After being introduced at I/O three years ago, today is the last day that Google’s midrange phones from 2019 will receive a guaranteed upgrade. Google will nevertheless provide the Pixel 3a and 3a XL with one more update, just like previous iterations.

Update 6/7: Yesterday, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL received a minor update (.002 -andgt;.006) that is still part of the May security patch along with the other June security patch updates. It appeared on Verizons site .

OTA OTA Google has now informed us that this upgrade for 2019’s mid-range phones isn’t the last one. Still, July should be the target release date.

Original 5/2: For the Pixel 3a series, security updates and the Guaranteed Android version expire in May 2022. This morning, all supported Google phones received the Android 12.1/12L (SP2A.220505.002) OTA update.

This afternoon, Google provided the following comment to 9to5Google:

We declared that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will get three years of software upgrades and three years of security updates starting from the time they were first made available on the Google Store in May 2019. By July 2022, users of the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will receive the final update.

According to a close reading of Google’s statement (and previous practice), users of the Pixel 3a shouldn’t anticipate an update next month, when Android 12 QPR3 is anticipated to become stable for the Pixel 4 and newer models. The QPR3 and Android 13 Beta Programs already do not accept 2019 midrange phones.

Whether the phones will receive QPR3 or just a minor cumulative security update based on Android 12L that incorporates patches from June and July is something we’ve asked Google to clarify. The Pixel 3a will not receive the next Feature Drop as is.

This final update’s two-month delay is comparable to the original Pixel and Pixel 2, but longer than the Pixel 3/XL’s (four months).
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