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Because they do not require physical components or production, software is relatively easier to produce, maintain, and support compared to hardware. In theory and ideally, the software can be supported almost indefinitely, provided there are people who have the knowledge and the time to do so. Human resources, however, are not infinite and Android makers have unofficially agreed to a two-year software support period. This year has seen a slight change in that regard and OnePlus has just released the official EOL dates for some of its 2020 smartphones.
This end-of-life EOL does not mean that the phones will stop working beyond those dates, of course. It simply means that OnePlus will no longer send security updates after the phones hit those deadlines. That means users will have to fend for themselves as they will be at risk of vulnerabilities and bugs discovered from then on.
Like almost all Android phone manufacturers, OnePlus started with two-year software support for its phones. This year, he joined Google, and surprisingly Samsung, by committing to three years of software support, but with a few caveats. Simply put, the OnePlus support page reveals that the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro will receive their latest security update in April 2023, while OnePlus Nord ends in July 2023.
Where things get a bit tricky is what kind of updates they are supported on, as those dates only refer to regular monthly security updates. The OnePlus 8 series has been promised three major Android OS updates, while OnePlus Nord will get just two. The OnePlus Nord N10 and N100 have it worse though, as they only get an Android OS update and two years of security updates.
Although an improvement, this is still a long way from Apple’s practice of supporting even five-year-old phones. Hopefully things will get better in Android land once Google’s various frameworks like Project Treble and Project Mainline are more ingrained on all phones.
