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Qualcomm says Snapdragon 8 Elite will support 8 years of updates, but what does it mean for users?

The Snapdragon 8 Elite will support 8 years of updates, but it is up to smartphone manufacturers to offer extended software support.

Snapdragon 8 Elite will be coming to phones like the iQOO 13, Xiaomi 15 and more. (Image Source: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm recently unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite, its latest flagship chipset. Powered by second-generation Oryon CPU cores, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 successor boasts clock speeds of up to 4.32GHz, which brings it on par with some of the fastest desktop CPUs. While Qualcomm introduced several new features like support for on-device, multi-modal AI and improved CPU and GPU performance, there’s a chance you might have missed out on a small detail. According to Qualcomm SVP and GM Christopher Patrick, the Snapdragon 8 Elite will support eight years of updates.

In a post on X, known Android enthusiast Mishaal Rehman said that the Snapdragon 8 Elite will offer eight years of Board Support Package (BSP), which includes the Android version that the device was launched on. This means if a device comes with Android 15 out of the box, it will support seven more years of updates.

Qualcomm will provide BSP support for the @Snapdragon 8 Elite for 8 generations of Android releases.

That 8 includes the original OS release, by the way, which means Qualcomm is supporting 7 years of updates!#SnapdragonSummit https://t.co/OBc85AOQNG

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 21, 2024

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However, compared to current-gen mobile chipsets, most of which only support four years of OS and security updates, this is a huge step forward since smartphone manufacturers will be able to offer extended support and keep smartphones up-to-date and secure for much longer.

Will all Snapdragon 8 Elite phones get 8 years of updates?

Qualcomm has confirmed that the Snapdragon X Elite will get eight years of support, but Android updates are offered by phone manufacturers. While brands like Samsung and Google have already upped their game and are offering seven years of OS updates for the Galaxy S24 and the Pixel 9 series, manufacturers like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, and others are yet to update their software update policy.

Companies like Motorola, who are often known to delay software updates, also recently announced that the Edge 50 Neo, its newest mid-range device, will get five years of updates. However, given the company’s track record, it will be interesting to see if it follows through on its promise.