Google may have discontinued security updates for the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P

The flagship 'Nexus' smartphones were launched in 2015.

Back in 2016, Google introduced its Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones as the new standard-bearers of Android. With the introduction of the two flagships, the ‘Pixel’ brand finally replaced the ‘Nexus’ moniker as the official collective name for all of Google’s mobile computing devices. The last devices to bear the ‘Nexus’ brand were Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, the flagship smartphones that Google had launched in 2015. Now, a little over three years after their introduction, it seems that the last remnants of the long-running ‘Nexus’ line-up are no longer going to get any support.

Recently, Google made the January 2019 security patch available for the entire Pixel line-up, including Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 3, and Pixel 3 XL. While that’s not surprising, what’s worth noting is that the security update has also been released for Pixel C tablet (even if it’s based on the now-dated Android 8.1 Oreo). This is interesting, because Pixel C was launched alongside Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P in 2015. Considering how Google has released the Android security patch for a three-year old tablet but not the flagship smartphones that launched with it, it could very well be possible that the company has finally decided to pull the plug on software support for the Nexus duo, even though Google hasn’t officially mentioned anything about the same yet.

Watch: Google Pixel 3 XL Hands On

All said, it won’t be surprising if Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P don’t get any more security updates. The flagship smartphones were launched with Android Marshmallow on-board, and have already been updated to Android Oreo.