Recently, some companies such as Samsung and Google have started promising severs years of software updates for some of their new phones. OnePlus, on the other hand, is only providing up to five years of Android updates for its phones such as the new OnePlus 12, and its justification for this centres around user experience.
In an interview with Tom’s Guide, OnePlus president and COO Kinder Liu explains that the Chinese company has no intention of matching Samsung’s move in the future. According to Liu, “it’s not just software update policies that are important to the user, it’s the fluency of your phone’s user experience too,” meaning that extended software support isn’t much use if the phone’s hardware isn’t capable of running it smoothly.
Using to metaphor to further illustrate his point, he said: “Imagine your phone is a sandwich. Some manufacturers are now saying that the filling in their sandwich — their phone’s software — will still be good to eat in seven years’ time. But what they’re not telling you is that the bread in the sandwich — the user experience — might be moldy after four years. Suddenly a seven-year software update policy doesn’t matter, because the rest of your experience with the phone is terrible.”
The OnePlus president went on to say that the brand’s testing with TUV SUD showed that the company can only guarantee a smooth experience within four years of use, including the phone’s battery health. “When our competitors say their software policy will last seven years, remember that their phone’s battery may not,” he added.
The OnePlus 12 comes with four years of Android upgrades and five years of security patches. Meanwhile, the more affordable 12R gets three years of upgrades and four years of security support.
(Source: Tom’s Guide)
