The very first official Android 9 Pie-based OxygenOS build for the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T is finally here, in form of OxygenOS Open Beta 22 and Open Beta 20 for the two devices, respectively. The company has announced this update via its official forums, while thanking its users for their patience. In addition to announcing updates for the two phones, the company shared full changelogs, and those changelogs are almost the same for both devices, the only differences come to navigation gestures, which are not available on the OnePlus 5, only the OnePlus 5T. Having said that, let’s see what this update brings to the table, shall we.
There’s plenty to talk about here, as Android 9 Pie is a major update, needless to say. So, as far as “System” changes are concerned, Android’s security patch will be updated to November 2018, while you will also get a brand new Android 9 Pie UI, and everything that goes with it. OnePlus also listed some optimizations for background app process handling, and the OnePlus 5T will get brand new navigation gestures that are currently available on the OnePlus 6 and 6T. The all-new Do Not Disturb mode is also included in the Android 9 Pie update for the OnePlus 5 and 5T, and it comes with adjustable settings. You’ll also get UI improvements for emergency rescue here, while UI for speed dial and calling interface has also been optimized compared to Oreo. Speaking of communication, you will be able to assign a specific SIM card for a specific contact or group of contacts when you update, if you’re using two SIM cards, which can be a really useful feature.
If you’re using the “Parallel Apps” feature on the OnePlus 5 or 5T, you’ll be glad to know that support for more apps is coming with the Android 9 Pie update. Once you update, you will be able to use Telegram, Discord, IMO, Uber, and OLA in this mode, which essentially means that you will be able to create to separate instances of that app to use with different accounts, if you want. The company’s “Weather” app has also seen plenty of change in Android 9 Pie, as it gained the ability to dynamically switch to your current location, and display more suggestions when the search function is used. On top of that, the company has fixed an issue that prevented the app from refreshing when the location is changed, and an issue that resulted in some users being unable to find certain locations.
Background: Those of you who own the OnePlus 6 or OnePlus 6T have already seen all of these changes in action, as both of those phones are running Android 9 Pie as we speak. The OnePlus 6T ships with Android 9 Pie out of the box, while the OnePlus 6 received a stable update a while back. Based on the experience that Android 9 Pie brings to those two devices, it will definitely be worth updating the OnePlus 5 and 5T, though you may want to wait for a stable build of Android 9 Pie-based OxygenOS, as this is just a beta.
Impact: Please do note that you will not be able to revert to the stable channel so easily if you opt to switch to the beta channel, so if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, it may be best to wait for the stable build, as returning back to the stable channel is not as easy as pushing a button. OnePlus has provided instructions on how to do all that, and also how to switch to the beta channel as well, so that will certainly help if you’re planning to do either.