OxygenOS 11 is OnePlus’ Android 11-based, totally revamped software skin, following in the design philosophy of Samsung’s One UI to allow for better one-handed use on big phones. After what was a relatively short beta cycle, OnePlus has decided to go ahead with releasing the stable version of Android 11 to its latest flagships ahead of next week’s 8T event. The OxygenOS 11 update is now rolling out first to the 8 Pro and 8, while older models will have to wait a little longer for their turn.
OxygenOS 11 brings some big changes to the OnePlus 8 series, including the much-awaited always-on display mode that gives you plenty of different layouts and designs to choose from. Besides that, the update also makes using the dark mode a little easier by finally bringing the much-requested, long-promised, dedicated quick settings dark mode toggle. Finally, this OxygenOS version marks a noticeable departure from OnePlus’ near-stock interface with something that looks a bit closer to Samsung’s One UI with bifurcated viewing and interaction areas in first-party apps.
Here are all the changes coming to the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro with OxygenOS 11 according to the changelog published together with the update:
Changelog
- System
- Fresh new UI visual design brings you a more comfortable experience with various optimizations of details.
- Brand-new weather UI supports dynamic switches between sunrise and sunset. You can have day and night at your hand now.
- Optimized stability on some third-party applications and improved user experience.
- Game Space
- Newly added gaming tools box for convenient switches of Fnatic mode. You can now choose three ways of notifications: text-only, heads up and block, just for your immersive gaming experience.
- Newly added quick reply feature in a small window for Instagram and WhatsApp. (Enable it by swiping down from upper right/left corners of the screen in gaming mode)
- Newly added mis-touch prevention feature. Enable it, swipe down from the top of the screen, click and the notification bar will pop out.
- Ambient Displsy
- Added Always-on ambient Display function, custom Schedule/All day option included. (To set: Settings > Display > Ambient Display)
- Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It will change according to the phone usage data. (To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
- Newly added 10 new clock styles. (To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
- Dark Mode
- Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode, pull down the quick setting to enable.
- Supporting automatically turn on feature & customize time range. (To set: Settings > Display > Dark Mode > Turn on automatically > Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise/Custom time range.)
- Zen Mode
- Added 5 new themes (ocean, space, grassland, and so on), and more timing options.
- Included the Group feature in Zen Mode, now you can invite your friends and enable the Zen Mode together.
- Gallery
- Story function supported, automatically forming weekly videos with photos and video in storage.
- Loading speed optimized, and the image preview is now faster.
- Others
- The widget on the desktop might disappear. It can be set as followed: Long press on the desktop -“Widget” – “Settings” – Select the widget.
The update weighs in at a little over 2.8GB for some devices and is already reaching a handful of users today. OnePlus rolls updates out in stages, and if the company doesn’t encounter any major bugs that could potentially stall the release, the firmware will be rolled out to a wider audience in the following days. As usual, those with update envy can probably pull it down early via Oxygen Updater.
The OnePlus 7T Pro, 7T, 7 Pro, 7, 6T, 6, and the Nord will all get the OxygenOS 11 update as well, but exactly when that happens is up in the air. Meanwhile, the upcoming OnePlus 8T will come pre-installed with the latest Android and OxygenOS flavors.
We did a detailed hands-on of the new UI back in August; you can check out all the juicy screenshots while waiting for the update to hit your device. If you want to play it safe, you can still get a taste of the design refresh on your older OnePlus phone running Android 10 by downloading the beta version of OnePlus’ revamped weather app from APK Mirror.