS and security updates now, if the OEM (original equipment maker) wants it to happen.
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Note that this extended OS and security update is not only for the Snapdragon 8 Elite powered phone, but also the Snapdragon 8 and 7 series powered phones.
Qualcomm said that it has worked with Google to enable up to eight year support for software without requiring signficant changes or upgrades to the platform and OEM code on the device. The company has said that these updates would be delivered to the devices without any change in the vendor code, however, the kernel changes will be required to update the kernel mode drivers.
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OEMs will incur less costs in extending software support for their devices. This would also boost the resale the device. Apple's devices have particularly higher resale value because of their long software support. Now more Android OEMs willl be able to compete with Apple on this front. Users will be the ultimate benefactor from this development. It also supports sustainability as devices could now be potentially used for longer time.
Smartphones that are running on Android 15 and are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite are the first set of smartphones that will get this extended support from Google.
