Google rolled out the November security patch to all Pixel 4 and newer devices, which meant that it left behind the Pixel 3 Series, or so we thought. Google later confirmed that the Pixel 3 would receive another update sometime in early 2022, which brought up the question of how long the Pixel 3a Series will be supported and whether it would receive Android 12L.

Now that we know when the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL will reach their end of life, it’s time to focus on the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL affordable devices. The Pixel 3a Series were expected to receive their final security patch in May 2022, and today we found out these devices are in for a treat (via GSMArena).

Google updated its Android Beta page that shows what devices qualify to take part in the Android 12L Beta program, and it lists all of the devices by name. The list shows the Pixel 3a Series, and all newer Pixels are supported, which gives us hope that they might actually receive Android 12L. It’s important to keep in mind that Google can change its mind at any point, and it could decide that Android 12L doesn’t perform well on the Pixel 3a hardware, and it could end support and not roll out Android 12L later. 

The Android 12L Beta 1 will start rolling out to developers in September. It’s expected to be publicly available to everyone sometime in Q1 of 2022, which gives it just enough time to make it onto the Pixel 3a Series. There’s some hope that the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL would also receive it – since their end-of-life dates line up with the Android 12L update schedule.

To give you a quick refresher, Android 12L is further optimized for tablets, foldables, and even ChromeOS devices to work better on larger displays – including the Galaxy Z Fold Series. Android 12L will include neat new features that’ll allow larger devices to multitask and take advantage of the larger screen real estate.