Last Updated: February 06, 2023, 13:42 IST
OnePlus 11 will be the first to see this change
The company is going to launch a slew of devices this week for the global market and it could make the formal announcement.
OnePlus is now going to increase the shelf life of its devices, starting with the OnePlus 11 5G that is launching in India this week. OnePlus has been lagging in terms of its software support over the years, which forces people to upgrade or switch to other brands.
But the company is now assuring people that with the OnePlus 11 5G that won’t be necessary. Pete Lau, Founder, OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 11 5G will be the first flagship device from the company to get 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates.
We’re adding another dimension to Fast and Smooth. The #OnePlus11 is our first flagship supporting 4 years of Android versions and 5 years of security updates.Fast, smooth and truly built to last. pic.twitter.com/f9DDdVcpZN
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) February 3, 2023
The OnePlus 11 5G has launched with Android 13-based OxygenOS, and if it does get 4 years of OS updates, then OnePlus 11 5G buyers will get support for the device up to Android 17 in 2026 and another update to secure the device till 2027. OnePlus will be joining the likes of Samsung with this extended software support.
Having said that, Samsung has managed to extend its longer OS support to other tier devices, and not just the premium ones. So it would be ideal if OnePlus could have a similar play with the software for the Nord and the mid-tier R series devices, since all of them run on the same operating system. For now, Lau’s statement does mention flagship, but we are hoping to get some clarity on that aspect from the company later this week.
With this announcement, OnePlus and Samsung have closed the gap with Apple thanks to their respective OS support cycle. Google is still behind in this race for the Pixels, promising three years of OS update and further one year for security.
But in the past few years we have seen Google make an exception and offer out-of-cycle updates for its older Pixel devices, if the security risk is severe. OnePlus 11 5G is launching along with the OnePlus 11R on February 7 for global markets, and there are other products expected to be announced.
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