With the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R about to go on sale, OnePlus president and COO Kinder Liu explains to Tom's Guide how the phones's pre-orders are faring, as well as why OnePlus stands by its Android update plans.
Exclusive: OnePlus 12 software updates — OnePlus' president explains why you get 5 years, not 7 : Read more
Wow, what a left-handed excuse from an officer of the company! I would almost believe this if it was any company other than OnePlus, which focuses on implementing the fastest hardware and protocols available when they release a phone. I still use my OP3t - a seven year old phone - almost daily as a WiFi tablet around the house. The original battery is still at 75% health and gets me through a day and a half of semi-heavy, wifi-only use. The phone is running the Lineage 18 flavor of Android 11, up to date on security patches and a new build available every month. Scrolling is still smooth and the screen performance is great for older graphics-heavy games like Temple Run. I doubt I could run Genshin Impact, but that's why I have a OnePlus 12 now.
I've used a number of other phones, like the Nexus 5, that have slowed down with later software updates and became more or less unusable after four to five years, but both my 3t and OnePlus 7 Pro are totally usable at seven and five years old. Given that the pace of evolution in smartphones has slowed since the late teens, I would think the 12 series is more likely to deliver solid performance seven years after release.
As a seven-year user of their products, I'm embarrassed for OnePlus for hiding behind this lame excuse. They should be advertising longevity as proof of the quality of their design.
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