Most of the time when a company is not updating or enabling certain features in older phones that are available in newer devices. More often than not these issues are due to hardware limitations. However, Google has now changed the game and is now refusing to provide people with newer features even though the hardware supports them!
The Issue
Recently Google updated its latest flagships the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro with the latest C-Band 5G however this is what actually sparked a lot of issues as these updates for the C-Band 5G features were only limited to the 6 and the 6 pro and older pixel devices were excluded from these updates.
In a later clarification, Google accepted that older devices did support the update to C-Band 5G as far as hardware was concerned but were not going to receive the update. Google is pretty adamant on their stand.
Only In the US Though
The issue is apparently only in the United States as Google will not be updating the device specified in the US. Google in their statement particularly mentioned that the update to C-Band 5G is supported by the older models but will not be provided in the United States.
“Earlier Pixel Models have C-band capable hardware and are enabled for operation in certain countries but that the company does not have any plans to support C-band operation in the US for those earlier Pixel models.” – Google
Google May Have a Bigger Plan
There is no company on the planet that wakes up one fine day and does not support certain devices or does not upgrade certain devices. Google has carefully planned what they are doing and it is going to benefit their business.
People often purchase older devices that have certain updated features to save money and this is also prevalent in the US. The US is a good market for the latest Google Pixel right now and that is exactly why Google is taking this step.
People are buying the Pixel 6 devices in huge amounts in the US and Google is coming up to be a strong competitor for Samsung and Apple here. If the updates are provided people may just end up buying the much cheaper older Pixel devices from eBay and other sites and that will damage the sales considerably.
However, this decision is not sitting well with people who put their hard-earned money in their Pixel 5 expecting robust support.
Phones That Aren’t Eligible For An Update
Now when we say they are not getting the update. They are not getting the update specifically in the US. The reason behind this was not told by Google and this does seem like a quick money grab opportunity for Google.
Phones Not Being Updated
- Pixel 4a
- Pixel 5
- Pixel 5a
We hope that the phones do somehow get an aftermarket update method for the benefit of the users.
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