OnePlus is showing some top notch business practices with the news that it has plans to bring Android P to the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones.
This is kind of a big deal as these two handsets are a couple of generations old now - we've since had the OnePlus 5, OnePlus 5T, and OnePlus 6 hit the market.
It's not unheard of for handset manufacturers to support older hardware for a decent length of time via software updates, but it's still comparatively rare across the industry.
Apple does it, Google does it, and a couple of others, but that's about it really.
Also there's a difference between supporting via bugfixes and security patches, and shipping entire brand new platform updates, which is what this is.
This is very good news for existing OnePlus users, as it means they can hang on to their older handsets for another year – at least.
This means additional value for money (and it was already good at that), as well as all the latest features courtesy of Android P.
I’m a big fan of OnePlus, and while the company is NOT perfect, it’s stuff like this (and the pricing of its handsets) that makes me a fan of the company.
Hell, you probably won’t see handsets like the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S7 get Android P. So what OnePlus is doing here is very cool. Very cool, indeed!
OnePlus 3/3T Android P Update 100% CONFIRMED
The OnePlus 3 series is skipping from Android 8.0 Oreo where it currently stands, past the current 8.1 build and straight to Android 9.0, aka Android P; Android P doesn't have a release name yet, although there's some speculation it might be Popsicle, Pancake, or Peanut Butter.
"OnePlus is committed to giving users the best possible experience, consistently delivering software updates for two years after the launch of a device, and security updates for an additional year after that," the firm said, in a statement.
"We have decided to focus our development resources on the Android P project, instead of upgrading the OnePlus 3 and 3T device to Android 8.1, so we can offer more exciting features and improvements for our OnePlus 3 and 3T users," it added.
"Over the past few months, we have been working closely with Google on the Android P Beta program. Thanks to everyone’s participation and continued feedback, the progress we have made together has been greatly accelerated. The Android P update will be available on the OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5/T and OnePlus 3/3T, in this order. We will keep you all updated in the coming months."
Android P Release Date
Of course the reveal doesn't give a release date, or even a bracket.
That is, however, understandable considering there's no way OnePlus or any other OEM is going to update to Android P before Google has officially launched it on its own Pixel 3 series phones (at which point it will also update existing Pixel and Nexus devices).
Currently there are rumours that Android P will launch officially inside August, however, the software usually launches officially in tandem with new Google Pixel phones, which for the last two years have launched in October.
Google also has an Android developer event planned for November, which some have said could double as a launch event - we think that's unlikely though, and instead believe that either August or October are most probable.
As per the statement, although the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are confirmed to be updated, they are last on the list behind the OnePlus 6, OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5.
We reckon at the very least the OnePlus 6 will be updated very quickly, and the OnePlus 5 series could be updated by the end of 2018.
It is possible the OnePlus 3 series could also be updated before the year closes, but we wouldn't rule out the possibility of a Q1 2019 release.
