Qualcomm gives OEMs the option of 8 years of Android updates

Starting with Android smartphones running on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, Qualcomm Technologies now offers device manufacturers the ability to provide support for up to eight consecutive years of Android software and security updates. Smartphones launching on new Snapdragon 8 and 7-series mobile platforms will also be eligible to receive this extended support.
↫ Mike Genewich

I mean, good news of course, but Qualcomm has a history of making empty promises, so I’ll see it when I believe it. Also note that this news doesn’t mean every Snapdragon 8 Elite Android device will get eight years of updates – it just means OEMs are able to offer such support now, not that they’ll actually do it. Considering it’s usually the OEMs refusing to offer updates, I wonder just how big the actual impact of this news will be.

In any event, this includes both regular Android updates as well as two Android Common Kernel upgrades, which are required to meet this eight year window. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty about Android and the Android Common Kernels, the official Android documentation has more details.