Samsung sailed uncharted waters earlier this year with the announcement that its mainstream phones would receive four major OS upgrades and five years of security updates. The Korean company's policy looks destined to be the industry standard in the future, as OnePlus has now declared its intention to match it.
OnePlus, earlier today, announced that it would be providing select smartphones in 2023 with four Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates in total, a notable improvement on its previous policy of three major OS upgrades and four years of security OTAs.
While this means OnePlus matches Samsung's update policy in a way, the Korean juggernaut retains the advantage. For one, OnePlus indicates a bi-monthly security update schedule, while Samsung maintains a monthly one. In addition, this new policy will likely be effective for 2023 flagships and onwards. Ergo, starting with the OnePlus 11. Samsung offers its update policy even on budget devices like the Galaxy A33. Ultimately, however, both the OnePlus 11 and Samsung Galaxy S23 series will receive four major OS upgrades and five years of security patches. Budget phones like the OnePlus Nord lineup series are unlikely to benefit.
Android devices have come a long way in terms of software support over the past few years. While Apple's update policy still remains a tad better than anything in the Android space, the gap has been bridged for the most part. The iPhone 7, for example, debuted in 2016 with iOS 10 but hasn't, and will not, receive iOS 16. That's just an extra OS upgrade more than Samsung currently provides.