Google reassures Android One phones will get 2 years of OS Updates

Google has reassured users that Android One phones will get 2 years of OS Updates. The news comes via India Today, after the Mountain View company sent them a statement about the same. 

This is what the Google spokesperson had to say

“We confirm that our promise to provide 2 years of updates on Android One devices still stands and our website design does not impact the promise of this program.”

We can’t help but think that it is still a bit odd, that Google removed the statement which mentioned 2 years of OS updates from its website. Perhaps this rule won’t be followed by all OEMs, after all Android One devices vary in terms of the price, so companies may think twice before supporting the lower-end ones over a long period of time. The same can be said, when a phone is replaced by a newer variant or a successor.

Earlier (December 26, 2018)

Google removes Android One OS update support duration info from official website

Google has silently removed the section about the Android One OS update support duration information from the official website. Does this mean Android One phones may no longer get 2 years of OS Updates?

We can’t say that for sure at the moment. The above screenshot of a cached version of the same page (taken from a reddit post) clearly mentions the following words,

“With Android One, your phone will receive at least two years of OS upgrades to the latest version of Android.”

How does the Android One OS update support work

For those who don’t know already, OEMs like Nokia, Motorola, Xiaomi, sell some devices with the Android One branding. The phones run on stock Android, aka Android One.

While the devices are manufactured/warranty support provided by the OEMs, the Android One OS Update Support is provided directly by Google. It is Mountain View company’s responsibility to update the phones, and it does so really fast, almost as fast as the Pixel phones get a new version upgrade (for e.g. Oreo to Pie).

This is, and always has been the selling point of Android One devices. The official Android One website still says that the company will provide monthly security updates for at least 3 years after the phone’s release.

So, what changed?  Well, it is Google, you know how it is. And yes, we are aware that some website’s like Nokia’s do mention “two years of OS upgrades” on the official product page.

We are just not sure what has made Google to remove the 2 year Android One OS update support clause from the official page. This is certainly not a good sign.