The new OnePlus Nord CE6 launched in select regions earlier this week and, by all accounts, looks like a solid mid-range smartphone, but it also cuts its promised OS upgrades in half.
On paper, the new OnePlus Nord CE6 isn’t half bad. Behind the 6.78-inch 144Hz display is a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, 8GB of RAM, a 50MP rear camera, and a truly giant 8,000 mAh battery, all for under €300.
OnePlus even touts that the Android 16 starting point for OxygenOS will be “Fast and Smooth for 6 years.”
But that’s a bit misleading.
Apparently, the OnePlus Nord CE6 will only get 2 Android OS upgrades, ending up on Android 18. As @OnePlusClub highlights, that means the prior generation, OnePlus Nord CE5, will end up getting one more update to Android 19. OnePlus doesn’t offer this information easily, as the footnote on its website doesn’t explain the lack of OS updates, and GSMArena notes that OnePlus refused to share any information around software updates – also mentioning that the device might only get 4 years of security updates, too.
Technically, that “Fast and Smooth for 6 years” advertisement doesn’t even strictly mean updates. In a footnote elsewhere on its website, OnePlus says that the “system fluency” is promised for 72 months, aka 6 years. A blog post section further mentions performance rather than OS or security updates:
Running OxygenOS 16, the Nord CE6 continues our signature fast and smooth software experience while also being backed by a 6-year Fast and Smooth experience promise focused on long-term system fluency and reliability.
So we’ve got a new smartphone from OnePlus that not only gets fewer Android OS updates than its predecessor, but also fewer years of security updates.
This comes as OnePlus has reportedly merged with Realme and, as we’ve reported, global operations seem to be shuttering. OnePlus recently said that it is “evaluating” its future in Europe amid staff cuts and more.
Everything seems fine.
More on OnePlus:
- Prices hikes have arrived for OnePlus 15, Nothing phones, more
- OnePlus Pad 4 debuts with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, one downgrade, and vague launch plans
- OnePlus Watch 4 officially brings Wear OS 6 in a titanium body
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