OnePlus says seven years of updates are ‘completely off base’

Following the Google Pixel 8 series, Samsung has matched industry-leading seven years of Android updates with the Galaxy S24 series, but OnePlus says that’s “completely beside the point.”

Long-term support for Android has long been an issue, as many Android devices are abandoned after less than a year or receive long-awaited updates. Samsung pushed the boundaries for a while with its long-term update policy, and then Google set a new industry standard by offering his whopping seven years of Android updates with the Pixel 8 series. It even surpassed the iPhone.

However, OnePlus has been delivering major Android updates for four years and bi-monthly security updates for five years with the latest OnePlus Open and OnePlus 12. However, given the timing of the latest release, some are wondering why OnePlus didn’t follow this path. Leaders of Google and Samsung.

According to OnePlus, providing seven years of Android updates is “completely missing the point.”

In an interview with tom’s guide, OnePlus president Kinder Liu explained that adding years of software updates is not enough because the “fluency of the phone’s user experience” needs to match that timeline. I am. Basically, you have to have enough experience in seven years for these updates to really matter.

As an example, Liu compares smartphone use to a sandwich.

Simply offering a longer software update policy is completely missing the point. It is not only the software update policy that is important to the user, but also the fluency of the mobile phone user’s experience.

Imagine your phone as a sandwich. Some manufacturers are now claiming that the ingredients in their sandwiches (the software in your phone) will still be edible seven years from now. But what they don’t tell you is that the sandwich bread, and thus the user experience, may get moldy after four years. A seven-year software update policy suddenly becomes irrelevant. Because the rest of the experience on the phone is terrible.

9to5Google’s opinion

Mr. Liu’s point here is very clear. There’s no point in updating software for years if you can’t guarantee that your experience with the device is good. And certainly, this is a real concern with what Google and Samsung are promising, especially in the case of the Pixel.

but, by saying this, OnePlus is unintentionally saying that it can’t guarantee the experience for that long, or at least won’t. At least in my book, OnePlus is completely justified in not supporting its phones for long periods of time. Software updates are not free, and OnePlus smartphones sell for less than those from Google and especially Samsung. As we said in last week’s review, the OnePlus 12 is the best value of any current flagship phone, even without the additional support period.

But like any excuse not to use wireless charging, this one seems unnecessary to explain the situation. Long-term software updates are absolutely critical as they allow these devices to last longer and more safely (and potentially increase their future resale value as well). That’s a good goal, but it’s disappointing to see OnePlus say it’s “completely off the mark” when the brand isn’t even trying.

What do you think?

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