The Google Pixel 6 could get five years of Android software updates

What you need to know

• The full spec sheet for the Pixel 6 series has allegedly been leaked.
• Google will reportedly provide five years of Android software support for the Pixel 6 smartphones.
• The Pixel 6 is expected to be announced later this year, possibly in October.

The Google Pixel 6 is expected to launch later this year and will reportedly come with some impressive specs and additional software support, according to the most recent rumor.

FrontPageTech leaker Jon Prosser has provided a rundown of what might be the specs for the upcoming smartphones. The Pixel 6 will feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED display, 50MP main sensor with a 12MP ultrawide camera, 128/256GB of storage, 8GB of RAM, and a 4614mAh battery.

The "Pro" variant will get a display bump to 6.71-inches, although previous rumors have speculated that this will be a QHD+ resolution at 120Hz, while the smaller variant will have a FHD+ resolution at 120Hz. The Pixel 6 "Pro" will also feature an additional 48MP telephoto lens, up to 256GB of storage, and 12GB of RAM. The battery will be larger at 5,000mAh.

Much of this has already been speculated, but it's nice to see the specs all laid out to get a fuller picture of these devices.

What's most interesting is that Prosser alleges that the Pixel 6 will receive five years of Android software updates, which is quite impressive. So far, Samsung holds the crown for the longest software support after announcing a four-year support promise on many of its devices. Its enterprise phones are already being promised as much as five years of software support.

Of course, this is to be taken with a pinch of salt until we hear anything official from Google, but announcing five years of software support would be a major feat in bringing the Android ecosystem closer to iOS in terms of support, and could be a huge selling point, particularly for Google's Pixel devices.

It's also important to note that this may not necessarily refer to five years of Android version upgrades but five years of software support via security updates. Manufacturers of the best Android phones tend to differentiate between the two when announcing their update promises. It may not be ideal, but the situation has improved quite a bit thanks to Project Mainline, and Google could surprise us given the work on its in-house Whitechapel chipset.

For now, we will have to wait until October to hear anything official as Prosser says that's likely when the devices will be announced.