Google came up with a three-year update plan which means that updates were guaranteed just for three years. Nexus devices reached this deadline recently and their owners had to deal with the fact that the Nexus line is officially dead. The last official build appeared to be build number OPM7.181105.004.
Nonetheless, just when everyone was mourning the Nexus handsets, Google surprised us. Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P have received a new security update. The owners of Nexus 5X and 6P devices can now update to build number OPM7.181205.001.
The end of the Nexus line
Despite this last update, you should not get your hopes up. For example, if you are hoping for an Android update, this is unlikely. Both Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X run Android 8.1 Oreo, and there is not sign that they will ever receive Android Pie.
Meanwhile, Google’s other children, the Pixel handsets, have all received the Android Pie update. Not only that Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X were not expected to receive Android Pie, but Google is no longer obliged to push security updates after the last November security patch.
Obviously, the fact that Googles does not have to do that does not mean that Google won’t do that, and this is something that has been proved by the latest security update. Both Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were introduced back in September 2015. The first one is LG-made, while the second one is Huawei-made.
It has become quite clear that the true heirs of Google will be the Google Pixel line. They adopted all the good parts of the Nexus devices and they came with a few improvements of their own. However, if you own a Nexus device you shouldn’t lose your hope. It appears that Google is still willing to release security updates and there is also a large community of ROM tweakers ready to help.
Agnes is a technical writer, being in touch with reports to come up with the latest tech leaks.
