The landscape of Android smartphones is undergoing a significant transformation, with AI technologies playing a pivotal role in extending device lifespans. At the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona, industry leaders unveiled groundbreaking commitments to long-term software support, marking a new era for Android devices and challenging Apple’s historical advantage in this domain.
The evolution of smartphone longevity
For many years, Apple’s iPhone dominated the market when it came to software support longevity. The Cupertino giant has consistently updated devices for five years or more, with even the decade-old iPhone 5S occasionally receiving security patches. This approach starkly contrasts the Android ecosystem, where many manufacturers offered minimal update cycles.
The Android fragmentation problem has been a persistent challenge. Some manufacturers didn’t update their devices after release, while major brands typically limited their support to one or two years. This situation forced Google to architect a solution by separating system functionalities from the core OS, enabling more streamlined feature deployment across devices.
The tide is now turning dramatically. At MWC 2025, multiple Android stakeholders announced extended support commitments that meet or exceed Apple’s unofficial standard:
- Qualcomm: 8 years of chipset support
- Honor: 7 years of software updates
- Samsung: 7 years of updates (previously announced)
- Google: 7 years of updates (previously announced)
These changes reflect a fundamental shift in how manufacturers view the lifecycle of mobile devices. Rather than encouraging frequent hardware replacements, the industry is embracing software longevity as a competitive advantage, with artificial intelligence capabilities serving as a key driver for this strategic pivot.
Qualcomm’s game-changing commitment
Days before MWC 2025 officially opened, Qualcomm made an announcement that it would reshape the Android ecosystem: an unprecedented eight-year support timeline for its chipsets. The Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, currently powering flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, becomes the first beneficiary of this extended support window.
This commitment addresses what has historically been the greatest obstacle to long-term Android updates—chipset compatibility. Even companies with strong sustainability goals, such as Fairphone, have struggled with this limitation. Despite Fairphone’s ambitions to create infinitely updatable, eco-friendly devices, the company faced insurmountable challenges with aging chipsets that lacked official support, ultimately forcing it to abandon its most extensive update cycles.
The importance of Qualcomm’s announcement cannot be overstated, as the company’s processors power the vast majority of premium Android devices. By extending support to all future Snapdragon 7 and 8 series chips, Qualcomm has removed a critical barrier that previously prevented manufacturers from offering long-term software commitments.
This shift has immediate implications for software development practices across the Android ecosystem. Developers of custom Android skins can now plan with greater confidence, knowing the underlying hardware will remain supported for nearly a decade.
AI as the catalyst for extended support
The surge in artificial intelligence capabilities represents a fundamental driver behind these extended support timelines. Companies recognize that AI features—particularly generative AI—will continuously evolve and improve smartphones over the coming years.
| Manufacturer | Support Period | AI Strategy |
| Qualcomm | 8 years | Hardware acceleration for on-device AI |
| Honor | 7 years | “Honor Alpha Plan” for AI integration |
| Samsung | 7 years | Galaxy AI ecosystem |
| 7 years | Gemini and on-device AI capabilities |
Honor’s announcement in Barcelona aligns with this trend. The company unveiled its ambitious “Honor Alpha Plan,” positioning itself as an emerging artificial intelligence giant while committing to seven years of updates for its Magic series devices.
From a business perspective, longer support periods create larger addressable markets for AI services. Manufacturers can maintain a larger user base for premium AI features without requiring hardware upgrades by ensuring that today’s devices remain compatible with tomorrow’s AI innovations.
This mutually beneficial arrangement strengthens the entire Android ecosystem against iOS. Users benefit from devices that remain relevant longer, while manufacturers and developers gain a larger, more stable platform for deploying advanced AI capabilities.
Technical foundations for extended support
The technical architecture supporting these extended lifespans relies on several innovations:
- Modular OS components that can be updated independently
- Enhanced security infrastructure for long-term patch management
- Dedicated AI processing units optimized for future AI workloads
- Battery health management to ensure physical longevity matches software support
- Storage optimization techniques to accommodate larger updates
These technical foundations are essential for delivering on the promise of extended support periods. Without them, software updates would eventually overwhelm aging hardware, leading to poor performance despite continued compatibility.
The future roadmap for Android longevity
Challenges remain, while the industry has significantly increased update timelines. Perhaps most critical is reducing the delay between Google’s release of new Android versions and their availability on third-party devices. Currently, this process can take several months for many manufacturers.
Additionally, hardware durability must keep pace with software longevity. A phone that receives updates for eight years provides little benefit if its battery fails after three years or if physical components deteriorate.
The smartphone industry’s convergence of AI capabilities and extended software support represents a watershed moment. As devices become increasingly capable of learning and adapting to user behavior, the traditional concept of obsolescence is fundamentally changing.
The Android revolution powered by artificial intelligence isn’t just about adding new features—it’s about transforming our relationship with mobile technology from disposable gadgets to enduring companions that improve with age.
