As a preface to this discussion, it might be useful to explain the relation between SoC manufacturer security updates vs Android security updates. It is true that major Android release upgrades and security patches might be released for years after the original release, with Fairphone being by far the industry leader in this regard, this is largely affected by the continuous support on the part of the SoC manufacturer. While it is possible to continue support for Android upgrades after the SoC manufacturer has dropped support, this imposes significant challenges, with the FP2 upgrade to Android 9 being one of the most notable examples. The same article suggests this also impacted the upgrade to Android 11 on the FP3 (and presumably Android 13).
The recently announced Fairphone 6 promises some significant upgrades to the somewhat technically dated Fairphone 5. A comprehensive comparison of technical specifications can be found here, one of the major changes being the SoC upgrade from the Qualcomm QCM6490 to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3.
While the QCM6490 was already not a particularly powerful chip compared to its contemporaneous competitors, with performance similar to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, it has been speculated since the announcement of the FP5 that this IoT SoC was selected for the longer expected timeline of support from Qualcomm: while they guaranteed 4 years of security updates for mobile chipsets, such as the Snapdragon 750G 5G on the FP4, the QCM6490 on the FP5 was promised support for a longer period, per Qualcomm’s 2022 longevity program.
Regarding the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, Qualcomm has recently announced up to 8-year support for new Snapdragon platforms, with details being dependent on the agreement with each OEM. However, this program is reported as being only applicable to the Snapdragon 8 Elite and newer chips. Quoting the official release statement:
- What devices are covered in this program?
Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered smartphones launching with Android 15 will be the first handsets that fall under this program. The program will cover the next five generations of Qualcomm Technologies ASICs as part of our collaboration with Google.
- Is it just Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered devices?
Later this year, smartphones and mobile phones launching on new Snapdragon 8 and Snapdragon 7-series mobile platforms will also be eligible to receive the extended software support being offered by Qualcomm Technologies. It’s important to note that the decision over whether an eligible device will take advantage of the extended software support will fall to the OEM.
- Will every Snapdragon 8 and 7-powered devices get updates?
Whether an eligible smartphone or mobile phone receives all the software support being offered by Qualcomm Technologies is up to the OEM. But Qualcomm Technologies is already seeing commitments from OEMs to keep their devices available to consumers for longer.
- What about previous Snapdragon platforms, will they also get 8 years of support?
Legacy platforms cannot take advantage of the extended support. Qualcomm Technologies will continue to work with OEMs on their software support needs for legacy platforms across our product lines.
The issue lies in the fact that the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 was announced before the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and shipped in an end product before the 8 Elite as well. Furthermore, the 7s Gen 3 is based on the Kryon CPU architecture, while the 8 Elite has the newer Oryon architecture. All of this leads me to question whether the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is included in the line of products covered by Qualcomm’s 8-year support program. If this is the case, the return to off-the-shelf Snapdragon chips seems to be far from ideal regarding the longevity of upgrade support for the FP6.
TL;DR: The feasibility of a OEM’s support for multiple years of Android upgrades and security patches is heavily influenced by the respective support by the SoC manufacturer. The Fairphone team faced this issue already on the FP2 with the 2021 upgrade to Android 9, after Qualcomm had stopped supporting new versions of Android on the 2013 Snapdragon 801. While in 2020 Qualcomm committed to 4 years of security patches for Snapdragon chips, which were also included in the FP3 and FP4, the FP5 was released with the QCM6490, an IoT chipset, presumably for the longer support period guaranteed by Qualcomm for IoT chipsets. With the FP6, Fairphone has returned to the Snapdragon line with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. Although Qualcomm has earlier this year announced its program for 8-year support for the Snapdragon 8 Elite and newer platforms, it is unclear if the 7s Gen 3 is covered by this commitment or if it is only covered by the 4-year support period.
Edit: I don’t mean to put in question Fairphone’s promise for 8 years of software updates, as they’ve always exceeded in this regard and been by far in the forefront of the industry standard for Android devices. I just found it strange from the first rumors of the specs, and now with the official announcement, that they have returned to mainline Snapdragon chips, as the move to the QCM6490 was always said to be related to extended official support from Qualcomm.
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