The Snapdragon 8 Elite is Qualcomm’s first smartphone SoC to ship with fully custom Oryon cores, which only means a massive single-core and multi-core performance boost is guaranteed, combined with superior power efficiency and a huge uplift thanks to the Adreno 830. While all of these perks are excellent to have, one major significance of this chipset’s release is its ability to allow flagship smartphone owners to keep their devices for longer, thanks to increased software updates. That is correct, Qualcomm has said that the Snapdragon 8 Elite will enable 8 years of software updates, but there are still some details that are worth discussing, so let us begin.
Not all smartphones featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite will get 8 years of software updates, as the remaining effort needs to come from Qualcomm’s phone partners
The San Diego firm’s VP and GM of handsets, Chris Patrick, informed Mishaal Rahman during the Snapdragon Summit that the Snapdragon 8 Elite will provide 8 years of software updates. To clarify, the company states that this includes the operating system that comes pre-loaded in the smartphone powered by the newly announced chipset, making it 7 years, which is still a long time.
However, as you might have guessed, not all handsets will make it to the 7th anniversary, which is no fault of Qualcomm’s. As reported by the Android Authority, smartphone manufacturers have to make the required effort to ensure that their devices receive these updates for 7 years. The customization process of adjusting Qualcomm’s Android board support package with their own skin is also necessary, but some companies avoid this route because it costs more to keep people responsible for pushing out those updates.
Qualcomm will provide BSP support for the @Snapdragon 8 Elite for 8 generations of Android releases.
That 8 includes the original OS release, by the way, which means Qualcomm is supporting 7 years of updates!#SnapdragonSummit https://t.co/OBc85AOQNG
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 21, 2024
There have been cases where brands like Sony and others have only pushed out one software update along with a few security patches, despite the fact that the Qualcomm SoCs featured inside those devices supported up to three to four years of updates. In short, improving the longevity of flagship smartphones is a joint effort, and we are pleased to see Qualcomm take some initiative.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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