Android Nougat officially won't be landing on Nexus 5 or Nexus 7

Nexus 5

We were big fans of both the Nexus 5 and new Nexus 7 – and, being Nexus devices, one of the best things about them was speedy Android updates. But not any more – Google has just confirmed the end of updates for the devices.

A Google support page includes a schedule for when Android updates can no longer be guaranteed for Nexus devices, and for the Nexus 5 and new Nexus 7 that support guarantee ended in 2015. We've known for a while this day was coming, but some users held out hope that Google might have found a way through with Nougat.

Of course, just because there's no guarantee it doesn't absolutely mean there won't be an update; but it's looking very unlikely, especially as these two devices haven't been included in Google's list of Nexus devices that will be getting Android Nougat in the coming weeks.

Safety guaranteed

But if you own a Nexus 5 or new Nexus 7 it's not all bad news, as Google is guaranteeing security patches for three years (rather than the two year guarantee for version updates), so they should remain safe to use for the foreseeable future.

The update schedule, spotted by Phandroid, also shows that unsurprisingly the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 will be next to stop getting Android updates. They're both guaranteed support until October 2016, so don't expect to see Android O on them.

Owners of the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X will be safe until September 2017, so should get one more big Android update after Nougat.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.