Finally! Xiaomi guarantees 6 years of updates even for cheap phones. Is a new era beginning?

Xiaomi announced six years of patches for the Redmi 15C 5G phone, showing it takes EU regulations seriously. Improving support for cheap phones is definitely a positive development, especially for their owners. Following Samsung, another hegemon is joining, which will significantly extend the lifespan of these devices. Or will it?

Security Patches Are Not Android 21

Xiaomi guarantees updates for the Redmi 15C 5G until 2031. Six years. A great number for a phone that costs as much as three dinners at a restaurant. But when you read the details, you find that only one new Android version is confirmed – Android 17. Everything else is security patches.

And here’s where the math begins: if Xiaomi sends one patch per year, it technically fulfills the promise. It doesn’t say “monthly updates” or “regular updates” anywhere.

Samsung Promises More, But Delivers Less

Samsung guarantees six years of OS and security updates for its budget Galaxy A series. Sounds better than Xiaomi, right? But in practice, Samsung sends updates with months of delay, some regions get them half a year later, and cheap phones are always at the back of the queue.

Xiaomi is currently avoiding specific promises regarding frequency. This could be a tactic – better to promise less and deliver than to promise more and disappoint. Or it could mean that updates will arrive whenever it suits the manufacturer. We’ll see.

EU Pushes, Manufacturers Look for Cheap Ways Out

European regulation clearly states: you must provide updates for phones years after you stop selling them. For cheap models, this means a problem. Updates cost time and money – every phone has different hardware, different drivers, everything needs to be tested. For a phone costing 30,000, it pays off; for a five-thousand-crown phone, it doesn’t.

That’s why most manufacturers promise only a minimum for cheap phones – two years of OS, three years of security patches. However, a company like Fairphone has been showing for years that it can be done differently. They have smaller volumes but manage long-term support. Xiaomi has a huge user base – it can spread the cost of updates across millions of units sold. The question is whether it will take advantage of this, or if it will settle for the minimum.

What do you think about the improving support for cheap phones?

Source: Notebookcheck