Google Deprioritizes Android OS Updates, Restricting Top AI Features to 12GB Flagships
Updated
Updated · Android Authority · Jun 10
Google Deprioritizes Android OS Updates, Restricting Top AI Features to 12GB Flagships
1 articles · Updated · Android Authority · Jun 10
Summary
Google now delivers many Android features and fixes through app updates and Play System Updates, making major OS releases less central to how users get new capabilities.
Android 9 phones can run Gemini, and Android 8 devices can access features like Ask Maps and Ask Photos, showing that recent additions often bypass the latest Android version entirely.
Security updates have also been split from full OS upgrades, with Google, Samsung and other OEMs pushing patches separately, while Play System Updates reach Android 10 and newer through the Play Store.
Gemini Intelligence marks a sharper shift: beyond Android 17, it needs a flagship chip, 12GB of RAM, Android AICore, Gemini Nano v3, 5 years of OS upgrades and 6 years of security support.
Those requirements leave only limited current devices eligible—notably Pixel 10 models excluding the 10a and Samsung's S26 line—raising questions about the value of long update promises when marquee features stay hardware-gated.