Here’s what we can say about the support lifespan (life expectancy) of major Android versions.

Unfortunately, there’s no official, version-by-version support policy from Google—Android doesn’t publicly specify how long each release gets supported. Still, based on historical data, we can estimate typical durations.

Official Lifecycle Data (via Wikipedia)

From the Android version history page, we can extract the following:

Android Version Release Date End of Security Updates (Wikipedia) Approximate Support Duration KitKat (4.4) Oct 31, 2013 October 2017 ~4 years Lollipop (5.0–5.1) Nov 4, 2014 / Mar 2, 2015 November 2017 / March 2018 ~2.5–3 years Marshmallow (6.0) Sept 29, 2015 August 2018 ~3 years Nougat (7.0–7.1) Aug–Oct 2016 August–October 2019 ~3 years Oreo (8.0–8.1) Aug / Dec 2017 Jan 2021 / Oct 2021 ~3–3.5 years Pie (9.0) Aug 6, 2018 January 2022 ~3.5 years Android 10 Sept 3, 2019 February 2023 ~3.5 years Android 11 Sept 8, 2020 February 5, 2024 ~3.4 years Android 12 October 4, 2021 March 3, 2025 ~3.4 years Android 13 August 15, 2022 August 2025 (projected) ~3 years Android 14–16 Oct 4, 2023 / Sept 2024 / June 10, 2025 Still supported (as of mid-2025) N/A

(Based on release and support details from the Android version history table.) (Wikipedia)

Observed Trend: ~3 Years Average Support

Community source observations approximate that Android versions receive around 3 years of security updates:

  • A StackOverflow comment estimates:

    “It appears … consistently around 3 years after initial release that security patches stop being applied,” i.e., approximately a 3-year support lifecycle. (Stack Overflow)

  • Another calculation (as of September 2025) puts the average lifespan at approximately 3.25 years, with the more recent versions seeing around 3.4 years of support. (Stack Overflow)

So while there’s no official guarantee, real-world data supports the ~3–3.5 years range.

Summary Table

Android Version Released Support End (approx.) Lifespan Estimate KitKat (4.4) Oct 31, 2013 Oct 2017 ~4 years Lollipop (5.x) Nov 2014 – Mar 2015 Nov 2017 – Mar 2018 ~2.5–3 years Marshmallow (6) Sept 2015 Aug 2018 ~3 years Nougat (7.x) Aug–Oct 2016 Aug–Oct 2019 ~3 years Oreo (8.x) Aug & Dec 2017 Jan–Oct 2021 ~3–3.5 years Pie (9) Aug 2018 Jan 2022 ~3.5 years Android 10 Sept 2019 Feb 2023 ~3.5 years Android 11 Sept 2020 Feb 2024 ~3.4 years Android 12 Oct 2021 March 2025 ~3.4 years Android 13 Aug 2022 Aug 2025 (proj.) ~3 years Android 14–16 2023–2025 Still active N/A

Context & Limitations

  • No formal Android version lifecycle policy exists. Google hasn't publicly committed to specific durations—support varies. (endoflife.date, Stack Overflow)

  • These estimates reflect security support, not necessarily major feature updates or platform compatibility.

  • Device manufacturers (Samsung, Google Pixel, etc.) often offer fixed support lifespans per device, which might extend beyond—or differ from—the Android version’s coverage.

Bottom Line

  • Typical security support span for Android versions is ~3 to 3.5 years.

  • Some older versions (like KitKat) enjoyed longer (~4 years), but recent versions (Android 10–13) are closer to the 3.4-year mark.

  • Because there’s no central, guaranteed timeline from Google, these figures are empirical best estimates. (Stack Overflow)

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