MediaTek Tops Snapdragon with Extended Software Support: Smartphone enthusiasts in the 2010s may have noticed that Mediatek-powered Android smartphones had a poor reputation for extended software support in comparison to Snapdragon-powered Android phones. This was primarily due to the more lenient access policies that Snapdragon chipsets offered to Android developers at the time. Consequently, support for Snapdragon devices will extend to two to three years, whereas MediaTek devices were only supported for one to two years in the 2010s.
MediaTek Tops Snapdragon with Extended Software Support
In contrast, it appears that Mediatek-powered Android flagships will have software support comparable to or even longer than Snapdragon-powered flagships in 2023, as one smartphone manufacturer demonstrated with the launch of two flagship smartphones last month. The manufacturer of the Xiaomi 13T and Xiaomi 13T Pro is Xiaomi.
Xiaomi has guaranteed that both the 13T and 13T Pro, which were introduced on September 26, 2023, will receive five years of Android security updates and four years of significant Android OS updates. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the assurance of updates is specific to the Xiaomi 13T series and not the Xiaomi 13 series, which was introduced earlier this year featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
| Xiaomi 13T Series | Xiaomi 13 Series | |
| Devices | Xiaomi 13T, Xiaomi 13T Pro | Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 13 Pro, Xiaomi 13 Ultra |
| Processor | MediaTek Dimensity 8200 Ultra, MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| Promised Android OS Updates | 4 years | 3 years |
| Promised Security Updates | 5 years | 5 years |
The Xiaomi 13T and 13T Pro are equipped with the most recent Dimensity 8200 Ultra and Dimensity 9200+ smartphone processors from MediaTek, respectively. The two Dimensity processors are produced using TSMC’s industry-leading 4nm process, which is renowned for its high yields and exceptional power efficiency. This process is also employed in the A16 Bionic processor found in the iPhone 15.
In contrast, the Xiaomi 13, Xiaomi 13 Pro, and Xiaomi 13 Ultra are all propelled by Qualcomm’s flagship mobile processor of the year, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. However, only three years of significant Android updates and five years of Android security updates are guaranteed for the aforementioned three flagship models.
To clarify, this means that major Android OS updates will be delayed by one year for the Xiaomi 13 series, which was previously introduced and is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. This contradicts the rumour that MediaTek devices have shorter software support periods than Snapdragon devices.
