Currently, only Samsung and Google offer the longest software support for their flagships, which is seven years. OnePlus might receive praise for the clean UI it brings to its handsets, but it will likely be questioned as to why it does not follow the same approach as the two other companies, to which the Chinese firm’s President has an adequate reply. He believes rolling out software updates for seven years is pointless if the hardware cannot deliver the same experience.
OnePlus says that just because a company promises seven years of updates does not mean that the software experience will be the same; President also talks about eventual battery degradation
In an interview with Tom’s Guide, Kinder Liu, head of OnePlus, said that offering longer software updates ‘completely misses the point.’ While it is commendable that companies like Samsung and Google are making an effort to roll out the latest version of Android on previous-generation smartphones, it will hardly make a difference if the user experience is not the same. The OnePlus executive states that in addition to the software updates, the fluency of smartphones is just as important.
Owners of the OnePlus 12 will not get software updates for as long as those owning the Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, or any Galaxy S24 model, even though the flagship satisfies all the requirements, such as sporting the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, along with sufficient RAM and internal storage. The question is if this current hardware will deliver the same buttery-smooth UI experience after receiving two or three major software updates, as with every new release, we get a slew of features coupled with various cosmetic changes.
These changes are taxing on current-generation hardware, and even if they were not, OnePlus’ President touches on an extremely vital subject; battery life. A battery degrades faster than any other smartphone component, and depending on your usage, you can require a replacement after just 12 months. A professional battery replacement can be a costly endeavor too, and you will soon find that after a few annual updates, the smartphone’s runtime is not what you were experiencing before.
Hopefully, when battery technology ages less frequently and when we have superbly capable smartphone chipsets, OnePlus might consider increasing the total software support timeline. For now, the company is sticking with its usual strategy, with the OnePlus 12 offering incredible value to users for just $799.99, but it supports up to five years of software support.
News Source: Tom’s Guide
