Google guarantees three years of Android software updates for the Pixel 2

Google’s tech specs page for the Pixel 2 seems to indicate that buyers of the company’s latest smartphones can expect to receive Android software updates for three years from the time of release. Previous Nexus devices and the original Pixels were guaranteed updates for at least two years.

This extension went completely unmentioned during today’s keynote, so I’m really hoping it’s not a mistake. It’s written in the footnotes of the Pixel listing at Google’s own store, albeit with somewhat confusing wording. Both software updates and security updates are mentioned as offered for three years:

³Pixel’s software and security updates for three years.

Specifications for the Pixel 2 provided to The Verge specifically call out OS updates as offered for “a minimum of three years.”

If Google is indeed adding another year, it would at least move closer to matching the lengthy span of time that Apple’s iPhones continue to receive new features and operating system updates. Security updates are also promised for three years, but that was already the case with the original Pixels.