OnePlus Nord 4 is launching at the OnePlus Summer Launch event in India on July 16th. In the lead-up to the event, OnePlus has announced the Nord 4 will get 6 years of software updates. That is the longest software commitment from the brand. Not even its current flagship, the OnePlus 12 offers such long software support. So, let’s see how Nord 4’s software update policy compares to its Android rivals.
OnePlus Nord 4 software update policy
OnePlus Nord 4 will receive 4 years of Android OS upgrades and 6 years of security patches. For comparison, the Nord 3 was promised 3 years of platform updates and 4 years of security updates. Even the OnePlus 12 gets only 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates. So, Nord 4 gets 1 extra year of security patches than the OnePlus 12.
This is fine progress from 2 years of Android OS upgrades on the Nord 2, a phone released in 2021.
Nord 4 software update policy vs the industry
- OnePlus’s sister concern OPPO gives a total 5 years of updates (4 OS, 5 security), even for the flagship Find X7 Ultra.
- Realme and Vivo, its other sister concerns offer a maximum of 4 years of updates (3 OS, 4 security). However, their sub-Rs 30,000 phones like Realme 12 Pro+ and Vivo V30e offer only 3 years of total updates (2 OS, 3 security).
- Redmi and POCO are also behind OnePlus in this respect. POCO’s sub-Rs 30,000 phone, the POCO F6 offers a total of 4 years of updates (3 OS, 4 security). The policy is the same for Redmi Note 13 Pro+. Xiaomi 14 Ultra, the company’s flagship gets a total of 5 years of updates (4 OS, 5 security).
- Samsung and Google promise 7 years of total updates for their current flagships including OS upgrades and security patches. Samsung’s Galaxy F55 (a sub-Rs 30,000 phone) offers a total of 5 years of updates (4 OS, 5 security).
Why Nord 4 software update policy matters
- A longer update policy means your device could get new features for a longer period and stay secured against software vulnerabilities.
- OnePlus claims the Nord 4 is certified to run fluently for years. The device has been put through a 3-stage test which includes examining how much time the phone takes to perform everyday smartphone tasks, then checking how it fares in intensive tasks like copying huge files to its memory and fragmenting them, creating thousands of photos, sound files, and movies, generating more than 15,000 text messages, installing 180+ apps, and finally, the aged phone is made to do the same everyday tasks and use popular apps.
- The Nord 4 has got the TÜV SÜD Fluency 72 Month A rating since it performed this 3-stage test in an “acceptable amount of time”.
- OnePlus also says the phone’s battery is certified for 1,600 complete charging cycles and it should “charge effectively for years too“.
