How Many Years of Updates Will Your Phone Get? By Brand

Quick answer

For the exact model you want, check two things: the number of major Android or iOS upgrades it’s promised, and when its security patches end. Brand promises vary widely. Google covers the Pixel 8 and later for seven years, and Samsung matches that for the Galaxy S25 series, with seven OS upgrades on top of seven years of security patches. OnePlus commits to a minimum of three years of security fixes, and Xiaomi’s typical minimum is two years. Every countdown starts at the model’s launch, not your purchase, so verify the figure on the brand’s website and look at the patch date on the handset before you hand over money.

A phone’s camera and chip get the headlines, but its update promise quietly decides how long you can trust it with UPI, banking apps and email. This guide lays out what each major brand sold in India commits to on its own pages, then shows you how to check a specific model, and the handset in your hand, before you buy.

In this article7 topics

Two numbers to find for any phone
Brand by brand: the commitments in detail
When the clock starts, and what that leaves you
Check the phone in your hand
After the last patch
Update questions, answered
Official sources used in this guide

Two numbers to find for any phone

Most update promises bundle two separate commitments, and buyers often confuse them. Read both, plus how often patches arrive.

OS upgrades move the phone to a new major version, say from Android 16 to 17, or from one iOS release to the next, bringing fresh features and often a new look. Brands count these: Samsung talks of “seven generations of OS upgrades”, Nothing of “three Android updates”.
Security updates are smaller releases that fix known vulnerabilities. On Android, each patch is stamped with a date, its security patch level, shown in Settings under the name Android security update. Brands measure this support in years, as in “six years of security updates”.
Patch frequency matters too. A phone on a monthly schedule receives fixes sooner than one patched quarterly, even if both are technically still supported.

The first two often end at different times, with security patches outlasting OS upgrades. Take Nothing’s Phone (3a) series: three Android updates, yet security patches for six years, so it keeps getting fixes for a while after its final Android version. (Quoted wording: Samsung Newsroom and the Nothing India product page, as read in October 2026.)

Brand by brand: the commitments in detail

Everything below comes from each brand’s own policy, support or product pages, read in October 2026. If a brand has no blanket rule on OS upgrades, we say so; look at the product page for your exact model instead. vivo, OPPO and realme aren’t covered, as this round we couldn’t confirm any official update-policy page for them, so for those phones use the update details on each phone’s official product page. Promises get revised, so check again before buying.

Samsung Galaxy

Galaxy S25 series: seven generations of OS upgrades, with security updates for seven years, counted from the phone’s global launch, according to the S25 launch release on Samsung Newsroom.
Galaxy A26 5G, A36 5G and A56 5G: Android and One UI upgrades for up to six generations, plus six years of security updates, as announced in Samsung India’s March 2025 launch release. Note the “up to”. Samsung also warns that rollout timing differs by model, market and network provider.
Patch rhythm: Samsung runs three security patch schedules (monthly, quarterly and biannual), and its security update model list shows which devices sit in which group.

Monthly group	Galaxy S26, S25, S24 and S23 series; Galaxy Z Fold5–Fold8 and Z Flip5–Flip8; Galaxy A56 5G
Quarterly group	The Galaxy S22 series plus most models in the A, M and F ranges, among them the Galaxy A26 5G, F36 5G, A36 5G and M36 5G

Samsung’s security updates page as we found it in October 2026. According to Samsung, the monthly list is revised as support periods end.

Google Pixel

Pixel 8 and later, a-series and Fold models included: seven years of OS updates and seven years of security updates.
Pixel 6 and 7 series and the Pixel Fold: five years of each.
Clock: both periods run from the date the model first appeared in the US Google Store, says Pixel Help.
Rollout: updates are released in phases that depend on carrier and device, and Google notes that a given update can need a few weeks to land on your handset. The Pixel security bulletins detail each fix.
After support: according to Google, the Pixel 5a and anything earlier no longer get Android version or security updates.

Apple iPhone

OS upgrades: Apple doesn’t publish a fixed count of iOS upgrades on any official page we could find.
Security support: Apple’s UK compliance statement covering iPhone 16 model A3287 promises security updates for no less than five years after that phone was first supplied, which Apple dates to 20 September 2024.
Why a firm number: the figure comes from a filing under the UK’s product security rules, which took effect on 29 April 2024, and that is why it’s stated as a firm minimum.

OnePlus

Security support: a minimum of three years from product launch for its smartphones and tablets, according to its UK PSTI page, which is likewise a UK filing. The page doesn’t state a number of OS upgrades.
Small print: a major OS upgrade can push that month’s security patch back, and some chip-supplier patches may miss the current month’s release and follow later.

Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO

Security support: the Xiaomi Security Center says its smartphones and tablets typically get at least two years of security updates after first shipment, and some models three years or more. The general policy is silent on OS upgrades.
Small print: as with OnePlus, certain chip-supplier patches may arrive in a later update rather than the current month’s.
After support: per Xiaomi, models on its EOL (end-of-life) list no longer get any software or firmware maintenance, security updates included, and it may stop responding to vulnerability reports about them. It says it may still issue a fix if a flaw is very serious.

Motorola

Model by model: Motorola’s US support page sets no general rule and gives no OS upgrade count. Instead it lists each model with the Android version it launched on, the next one it gets, and its security-support window. Two examples: the motorola edge 60 fusion is covered from March 2025 to March 2029, the moto g05 from December 2024 to December 2026.
Similar names, different dates: the edge 50, launched in July 2024, gets patches until July 2027, but the edge 50 fusion, launched in April 2024, is covered until April 2028.
Patch rhythm: for most phones, the page notes security updates at least every two months (“bi-monthly”). A few budget handsets, the moto g06 and moto g05 among them, have no such note.
Small print: Motorola warns that OS upgrades and maintenance versions can hold up patches, that what it publishes isn’t a commitment, and that support may vary between regions and sales channels. It adds that any phone missing from the list has stopped receiving both security and OS updates.

Nothing

Phone (3a) series: promised three Android updates and six years of security updates, counted from when the series first went on the market, per Nothing’s India product page. On a Nothing product page, look for the “Software support” section.

When the clock starts, and what that leaves you

No policy we read counts from the day you buy. Each ties the countdown to a launch-related event:

Google	First sale on the US Google Store
Samsung	Global launch
Apple	First supply
Xiaomi	First shipment
Nothing	First availability on the market
OnePlus	Product launch

Start points taken from each brand’s official page, October 2026.

So the maths is simple. If the model came out two years ago and the brand promised four years, a brand-new unit bought today has roughly two years of support remaining, even straight out of a sealed box.

Two more habits help. First, check the exact model name, because similar names can carry different promises: Motorola’s edge 50 and edge 50 fusion end on different dates, and Samsung puts the Galaxy A56 5G in its monthly group but the A36 5G in its quarterly one. Second, save a dated screenshot of the promise when you buy. Policy pages get revised, and the screenshot is your record of what the brand promised at the time.

Check the phone in your hand

Android phones

Go to Settings → About phone → Android version. According to Google’s Android Help, this screen shows four things: your Android version, the build number, and two dates labelled Android security update and Google Play system update.
Look under Settings → System → Software updates for any update that’s pending.
Menus vary between brands. Can’t find these screens? Search Settings for “security update”.

Google also notes that how quickly updates arrive depends on the device, the manufacturer and the carrier; for other brands, ask the maker when to expect them.

iPhones

Settings → General → About shows the installed iOS version.
Settings → General → Software Update checks for a newer version; if there is one, tap Download and Install.
To have that happen on its own, open Software Update → Automatic Updates and switch on Automatically Install. The iPhone then updates itself overnight while it’s charging and connected to Wi-Fi.

iPhones get their security fixes bundled into software releases, so compare the iOS version rather than looking for a patch date. For the list of models a new iOS release supports, check Apple’s compatibility page for that version.

Tip: Stock can sit in warehouses for months, so a new phone can start with an old patch date; that alone isn’t a red flag. Run every update during setup and look again. If a phone that’s meant to get monthly patches is still several months behind, raise it with the seller or the brand.

After the last patch

Security holes keep turning up in phones long after they go on sale, and security updates are what close them. Once a phone’s updates stop, any hole discovered afterwards stays unfixed for the rest of the time you own it. Apple’s own update guidance ranks keeping your software current among the most important steps for your device’s security, and Android is no different.

Match it to how long you keep phones. A two-year promise expires halfway through a four- or five-year life.
New Android versions don’t reach everything. Google’s Android Help is clear that newer Android versions won’t always run on older devices.
Resale and hand-me-downs inherit the clock. Whoever buys your phone later, or the relative who gets it next, only gets the support time that remains. Our guide to buying a used phone covers the other checks for second-hand buyers.

The phone keeps working past the end date: calls, photos and apps keep running as usual. What stops is the maker fixing newly found security holes, as the Google, Xiaomi and Motorola statements above make plain.

Warning: A phone without security updates shouldn’t handle your banking, UPI payments or work email any more. Keep updating its apps from the Galaxy Store or Play Store (Samsung says that’s how its own apps receive security fixes), stick to trusted app sources, and think about retiring it to simpler jobs, such as playing music or serving as a backup handset.

PhoneSahi verdict

Count software support alongside the camera and chip. Settle on how long you’ll keep the phone, then buy a model whose security patches will still be coming after that, measured from launch day and verified on the brand’s site. When two phones are neck and neck, the one patched for longer and more often is the safer buy.

Update questions, answered

I’m buying a sealed phone today. Does its support start now?

No. The policies we read tie the countdown to the launch, using dates such as global launch, first availability, first shipment or first supply. If the model launched a year ago, that year is already gone from its support period, sealed box or not.

Why is my Android phone’s security patch a few months old?

It isn’t necessarily a problem. Phones on a quarterly schedule only get patches every few months, and Samsung puts many Galaxy phones from its A, M and F ranges in that group. First open Settings → System → Software updates (the menu may be named differently on your brand) and install anything waiting, then see whether the patch date fits the schedule the brand publishes.

Does Apple say how many years of updates an iPhone gets?

Not as a count of iOS upgrades, on any official page we found. For security updates, the iPhone 16 (model A3287) has a UK filing that commits to at least five years, counted from 20 September 2024, when it was first supplied.

Will a phone bought in India get updates at the same time as abroad?

Timing can differ. Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi and Motorola each say rollouts vary with the region, market, network or model, and Motorola goes further: the support cycle itself may depend on region and sales channel. Use the brand’s India page if it has one, and don’t be surprised if Indian units get a particular update slightly before or after other countries.

How Long Will Your Phone Get Updates? Brand Promises Compared

Two numbers to find for any phone