While the more recent Pixel 6, 6 Pro and 6A all come with the promised five years of security updates, the Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL launched in 2019 with three years of guaranteed security updates. This is not necessarily the terribly end of the road for the Pixel 4, as Google tends to release a final security patch for end-of-life devices a bit after the official support window closes. It’s mostly symbolic: closing a chapter for a previous Pixel device when a new one arrives.
The Pixel 4 was the first in the series to offer two rear cameras instead of one, which Google stuck with even after two or three rear cameras started to become the norm. It added a modest 2x telephoto camera that it combined with its Super Res Zoom technology to reach beyond that limited focal length. It wasn’t (and still isn’t, tbh) as good as optical zoom, but the Pixel 4’s overall camera capabilities were competitive with one of the best dedicated point-and-shoot cameras of the time.
Aside from its significance for the Pixel 4, the October security patch is available from today and provides minor bug fixes related to audio playback and controls, along with UI and connectivity issues.