According to Google’s official support documentation, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were guaranteed to receive Android OS updates until at least October 2024. Since it is now November 2024, months before Google will release the next major version of Android. Google doesn’t plan to release Android 16 until Q2 of 2025, which means either April, May, or June of next year. Making it reasonable to assume that the Google Pixel 6 is left out of any future Android version updates.
The Pixel 6a was released a few months after the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. It’s guaranteed to receive Android OS updates until at least July 2025, which is after the window of Android 16’s release date. In the past, the later release date of the A-series Pixel phone meant that it would receive quarterly platform releases (QPRs) not pushed out to the main phones in the lineup. The Pixel 5a received an update to Android 14’s third QPR, while the Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5 stopped at the initial release of Android 14.
Security updates are easier without backporting
Porting Android 16 (and later Android 17) to the Pixel 6 series will help Google maintain its commitment to delivering 5 years of security updates. While Google does backport security patches for a little over 3 years after the AOSP release of a new Android version (e.g., Android 11 received security patch backports until March of this year), it still recommends that manufacturers migrate their devices to the latest version of the Android platform when possible. The reason for this is the same reason that it’s recommended to always keep your device’s Linux kernel up-to-date with the latest fixes. It’s not always immediately clear that a bug fix is actually a security fix, so it’s risky to leave a device on an outdated version of Android or Linux, as manufacturers would have to hope for those fixes to eventually be identified as security fixes and then later backported.
For that reason, some observers believed that Google had always planned to extend Android OS support beyond its guarantee, and it’s looking like they might be right. Google recently announced the release of Android 16 Developer Preview 1 when asked about the what devices will be eligible to install DP1. A Google spokesperson said that the following devices will be able to get Android 16 DP1:
Pixel 6 and 6 Pro
Pixel 6a
Pixel 7 and 7 Pro
Pixel 7a
Pixel Fold
Pixel Tablet
Pixel 8 and 8 Pro
Pixel 8a
Pixel 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, and 9 Pro Fold
Since the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a are getting Android 16 DP1, it would be surprising if they didn’t receive the stable release of Android 16 next year.
