Recently, there has been some confusion regarding the number of years of support OnePlus provides for their smartwatches and smartphones. OnePlus clarified the situation in a press release, revealing their update policy.
When OnePlus launched the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R, they stated that both devices would receive 4 years of Android OS updates and 6 years of security updates. Contrary to what was initially assumed, OnePlus includes the out-of-box software as one of the updates. Therefore, the OnePlus 13 will only receive updates up to Android 18, including the version it launched with (Android 15).
Similarly, OnePlus smartwatches like the OnePlus Watch 2 and OnePlus Watch 3 will only see updates up to certain versions of WearOS, as the out-of-box software is counted as an update. OnePlus’ update policy has always operated this way, although it may not have been widely understood.
In comparison, Google counts its software updates differently, with devices like the Pixel 5a and Pixel 6 series receiving updates according to the traditional method.
Now that you understand OnePlus’s update policy, you can clarify how updates are counted for their devices.