If you’re still using an original Google Pixel or Pixel XL phone, you may have assumed the phone had reached the end of the road. Earlier this week, the November security patch arrived for Pixel devices, and for the first time the first-generation handsets weren’t invited to the party.
Well, it turns out the ageing flagship will get a stay of execution. Google has told The Verge that the Pixel and Pixel XL will be on the receiving end of “one final software update” next month, which “encapsulates a variety of updates” from both the November and December releases due to more recent devices.
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If you’re quietly seething that your original Pixel is going to be insecure in 2020, it’s worth reflecting that Google has actually gone above and beyond its original promises here. When Google unveiled the Pixel back in 2016, it guaranteed two years of Android version updates and three years’ worth of security updates.
Not only will a December security update exceed that promise by two months, but Google has already been generous with the Android OS updates, giving original Pixel users access to Android 10, despite only promising support for Pie (9.0).
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If you’re still using an original Pixel in 2019, you should probably think about moving on anyway. While a fantastic handset on release in 2016, it has now been superseded by three generations of Pixel. The most recent of these is the Pixel 4 which we gave a four-star review to last month.
“It’s not the prettiest phone around, and for the money you can get phones with better hardware, like the OnePlus 7T,” Max wrote at the time. “But Google’s imaging wizardry and clean software more than make up for this. My only major quibble is that the phone’s battery life could be better.”
There are plenty of non Google choices in 2019, of course. Check out our list of the best smartphones around and make an informed upgrade choice.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
