Longer software support shouldn’t be the reason you buy a high-end phone

Some smartphones, like Apple’s iPhones and Google’s Pixels, offer several years of software support, depending on the brand you choose. However, there are other smartphone manufacturers that offer far fewer years, like ASUS and its ROG Phones, while still charging the same amount as one of the more expensive flagship devices. While it might be tempting to view software support as the most important aspect of whether or not you should pay $1,200 for a smartphone, it really shouldn’t be the final deciding factor.

Make no mistake, software support is an extremely important part of owning a smartphone. The last thing you want to do is choose one that you plan to use for years and then has no software support after the second or third year. Not only do updates released for your device bring new features and changes to the operating system, but they also largely concern software security and fixes for potential vulnerabilities that might arise over the lifespan of the smartphone. As such, having a phone with long software support is a godsend. That’s just not the whole story, as you can also get a budget phone that will have a long support period.

Just because your phone should have seven years of software support doesn’t mean every new feature released will also be on your seven-year-old smartphone. This is an important caveat to keep in mind before buying an expensive phone just because it’s on offer. Sometimes technical limitations can get in the way, and other times companies may decide to discontinue certain features to bring them to their newer devices.

We saw this happen with the Pixel 8, when Google announced that it wouldn’t be bringing Gemini Nano to the 8. Although Google eventually gave up on this, other companies like Samsung often release new features on their newest devices and then take months to bring them to older devices. Some brands, like Apple, have also seen this problem arise in recent years. When the company first introduced Apple Intelligence, for example, its older devices like the iPhone 14 didn’t receive all the upgrades that iOS 18 brought, leading to some confusion among users.

The reason was that these devices did not have enough RAM to support Apple Intelligence, which the iPhone began to rely heavily on to drive new functions. Instead of just buying a phone to get longer software support, you should also look at what matters and weigh everything together before making your decision.

Just because you need longer support doesn’t mean you should go for the most expensive phone on the market. With the budget phone market currently in flux due to ongoing RAM shortages, we’ve seen these longer support windows extended to much cheaper devices. The Pixel A series, for example, offers many of the same basic features as the most expensive Pixel flagships, but at a significantly reduced price. Additionally, these Pixel A devices also come with the same length of software support window, meaning you get the same number of years of support but for much less money.

This is also true for other smartphone brands, like Apple and even Samsung, who offer their own cheaper and more budget-friendly smartphones. Of course, not all companies will approach software support in the same way. It is therefore important to understand exactly what the promise made by these companies means. But if you let that be the only reason you buy a high-end phone, you might miss a chance to not only save money, but also get great software support in the process.