Xiaomi follows Samsung’s excellent update policy and gives the Xiaomi 11T series the first: three years of new Android updates and four years of security updates.
Xiaomi’s New Update Policy
Xiaomi follows in the footsteps of Samsung and OnePlus. The company has announced that it will offer Android updates for three years and security updates for the upcoming Xiaomi 11T series for four years.
Albert Shan, Head of Product & Technology, Xiaomi International explains why Xiaomi is coming with this change: “Due to the continuous improvement of smartphone hardware, the life cycle of a smartphone is also getting longer, which means that users do not have to replace their smartphones as often. For this reason, more consumers attach great importance to receiving the latest operating system updates along with the latest features.” That is why the manufacturer is now giving longer update support and the Xiaomi 11T series gets the scoop.
Xiaomi is cautious, stating in a disclaimer that the availability of upgrades and features of the Android operating system may vary from device to device and market to market. Then, if a region fails to release an update due to local regulations, market, or other factors, the company will turn to this fine print.
Xiaomi will unveil the Xiaomi 11T series on September 15. Ahead of the launch, Xiaomi has confirmed that one of the phones will have 120-watt fast charging support. We’ve also seen leaked renders of the Xiaomi 11T Pro, giving us a good impression of the phones’ appearance.
And what about other Xiaomi phones?
Xiaomi indicates that other phones will not receive extended update support at the moment. The manufacturer added, “Xiaomi will also evaluate the possibility of bringing the comprehensive Android system and security upgrade services to more Xiaomi devices.” It is not an easy task, according to Xiaomi, to make this improved update policy available for other Xiaomi phones as well. This is something Samsung has been working on for some time, and is already putting it into practice
Update policies from other manufacturers
Once again, we’re happy to see a manufacturer improve its update policy. Samsung started it first. Many Galaxy phones can count on new Android versions for three years and security updates for four years. Samsung even gives its high-end Enterprise smartphones five years of security updates.
OPPO and Vivo followed with an update extension from two to three years, and OnePlus has also recently made some changes to its update policy. Google is still lagging behind with its Pixel phones. The search giant guarantees Android version updates for three years and security updates for at least three years. The new Pixel 6 phones may receive updates for five years. Germany now wants to go a lot further by enforcing updates for smartphone manufacturers for seven years. In this AW Poll we would like to know whether you think seven years of support is a reasonable proposal.