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Comparing Apple to Android can sometimes be like comparing apples to oranges, but if there’s one thing that Apple does right that even the most hardened Android fan can’t deny, it’s with software updates. Apple usually provides years of major iOS updates even to its older phones, something that almost no Android manufacturer can claim they do.
Most manufacturers typically offer anywhere between 2-3 years, with 2 years being the bare minimum, but with the OnePlus Nord N10, OnePlus seems to have dropped the ball by only promising one year, and this along with other factors makes us believe that the phone will be dead on arrival, and here’s why.
Only one major Android update
As we said, the bare minimum that almost all Android handset makers offer is two years of support. By only promising one major Android update, this means that the OnePlus Nord N10 will only experience Android 11 and not Android 12, which also means that customers will be left on the sidelines watching in envy.
Major Android updates aren’t just about new features and new UI, but they come with various efficiency improvements and quality of life changes that can make a phone feel brand new again. So for OnePlus to willfully ignore that is simply just shameful.
It ships with Android 10
This kind of ties in with our issue above. If the OnePlus Nord N10 would have shipped with Android 11, then at least it would see a bump to Android 12 in 2021, but the fact that it ships with Android 10, a 2019 operating system, means that by the time the update rolls out, it will most likely be in 2021 where users will be running a 2020 system in 2021.
Two years of security updates
As good as a phone’s hardware may be, or how value for money it is, without a good support system it’s really nothing. With the OnePlus Nord N10, OnePlus will only offer a measly two years of security updates to the phone, meaning that once those two years are up, you’re pretty much on your own.
To give you some context, devices like the Google Pixel 4a, 4a 5G, and the Pixel 5 all offer at least three years of security updates, and these are devices that the OnePlus Nord N10 are essentially up against.
Awkward Pricing
While the OnePlus Nord N10’s pricing for the US has yet to be released, over in the UK it is priced at £329, and it is likely that we’ll see similar pricing stateside. While it is affordable, the issues we mentioned above kind of leaves a sour taste in our mouths, especially when we know that there are phones out there that are just as good for around the same price, like the non-5G version of the Pixel 4a, or the regular OnePlus Nord that’s priced just slightly more.
Plus, if you’re going to get a phone that the manufacturer will stop supporting in a couple of years, you might actually be better off buying the OnePlus Nord N100 and save yourself about £150 in the process.
5G is still overrated
While 5G is expected to be the next standard in mobile connectivity, let’s face it, its availability is still very limited which means that the main selling point of the OnePlus Nord N10 5G over the cheaper N100 doesn’t really feel like that big of a deal. Sure, one day 5G will become a standard that we can all expect, but for now, maybe it doesn’t matter quite as much, especially if you’re more than happy with LTE speeds.
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