It finally happened. After spending most of a decade supporting its reputation for lowering the competition’s price, the OnePlus is as expensive as any other. The OnePlus 9 Pro has a starting price of $ 969, and it is past time for OnePlus to increase that price with firm software commitments.
When it launched in 2013 and in the years that followed, OnePlus was praised by fans and the media for having clean software that was updated very quickly. As Android updates have evolved, OnePlus has also evolved. The company was quick to participate in the first public betas and released annual updates in a timely manner, well ahead of many competitors.
However, that story has changed dramatically in the past two years. Monthly security patches are almost never monthly and are almost always late. Major system updates also take a long time to arrive, especially on older devices, and when they do, bugs and disabling problems are very common. The OnePlus 8 series was updated relatively quickly, but the OnePlus 7 series only had its stable Android 11 update this week, six months after the Pixel smartphones and three months after Samsung updated the Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy S10 series along with numerous other devices. This also occurs when OnePlus moves away from its “standard Android” image to adopt a design language that is very transparent, a copy of Samsung’s One UI.
As OnePlus regressed, competition improved. Google expanded the updates to Pixels to three years and worked with Qualcomm to lay the foundation for longer software life on more Android devices. Most notably, Samsung, which was once known for its horrible, bloated software that took centuries to update, completely reversed the course. An UI looks less bloated each year and updates are coming in record time, with security patches arriving consistently each month for many more phones than OnePlus offers. In addition, Samsung has just expanded update support to basically all Galaxy smartphones for four years, Double what OnePlus promises.
It’s time for OnePlus to update itself. The OnePlus 9 Pro commands a $ 70 price jump over its predecessor, steadily pushing the device into the same price range as other Android flagships and even the iPhone. After taxes, this It is a $ 1,000 smartphone.
OnePlus customers should ask: demanding the company to improve their game on software support. A OnePlus 9 Pro can be positioned as a more affordable alternative to the considerably more expensive Galaxy S21 Ultra, but the comparison doesn’t really catch on. Since launch, the S21 Ultra has been available through promotions and sales for $ 1,000 quite easily – just take a look at 9to5Toys. The OnePlus 9 Pro will not have discounts for a while if the company’s usual standards are maintained. Even when the S21 Ultra is $ 200 more expensive, it will still deliver more software updates, faster updates and will last twice as long as the OnePlus 9 Pro. The math is simple here.
I say all of this not to say that the OnePlus 9 Pro is a bad buy. I have been using this phone for more than a week and, genuinely, I am quite happy with it. It is a solid Android smartphone. Instead, I say this because OnePlus cannot keep running away with these software practices. Prices continue to rise, but software policies are getting worse. OnePlus can point to your “Open Beta” program as a way to get updates faster, but no one should have to choose beta software just to get a timely update.
Let’s not forget that OnePlus is not really hiding your cards here; they clearly don’t consider software updates a priority. The evidence is clear looking at the budget of the OnePlus Nord N10 and N100 phones, devices that have been successful for the company, but promise only a single update that is already a year out of date.
OnePlus, step up.
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