During the European launch of the Magic V6 flip phone, HONOR announced a longer period of software support for its premium devices. Starting with the Magic 7 Pro, the Magic series phones should receive seven years of Android upgrades and security updates.
This policy puts HONOR on par with Samsung and Google, which also promise seven years of support for the best Galaxy S, Galaxy Z and Pixel phones. If the company consistently fulfills its promise, the new Magic models could remain software-updated almost throughout the device’s lifetime.
HONOR Magic phones get seven years of updates
Extended support includes major updates to the Android system, new versions of the MagicOS interface, and regular security patches. This means that the Magic 7 Pro and future models with this support should take significantly longer to receive new features, bug fixes, and protection against discovered security risks.
HONOR has extended support for the more affordable numbered series, whose selected models should receive six major Android updates. With this, the company is trying to extend the longer support period beyond the most expensive flagship devices.
However, there is an important limitation. The promise of seven years of support for the Magic series and six Android upgrades for the Number series currently applies to Europe and the UK.
For countries outside of Europe and Great Britain, HONOR currently guarantees six years of software support for the Magic series. That is still a long period, but a year shorter than the support that users on the European market will receive.
The new policy comes at a time when Android phone manufacturers are increasingly using the longevity of software support as an important selling point. Buyers of premium devices no longer expect only powerful hardware and good cameras, but also the ability to use the phone safely for many years, writes Unbox.