The Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL have reached the end of their three years of guaranteed software support. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Google has released this month’s Pixel security patch, and as Android Police points out, it’s the last one that the Pixel 4 and 4 XL are scheduled to receive. By no coincidence, the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro are set to be announced later this week. (When one device’s software support window closes, another one opens.)
While the more recent Pixel 6, 6 Pro, and 6A all come with a promised five years of security updates, the Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL launched in 2019 with three years of guaranteed security updates. This isn’t necessarily the very end of the road for the Pixel 4 since Google tends to issue one final security patch for end-of-life devices a bit after the official support window has closed. More than anything, it’s kind of symbolic: closing one chapter for an earlier Pixel device as a new one arrives.
The Pixel 4 was the first in the series to offer two rear cameras rather than one, which Google stuck with even after two or three rear cameras started to become the norm. It added a modest 2x telephoto camera that it paired with its Super Res Zoom technology to reach beyond that limited focal length. It wasn’t (and still isn’t, tbh) as good as optical zoom, but the Pixel 4’s overall camera capabilities were competitive with one of the best dedicated point-and-shoot cameras of the time.
Aside from its significance for the Pixel 4, the October security patch is available starting today and provides minor bug fixes related to audio playback and controls along with UI and connectivity hiccups.