In February, OnePlus responded to Google and Samsung offers seven years of software support for their flagships by saying anything that takes longer than five years is pointless financial. Five months later, the Chinese company appears to have changed its tune.
OnePlus COO Kinder Liu just said Digital trends that the coming North 4 gets six years of security patches from launch. Sure, one extra year isn’t excessive, but still – whatever happened to “nobody needs more than five”?
Additionally, we wonder what will happen to OnePlus’ flagships, such as the 12which are so far alone promised five years of updatesWe assume they will get six as well, but does that apply to devices that have already been launched or only to the OnePlus 13 moving forward?
These are still unanswered questions, but what we do know for 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 an extra year of support compared to Samsung’s Milky Way A55 And A35which only get five. The A55 could be one of the main competitors, so the Nord 4 will have an advantage here, for those who care about such things.
The Nord 4 also has a unique design, with a metal unibody construction that has been missing from the mobile world for a few years. We still remember the HTC One M series, but that is long dead.
According to OnePlus’ Liu, this was chosen for “durability, beauty, permanence, and strength.” When asked why metal phones have gone the way of the dodo, Liu says it all had to do with 5G and the insane number of antennas needed since metal disrupts signals.
The Nord 4’s antennas are 50% smaller than before and have been strategically placed so that the body doesn’t obstruct the signal. The device also has plastic inserts in places like the bottom of the back to help let the signal through.
The Nord 4 has been tested by TÜV SÜD to simulate 72 months of use and is certified to still be as fluid as day one after that period. The phone is officially on July 16.