Google’s smartphones, already full of advantages whether in terms of photo performance or versatility in general, are gaining new strengths. And, surprise, this concerns old models! The Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 are indeed becoming more interesting economically and ecologically speaking… Explanations.
In addition to their indisputable quality as photophones, the Google Pixels show more and more strong points over the years. Recently, we have seen a real advantage with the arrival of numerous AI tools on these. Even more, the “a” models (Pixel 7a, 8a, etc.) present themselves as devices with almost unbeatable value for money. And now Google is presenting us with a new argument in favor of its range, which proves to be both economical and ecological.
The news was quietly announced during the rollout of the December software update. On an official support page, Google confirmed that the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will receive Android updates until 2026, while the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, and even the more affordable Pixel 6a model, will be supported until 2027. As for the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold (not available in France), they will benefit from software monitoring until 2028.
This extension of Android updates on these old models is excellent news for their owners. They thus join Google’s most recent models, the Pixel 8 and the latest Pixel 9, among the most durable smartphones.
Towards a sustainable future for Pixels
This then means that these models, already offering very good value for money given their age with performances which nevertheless remain of a high standard, become even more interesting. Because yes, changing your smartphone less often obviously means saving money. That said, this change is not only part of a logic of customer satisfaction, but also of an ecological approach.
Extending the software life of smartphones allows users to keep their device longer, which helps drastically reduce their carbon footprint. Indeed, we know that 80% of it comes from manufacturing. By delaying the need to replace a model, each additional year of updating helps reduce electronic waste and limit environmental impact.
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The Pixel 6 still compatible with Android 17?
While the rollout of the latest version of Google’s operating system, Android 15, was launched in October 2024, the guarantee of updates until 2026 for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro suggests that these would not only be compatible with the next Android 16 version (expected for 2025), but also the future Android 17 version (a priori planned for 2026). As for the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, the Mountain View firm having announced that they would be supported until 2027, this suggests that they would be compatible with the next versions of the OS up to Android 18.
In fact, the Pixel 6 (released in 2021) and the Pixel 7 (released in 2022) will benefit from a total of 5 years of software monitoring. Which places them among the best maintained models on the market for their generation. Note that their successors, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9, already benefit from even more extensive support, with 7 years of updates guaranteed. An effort that Google is no longer alone in making, some recent Samsung devices also benefit from 7 years of software monitoring. We can imagine that this will soon be the standard for all smartphones, good news for the environment.
Source : Google
