Google released the November security patch earlier this week, with factory images and OTA builds for the Pixel 3 and 3 XL notably missing from the list. This was not surprising since these devices hit their “guaranteed security updates” deadline in October 2021. The Pixel 3 series is also not a part of the upcoming Android 12L beta program, further confirming that it has effectively reached its end of life in terms of software updates. As Google previously confirmed to us though, one more “sunset” update for the Pixel 3 series will be released in early Q1 next year.
Google did something similar with the Pixel 2 series. While these devices received their last guaranteed update in October 2020, the company rolled out another update for them in December 2020, patching several bugs and security exploits. The same thing will happen with the Pixel 3 series, although its final update will land in early Q1 2022. This will give Google more time to squash all the reported bugs and ensure a stable user experience. All major security exploits patched until that point on other Pixels will also be merged in the final update.
The Pixel 3 and 3 XL first launched in October 2018 and are powered by a Snapdragon 845 chipset and pack 4GB RAM. While old in the run, Google could have taken a cue from Samsung and provided these devices with quarterly security updates for another year, since they still offer respectable performance by today’s standards.
After the Pixel 3 series, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL are next in line to reach the end of their software support in May 2022. These devices will not be a part of the Android 12L beta program, so it remains to be seen whether they will get this final OS update or not.
Read Next
About The Author
