In February, OnePlus responded to Google and Samsung’s offer of seven years of software support for its flagship smartphones by saying that more than five years doesn’t make sense. Five months later, the Chinese company has changed its stance.
OnePlus COO Kinder Liu told Digital Trends that the upcoming Nord 4 will receive security patches for six years from launch. Sure, an extra year isn’t a lot, but still — what happened to “nobody needs more than five”?
Also, we are wondering what will happen to OnePlus flagships like the 12, which have only been promised five years of updates so far. We assume they will also get six years of updates, but will this apply to devices already launched or only the OnePlus 13?
These are still unanswered questions, but what we do know now is that the Nord 4 will get four major Android updates, just like the OnePlus 11 and OnePlus 12. Interestingly, the Nord 4 will get support for an extra year compared to Samsung’s Galaxy A55 and A35, which only get five. The A55 could be one of its main competitors, so the Nord 4 will have the advantage here, for those who care about such things.
The Nord 4 also brings a very unique design, using a metal unibody construction that’s been missing from the mobile world for a few years — we remember HTC’s One M series for this, but that’s long been dead.
According to OnePlus’ Liu, it was chosen for its “durability, beauty, durability and robustness.” When asked why metal phones went the way of the dodo, Liu said it had everything to do with 5G and the need for much larger antennas, as metal interferes with signals.
The antennas on the Nord 4 are 50% smaller than before, and are strategically placed so that the body doesn’t interfere with the signal. The device also has plastic inserts in places like the bottom of the back to let the signal in.
The Nord 4 was tested by TÜV SÜD after 72 months of usage and certified to continue running as smoothly after that period as it did on day one. The phone will be officially launched on July 16.
