Google’s upcoming flagship phone series, the Pixel 9, is scheduled to launch worldwide on August 13th. With the launch date nearing, leaks have already revealed a lot of details about the new devices.
However, a recent report has introduced an unexpected twist — the Pixel 9 might not come with the anticipated Android 15 update at launch. Instead, it may ship with Android 14, breaking Google’s usual practice of releasing its phones with the latest Android version.
According to Android Headlines, all four models in the Pixel 9 series—the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro Fold (the successor to the Pixel Fold), and the new Pixel 9 Pro XL—are expected to come with Android 14.
Google released the final beta of Android 15 earlier this month, and the stable version should be coming soon. However, there’s no exact date for its release yet; it could be anytime between August and October. This means that Android 15 is still not ready for Pixel 9 to ship out of the box.
This would be a first for Google. All the Pixel smartphones so far have launched with the latest Android version available at the time. For example, the Pixel 8 series, which debuted in October last year, came with Android 14 right out of the box.
However, the Pixel 9 series is launching two months earlier than usual, which is why it will not have Android 15 at launch. If it had followed the October timeline of its predecessors, it would likely have come with Android 15 from the start.
Despite this delay, Google is expected to maintain its commitment to software support. Starting with the Pixel 8 series, the company began offering up to 7 years of updates which include OS upgrades, security patches, and Pixel feature drops. This commitment is likely to extend to the Pixel 9 series as well, meaning the Pixel 9 should receive software support until 2031.
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