Google needs to fix its Pixel fragmentation problem before it's too late
What good is seven years of OS upgrades when you might not get the features that matter?
by Will Sattelberg · Android PoliceIt's been a long time since fragmentation was a common complaint among Android fans, but for those of us who have been around since the earliest days of the platform, it's a term sure to dredge up some memories. Whether it's complaining about your own daily driver experience or sitting through Apple's on-stage pie charts promoting its own iOS update successes, "fragmentation" was a real issue throughout the 2010s.
While Android's core feature set may no longer feel weighed down by a sense of decentralization, the same can't be said for Google's own smartphone lineup. As the company leans further into its growing hardware ecosystem, it's hard not to see fragmentation appear among its own devices. Factor in the brand's new seven-year OS upgrade policy, and knowing which Pixel does what is about to be more confusing than ever.
Project Mainline changed how we think about Android fragmentation
Although you won't hear much about it now, fragmentation was a massive issue facing Android in its earliest days. Throughout much of its first decade, fans and critics alike would decry slow OS upgrades, holding new features back from existing hardware for months as companies like HTC and Samsung worked to build unique skins for dozens of smartphones. And whenever you did finally get an update, it wasn't always a sure thing that the features you were most excited about would survive the transition.
But in Android's second decade, fragmentation isn't the problem it once was. Part of this comes from the ever-shrinking pool of OEMs — without companies like LG and HTC, we're only waiting for a few brands to roll out new software builds. Meanwhile, mobile giants like Samsung have gotten really good at bringing OS upgrades to customers faster than ever, often only a couple of weeks after Google finalizes a new build. These days, One UI betas for new Android versions start before a final stable build is ready, speeding up the process immensely.
And Google's work on the underlying OS architecture shouldn't go unnoticed. Most of the new features or additions people care about arrive through Google Play Services courtesy of Project Mainline, not through one-time annual upgrades like on the iPhone. That keeps Android feeling like an ever-evolving platform, not one that goes through massive overhauls just once per year. So even if you have, say, a Motorola phone stuck on Android 13, your experience isn't all that different from what you'll find on Motorola devices running Android 14.
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Older devices aren't getting the attention they deserve
With Android OS upgrades including fewer user-facing changes than ever, it makes sense that our collective attention has turned to OEM-exclusive features. That said, it's not just about including new tools to play with alongside hardware refreshes — it also matters how these updates trickle down to older hardware. And despite Google often being seen as the "Apple of Android," it's hard to dispute Samsung's upgrade game these days. Whenever something like Galaxy AI arrives on the scene, it doesn't take long before we hear about its plans for older devices.
That's not true for Pixel, though. When the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro launched last fall, there was no word on when many of their new AI features would make their way to older devices. Some of those once-exclusive tools rolled out as part of the December Pixel Feature Drop, but even today, the Pixel 8 Pro is the only way to get a full-featured, cutting edge Google experience. Even the smaller Pixel 8 lacks some of the same content.
In my eyes, Circle to Search really drove home the problems here, especially when it comes to comparing Google's platform to Samsung. The two companies worked together to roll out this AI-powered search tool in January, arriving on five phones at launch: the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, and all three Galaxy S24 devices. Makes sense from a launch perspective, right?
It didn't stay that way for long. Only a month after the S24 launched, Samsung confirmed its 2023 flagships would see Galaxy AI and Circle to Search by the end of March. Google, meanwhile, stayed mum on its intentions to bring the feature to older Pixels, biding its time until the March Feature Drop arrived. Even then, it couldn't help divvying up its latest search tool, bringing it to the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, but specifically failing to mention its other Tensor G2-powered phones.
But Samsung, true to its word, delivered its update on time to the entire Galaxy S23 series — including the S23 FE — alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5. Not only was that a much more organized launch than how Google brought its latest features to older hardware, but it meant Samsung's foldables had Circle to Search before the Pixel Fold. Think on that: Google's hardware failed to get Google's software first, instead playing second fiddle to its launch partner.
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What good are OS upgrade promises if they don't include actual features?
Source: Google
Alongside the March Pixel Feature Drop, Google included the above chart, in an attempt to make it clear to users what features are and aren't available on Android. If this doesn't spell the problem out, I don't know what does. Obviously, the chip in the Pixel 8 is more advanced than what was in its predecessors, but there's no reason for Google to hold so many features back compared to the competition. Even if hardware restrictions are to blame for some of these exclusions, there's no doubt companies like Samsung are just doing it better.
In fairness, Google brought Circle to Search to the Pixel Fold earlier this month, and you'll finally find it on phones like the Pixel 7a. But you see the problem here, right? Pixel fans are already stuck waiting weeks or months for new features to arrive if they aren't willing to upgrade their hardware year over year, and it's only becoming more apparent as new models roll out. What good is a seven-year OS policy and a custom chipset when something as simple as Circle to Search can't roll out to your recent hardware all in one fell swoop?
In some ways, Google is stuck between a rock and a hard place. It needs to move new Pixel hardware while simultaneously keeping those on older devices happy. It needs to please customers who want to keep their phones for half a decade or longer while innovating enough to bring new features to early adopters. And, obviously, not every new feature will work on legacy devices, especially as Google pushes forward on its dream of mastering mobile AI.
But the Pixel brand just isn't big enough to sustain the sort of ecosystem fragmentation it's already experiencing. Charts like the one shared last month simply cannot be the future of Google's smartphone lineup. The company needs to get better about bringing cutting-edge features to older hardware. At the very least, it needs to keep up with Samsung — otherwise, what's the point in sticking with Google's ecosystem anyway?
Google Pixel 8 Pro
The Google Pixel 8 Pro is the company's latest flagship, boasting a new Tensor G3 chip, a brighter screen, and a new camera array capable of capturing even more light. As usual, the real power lies in Google's Tensor chip, which offers even more photo enhancement and image editing features.