If you like software updates, the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and N100 are probably not for you
At first glance, it's pretty hard to argue with the excellent value provided by the recently unveiled OnePlus Nord N10 5G and 4G LTE-only Nord N100 on a tight budget.
Priced at €349 in select European markets, the former handset undercuts almost every single decent 5G-capable smartphone from a major brand (with the exception of the even newer Moto G 5G) while accommodating four cameras on its back, pairing 6 gigs of RAM with 128 gigs of internal storage space, packing a hefty 4,300mAh battery supporting 30W charging speeds, and sporting a silky smooth 90Hz IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels.
Meanwhile, the €199 OnePlus Nord N100 incredibly manages to bump up the battery capacity to 5,000mAh, otherwise settling for largely mediocre specs including a 720p screen, Snapdragon 460 SoC, 64GB storage, and a triple 13 + 2 + 2MP rear-facing shooter system.
Still, these are some pretty dreamy budget-friendly devices, but before we get a chance to properly review and thoroughly analyze them, we have to warn you of a serious and wholly unexpected flaw. As reported by Android Central, OnePlus only plans to deliver "one major Android update and a total of two years of security updates" to the Nord N10 5G and Nord N100, which the company claims to align with "industry standards for smartphones in more affordable price ranges."
Of course, that's not entirely true, as proven by a flurry of mid and even low-end Nokia devices originally released running Android 8.0 Oreo and promoted to Android 10 in the last few months. Samsung is also likely to (eventually) bring a second major update to a number of low-cost Galaxy A-series phones recently treated to an Android 10 makeover after launching on OS version 9.0, not to mention the company's bold plans to deliver a grand total of three big updates to the mid-range Galaxy A51 and A51 5G.
Adding insult to injury, it's important to remember the 5G-enabled Nord N10 and 4G LTE-limited N100 have been released on the old continent with Android 10 out the box, which means the one and only update in the pipeline at OnePlus is... Android 11. Meanwhile, the high-end 8T 5G came out around the world a little earlier running Android 11, which means both Android 12 and 13 updates are all but guaranteed to reach the (relatively inexpensive) 6.55-inch flagship down the line.
That obviously makes the newest members of the Nord family feel like an afterthought for a company that's started to "settle" more and more often, especially given that the OG 6.44-inch OnePlus Nord 5G with a Snapdragon 765 SoC is set to receive Android 11 and 12 updates... someday.
For what it's worth, at least OnePlus has decided to come clean about this undoubtedly controversial software support policy before expanding the Nord N10 5G and Nord N100 to the US, which could happen any day now.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: