In Short: The OnePlus 6T’s arrival is just around the corner, and a member of OnePlus’ staff has just revealed some new OxygenOS improvements that are coming with the device. This information was published on the company’s official forums in form of an interview, as users were allowed to ask questions recently, and OnePlus has just decided to answer some of them. This information was shared by Szymon K., who OnePlus refers to as its “resident software expert”. He said that that the company is working on “a ton of exciting stuff” for the OnePlus 6T, while confirming that a new UI is coming. Szymon K. also said that users will have to experience it for themselves in order to truly understand it, as he did not get too much into that, but he did reveal that some new features are coming along with the OnePlus 6T.
OnePlus’ users have been requesting for the company to improve its gesture-based navigation, as some actions are not available in it at the moment, like accessing Google Assistant and quickly switching between two apps that you’ve used recently. Well, the company’s employee just confirmed that both of those “issues” will be resolved once the OnePlus 6T lands, as the company included gestures for both actions. If you quickly flick from the bottom of the display towards the right side of your screen, you will be able to access the last app you used before the one you’re in at the moment. If you’d like to access the Google Assistant, for example, you can simply hold the power button for 0.5 seconds, and you’ll be able to activate it. Szymon K. also confirmed that the company did its best to improve its gesture-based navigation through and true, by saying that it will be more responsive than ever. He also said that the company has spent a lot of time tweaking every animation, claiming that every swipe was tested over 1,000 times to make sure that it works as it should, and that it’s a pleasant experience for the user.
The company’s employee said that the OnePlus 6T will also bring improvements in the camera department, though he says that he’s unable to share any specific info just yet, but all will be revealed once the OnePlus 6T lands. Another thing that was mentioned in this interview regards the power consumption. Szymon K. said that the company’s FSE (Fast, Smooth & Efficient) team has been working on optimizing power consumption of the OnePlus 6T, well, optimizing power consumption of OxygenOS in combination with Snapdragon 845. One thing that he’s mentioned is that the company has added an AI-based algorithm which allows the phone to learn when to sleep in order to minimize background usage and reduce power consumption. In the end, Szymon K. said that the company’s goal is to provide users with a fast and fluid experience, and to help them to finish their tasks as soon as possible, rather than keeping them trapped in the system, and with that statement he touched a bit on Google’s Digital Wellbeing as well.
Background: OnePlus had already confirmed that the OnePlus 6T will be announced on October 30, while it will become available for purchase on November 6. The company also confirmed that the device will sport an in-display fingerprint scanner, while it will not sport a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is something many users have a problem with, and have been complaining via various social media accounts recently. The OnePlus 6T has been leaking for weeks now, and the company itself revealed bits and pieces of its design. The phone will be made out of metal and glass, and it will resemble the OnePlus 6 in terms of the design quite a bit. The OnePlus 6T will sport a noticeably smaller notch, the so-called ‘waterdrop’ notch, and it will ship with a larger display, while keeping an almost the same footprint as the OnePlus 6… though it will be a bit taller, probably.
The OnePlus 6T will ship with two cameras on the back, and it will be fueled by the same processor as the OnePlus 6, the Snapdragon 845. The phone will probably arrive in the same RAM options as the OnePlus 6, which means we’ll probably be able to choose between 6GB and 8GB RAM variants, with several internal storage options being available as well. The device will ship with Android 9 Pie out of the box, and OnePlus’ OxygenOS will be included on top of it, of course. The device’s battery will be larger than the one included in the OnePlus 6, we’re expecting to see a 3,700mAh unit inside of the OnePlus 6T, while the company’s proprietary fast charging will be included as well. An alert slider will be included on the phone as well, and chances are it will be positioned the same as on the OnePlus 6, on the right-hand side of the device, above the power key. The phone is expected to sport a 6.45-inch display, at least according to rumors, and it will almost certainly be a fullHD+ Optic AMOLED display (19:9 display aspect ratio).
Impact: It seems like OnePlus is planning to push out quite a few changes to OxygenOS with the release of the OnePlus 6T. The OnePlus 6T will not be a huge overhaul of the OnePlus 6, more of an iterative upgrade with a better design and one new major feature, an in-display fingerprint scanner. OxygenOS will see some changes, though, aside from new updates for OnePlus’ gesture-based navigation, a brand new UI will be pushed out according to OnePlus, and that sounds somewhat exciting. OnePlus likes to stick to Google’s design language when it comes to software, so it will be interesting to see what exactly did Szymon K. meant when he said “new UI”. Is it possible that OnePlus will make some notable changes as to how OxygenOS works, or are we looking at sprucing up the design of the OS with new features, and perhaps some new design cues? Well, it’s probably the latter, as the company will probably not want to step away from what Google has to offer with Android 9 Pie all that much, but we’ll see.