Will Nord & 8-series devices receive only quarterly security updates?

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UPDATE 2020-12-08 21:03 IST:

David Monteiro (Community Consultant) has clarified on OnePlus Forums that the OneSRC page had incorrect information, and that the page is now amended to remove any confusion. As expected, this was a non-issue. The original article is preserved below.

Here's the source: https://security.oneplus.com/mend.html. We intend this article to serve as a neutral view on the whole thing, because this development has sparked some misinformation in the community (e.g. this Reddit post, where several users are freaking out unnecessarily).

Sure, one way to look at this is from the pessimistic perspective:

This is a weird move. Have a look at Android Police's security updates tracker — OnePlus phones receive a much lower score than other OEM phones (e.g. Samsung, LG, and even Nokia). The industry already did not like the fact that OnePlus devices receive security patches a month late, but now OnePlus has made it even worse: flagship devices like the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro, and the budget OnePlus Nord will now receive security patches once every 3 months. You could maybe make an argument about the Nord (being a budget device) being relegated, given that the Nord N10 5G & N100 are slated to receive only one major Android upgrade — but flagship devices, whose prices have been creeping up every year? There's no defending this move.

And here's our neutral view:

If you look at the source, you'll quickly notice that the only devices being listed on that page (under the "quarterly security updates" section) are the same devices that are certified for AER (Android Enterprise Recommended). In fact, even the footnote disclaimer clearly states this is specifically meant for AER solutions — it's likely this is meant purely for establishing some ground truths for the AER program, and doesn't really mean anything. The rest of that page is also pretty much empty — there's no device listed under the "monthly security patches" section, and the "Details" tab has 0 additional information.

And if you consult the Wayback Machine, you'll see that that page was last updated on 13th November 2020. But Nord & 8-series owners would know that they've been receiving security patches at a roughly normal rate (bimonthly) since the devices launched, meaning that page amounts to nothing.

We feel there's nothing to worry about, but we'll follow this development and update the article if necessary.