The Pixel 6 just got a free software upgrade that makes it my favorite budget Android phone

With all the hardware changes and camera upgrades that come with every phone launch, it's easy to look past the more subtle but very important aspect of software update policies. To put it simply, that's the company's commitment to keeping its phones up to date, including annual operating system upgrades (in line with Android or iOS), security patches, and other feature drops.

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Because the phone's hardware can only hold up for so long, software updates are critical to keeping the device running smoothly and safely for an extended period of time. That's why the latest news from Google, which comes via a change to the Pixel support page, is such a big deal. 

As discovered by Mishaal Rahman, Google has officially extended its software update ...