It’s the beginning of the end for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro

Moments ago, Google released its latest testing-track build for Android’s enthusiast community, with Android 17 QPR2 Beta 1. And as we look forward to this software ultimately arriving as Google’s 2026 Q4 Android release, not every phone will be coming along for the journey: This is the end of the line for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro.

Google launched the Pixel 6 phones back on October 19, 2021, ahead of sales beginning on October 28. Originally, Google only committed to three years of OS updates, and that would have stranded these phones on Android 15. But after the Pixel 8 series introduced Google’s modern seven-year update commitment, Google went back and gave the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 a support extension, bringing them both up to five years.

Well, while QPR1 (aka the September Feature Drop) will be arriving before the Pixel 6 turns five, QPR2 isn’t set for its public release until after October — making these two just too old to make the cutoff. The Pixel 6a will stick around for these next few Beta cycles, and presumably get Android 18, but the clock’s already ticking on this one, too, with that five-year birthday coming up in just over a year, on July 21, 2027.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to Google’s support commitment, and we’ve had all these deadlines telegraphed for us years in advance. But considering just how very long it’s been since the Pixel 5 missed out on a new Android Beta, this absolutely still feels like a milestone — Android 14 QPR1 Beta 1 first excluded the Pixel 5 all the way back in September 2023.

Admittedly, we’ve still got the September Feature Drop to look forward to, and it’s not like the Pixel 6’s story is ending overnight here — even without new platform updates, people are still going to keep using these phones. But this is also the first we’ve looked at Google’s list of supported hardware in a long time and it’s not growing — but shrinking a little, instead.

From here on out, that’s a trend that’s only going to continue for the next year or so, with the Pixel 7, 7 Pro, 7a, and even the Pixel Fold following. After that, though, we get another reprieve, and the Pixel 8 won’t lose its update support until October 2030. By then, who knows what Google’s Pixel support guarantees will even look like?

Do you still have a lot of love for the Pixel 6? Have you been putting off your next hardware update until Google’s software support truly dries up? Tell us what makes the Pixel 6 your favorite down in the comments.