These days, a phone needs something special to separate it from the competition. Most smartphones handle the basics just fine, but to be considered among the best Android devices around, you have to nail some key categories.
Sure, everyone wants to take excellent night shots or have their battery last as long as possible, but some under-the-hood basics count too. As more people continue to hold onto phones for three, four, or even five years, a long-lasting and reliable update schedule is crucial, and it's in this arena where OnePlus hopes to strengthen its grasp.
After holding an event in London earlier this week, the company is doubling down on its current update schedule. According to OnePlus, devices that fall under its new plan will get four major software upgrades and five years of security patches.
It's enough to put the company in the forefront of Android update support, just as longevity is becoming an essential aspect of any smartphone.
Of course, there are a couple of caveats to this announcement, a plan that would otherwise crush Google's own policies and compete head-to-head with Samsung.
First off, only "select" phones launched in 2023 onwards will qualify for this commitment.
If you just bought a OnePlus 10 Pro or 10T during the company's Black Friday sale, you'll have to settle for three major Android updates and four years of security patches.
Second — and perhaps as important — is update speed. While five years of security patches is certainly admirable, OnePlus will continue to push out new software bimonthly.
For example, that means a phone that receives April's monthly update won't receive another until June.
Although no specific devices were highlighted in today's announcement, the wording — and lack of inclusion for current phones — suggests the OnePlus 11 will be the first to launch with this support.
If that's true, that phone will live to see Android 17, despite launching with Android 13.
That said, it remains to be seen if any future Nord phones will follow suit. When OnePlus last revised its update schedule, the Nord series wasn't held to the same standard as flagship phones.
Those caveats aside, it's worth emphasizing how impressive this policy is.
As mentioned, this ties Samsung's own commitment — albeit with fewer updates per year — and bests Google's own Pixel lineup.
The Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 series are only set to receive three major Android versions each, along with five years of security patches.
As part of today's announcement, OnePlus also teased OxygenOS 13.1, set to launch in the first half of next year with a broader focus on user security.
It'll be the latest version to launch after a strange, messy pseudo-merge with ColorOS, which saw the two platforms share a codebase without explicitly tying the knot.
OxygenOS 14 was also teased, though without any specific details on future changes.