What you need to know
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL left out of November 2019 security update list.
- Google originally slated October 2019 as the final security update.
- Phone and online support also ends.
The Android November 2019 update list is available and the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL, launched in 2016, will not be getting the latest security patch. While Google has not officially terminated support for the original Google Pixel devices, a separate support page indicates that security updates will no longer be guaranteed after October 2019. That page essentially gives all Pixel devices a three-year deadline on guaranteed security updates as well as new versions of Android. The Google Pixel was no longer guaranteed Android version updates as of October 2018, though it did receive Android 10.
Google will no longer support the original Pixel and Pixel XL by telephone or online customer support channels. Like the security updates, phone and online support is only guaranteed for three years after the phone is released. Of note, because of the timing of the launch of Google's Preferred Care extended warranty program for its Pixel phones, Pixel 2 owners who opted for Preferred Care can get customer service support through April 2021.
Apple has recently launched iOS 13.2, its latest software version and security bundle, and it supports devices from the iPhone 6s, launched in September, 2015. Devices as old as the iPhone 5s from 2013 are still being supported by Apple software updates, though not the latest OS versions. Samsung offers quarterly security updates still for the Galaxy S7, and monthly updates are promised for the Galaxy S8 and newer devices. Those phones launched in Spring 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Google has confirmed to The Verge that the OG Google Pixel will get "one final software update" in December that will include pieces from a "variety of updates" available to newer Pixels.
The newest Pixel hardware, software and security
The battery life was frustrating, and the gigabytes were low, but otherwise this is the Pixel to buy, and with the most recent security and OS for the next 3 years, it's an investment in your Pixel future.
