OnePlus Software Maintenance Schedule: Here Are The Details

Android users are finally starting to realize how much they're being left behind in updates. Tired of iPhone owners gloating every year about major iOS updates, they have started to raise their voices and, fortunately, some OEMs are starting to take heed. Huawei just recently promised to push out updates every two months. Now OnePlus is making a similar commitment but has even more details to share. And, at least on the surface, it's all good.

All OnePlus phones will have two years of "Regular Software Maintenance" starting from their release dates. This includes new features, new Android versions, and Android Security patches. Unlike Google, Essential, and HMD, however, releases will be bi-monthly, not monthly. Better late than never, right?

But wait, there's more! After that two-year period is over, OnePlus will still provide "Software Security Maintenance" updates for an additional one year. That only includes Android Security patches and are, again, released only every two months. Those ranges actually mirror the same policy Google used for its Nexus and Pixel phones (except the Pixel 2).

That schedule takes effect right now but, sadly, OnePlus isn't resetting the counter. That means that the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, both of which launched in 2016, will get their last Regular Software Maintenance in November this year and will then start its final leg of bi-monthly security updates. No definite timeline has been given for the OnePlus 5 and the OnePlus 5T.

This is definitely good news and once again shows how OnePlus will do everything it takes to set itself apart from the status quo. That said, we still have to see how well they will perform in practice in the coming months.