OnePlus Promises 3 Years of Android Updates for Flagship Devices

OnePlus is making a significant change to its mobile OS department to further improve the software efficiency and standardize the experience across its products. Following its recent merger with Oppo, the company will be integrating the codebase of OxygenOS and Oppo’s ColorOS in the coming days. As a result of this important change, the company is shifting to a new update schedule for its devices. It will ensure 3 years of major Android updates and 4 years of security updates for OnePlus flagship devices.

The Chinese giant announced the new change via an official blog post on its community forum recently. The move comes after OnePlus realized that it needs “significantly more resources and a larger technology platform” to cater to its ever-growing user base. So, the company will be leveraging its partnership with Oppo to improve OxygenOS.

New OxygenOS Update Schedule for OnePlus Phones

Following the integration, OnePlus will maintain an improved maintenance schedule for the lifecycle of its products. As a result, the OnePlus 8 series and newer devices will receive 3 major Android updates and 4 years of security updates. OnePlus users have been requesting this change for a long time, especially, after Samsung promised to deliver Android updates to various of its smartphone lineups for 4 years.

Furthermore, the first OnePlus Nord and newer Nord / Nord CE devices will receive 2 major Android updates and 3 years of security updates. The lower-end OnePlus Nord N series, that is the Nord N10, N100, and N200, on the other hand, will receive 1 major Android update and 3 years of security updates.

Now, it is worth mentioning that flagship devices that came before the OnePlus 8 series will follow the current maintenance schedule. This means that they will receive 2 major Android updates and 3 years of security updates.

OxygenOS + ColorOS Integration: What It Means?

If you remember, earlier this year, when the OnePlus 9 series launched in China, CEO Pete Lau announced that the flagship series will ship with ColorOS 11 instead of HydrogenOS (the Chinese counterpart of OxygenOS) in its home country. Well, today’s announcement builds on that move.

The codebase integration is happening, which means we will see a stronger ColorOS resemblance (and influence) in OxygenOS. But OxygenOS will remain the primary OS for OnePlus phones in global markets. Moreover, it will be built on a more stable and stronger platform.

The change in OxygenOS will be automatically applied to new devices. As for existing devices still under maintenance schedule, the change will be applied via an OTA update along with Android 12.

Moreover, as the integration will happen behind the scenes, OnePlus says that most users would not even notice the change. However, the company believes that the new change will ensure a better software experience going forward.