OnePlus Commits to Matching Samsung’s Level of Update Support

OnePlus made a big promise today for its best phones starting in 2023. The company committed to providing more software updates than ever, including an extra generation of OxygenOS, in addition to more security patches.

During an event in London, OnePlus announced that on “selected devices” launching in 2023, they will offer four generations of OxygenOS and five years of security updates. You may recall just last year that they committed to 3 years of OS and 4 years of security updates, so we’re improving here in a hurry.

This move essentially puts them up next to Samsung, who has committed to a similar length of support. Of course, we all know how quickly Samsung updates their devices, which OnePlus will have to work on if they want to truly match their biggest competitor. Google, for those curious, is still only doing 3 years of OS updates, but does at least match the 5 years of security patches.

I should point out that OnePlus is not committing to Android version updates and specifically mentioned “generations of OxygenOS” instead. The generations of OxygenOS over the years tend to match and/or launch with the new version of Android each year, so this could just be weird wording on their part. Let’s hope that it isn’t used as an out down the road.

OnePlus didn’t name the 2023 devices that will receive this new level of update support. However, I’d imagine it’ll be for their best, like the upcoming OnePlus 11 Pro. Most companies like to try and support their best and most expensive devices the longest to help the sales pitch on a device that can cost around $1,000. After the Pro series, I would be surprised to see the Nord line receive similar support.

In a bit of related news, OnePlus also announced that it is working on OxygenOS 13.1 and plans to release it in the first half of 2023. The update will offer improvements to the user experience in areas involving safety and privacy, as well as digital health and well-being. OnePlus confirmed that they’ve begun work on OxygenOS 14 as well.

OnePlus did not mention any of their already-released phones (ex: OnePlus 10 Pro) and why they aren’t extending this new commitment.

Does this news help with your view of OnePlus or are you all still being extra grumpy about the brand?