HMD Global has just announced a whole lot of new budget Nokia smartphones running on Android 11. The new Nokia X series, G series, and C series mark HMD's departure from the numeric naming and return to alphanumeric names, just like in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Among these smartphones, the Nokia X10 and X20 are the headliners of today's announcement, feature exciting characteristics such as 5G connectivity and ZEISS lenses for improved photography. On the software front, these X series phones also benefit from three years of Android OS updates, up from two updates previously.

Most of HMD Global's Android smartphones launched after the hiatus of the Nokia brand have received similar treatment in terms of software updates. Irrespective of their price, HMD Global has promised to or already delivered two Android version updates and three years of security updates to these devices. However, the Nokia X10 and the X20 are the first phones from the Nokia camp to get an extra year of software updates. Since these phones run on Android 11 out-of-the-box, they will get updated to Android 12, Android 13, and even Android 14. Besides, HMD Global will also offer monthly security updates for three years.

This promise of three years of Android updates puts the Nokia X10 and X20 on par with Google's Pixel devices and some of OnePlus' flagships after the OnePlus 3/3T. Incidentally, Samsung also announced three generations of Android updates for the Galaxy A52 and the Galaxy A72 smartphones, along with four years of security updates.

The Nokia X smartphones are powered by Qualcomm's budget 5G chipset — Snapdragon 480 — and that ensures the phones' readiness for the next generation of mobile connectivity. Besides the hardware, the promised three years of updates further ensure the X series smartphones' longevity. With this advantage, the Nokia X series devices can easily outlast many of their competitors from spec-centric brands like Xiaomi and Realme.