OnePlus finally promises to update its smartphones

Two years of major Android updates, and three years of "bi-monthly" security updates.
RON AMADEO

OnePlus has been releasing great bang-for-your-buck smartphones for several years now. The company usually combines the same high-end specs as the competition but with a price that is a few hundred dollars lower. One of the big tradeoffs for that low price has been OnePlus' update policy, which has always been something along the lines of " ¯_(ツ)_/¯ ." The company wouldn't commit to a support timeframe for its devices, which made investing $400-500 in one of its devices a bit of a gamble. It's something we've complained about in pretty much every OnePlus review from the past few years.

In a recent post on its forums, OnePlus has finally addressed update complaints by announcing a formal support policy. The company is promising major Android OS updates for two years and security updates for three years. The security updates aren't quite "monthly" security updates: OnePlus is only promising "bi-monthly" security updates. It's still a good start, however.

Several other flagship Android phones offer a two-year update plan with monthly security updates, while Google offers three years of major updates on the Pixel phones. No Android OEM wants to compete with Apple, though, which has been supporting iPhones for a whopping five years.

OnePlus' update policy goes into effect "immediately" and applies to the OnePlus 3 and 3T, OnePlus 5 and 5T, and the OnePlus 6. This change goes a long way toward fixing one of the biggest downsides to buying a OnePlus device. Now the company has a decent update policy (though we'd like to see monthly updates), unlocked bootloaders, hosted ROM downloads, and a beta program. Not bad, OnePlus.

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