Vivo To Give Three Years Of Android Updates For Upcoming Flagships

VIVO: It was confirmed today that Vivo’s new X-series flagship phones would offer three years of Android OS enhancements and protection improvements. The strategy would apply to phones released after July 2021 in Europe, Australia, and India.

“We are making a commitment to our consumers that they will be able to enjoy a quality mobile experience over a prolonged period of time and continue to profit from the new tech features,” said Yujian Shi, CTO and senior vice president of Vivo.

With today’s launch, Vivo joins a limited yet rising community of Android manufacturers who have promised three years of OS updates for their flagship devices. Google has had a similar strategy on its Pixel phones for quite some time. 

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Samsung declared a “three-generation” OS strategy covering several Galaxy smartphones last year, and HMD followed suit in April, promising two years of Android OS upgrades and three years of protection updates on its latest X-series phones. 

Even LG stated that it will have three years of Android OS updates the same week it declared its departure from the mobile market. Samsung announced this year that select smartphones will get an extra year of security upgrades, with a total of four years of maintenance.

Three years of OS upgrades is a significant change from the two years that was formerly the norm for most Android vendors, although this should be extended to four years in the future. 

Google and Qualcomm revealed in December that they were partnering to make it easy for vendors to sell up to four iterations of Android OS and protection upgrades, beginning with smartphones fitted with Qualcomm’s newest flagship processor, the Snapdragon 888.

Vivo’s latest agenda places it ahead of OnePlus and Oppo, all of which are owned by BBK Electronics. OnePlus’ official strategy as of 2018 has been to include two years of Android app enhancements and three years of security patches.

 Meanwhile, according to the most current quote found from Oppo (via AusDroid), the organization provides two years of security upgrades and two generations of Android OS updates. The announcement today would certainly put a strain on Oppo and OnePlus to pursue Vivo’s lead.

These numbers are insignificant as compared to Apple’s upgrade history. It launched the newest iteration of iOS, version 14, last year on smartphones as old as 2015’s iPhone 6S, the phone’s fifth big upgrade.