OxygenOS 11 represents a considerable change for OnePlus, as the company switches focus to the generalist population. This is the conclusion Android Authority came up with after interviewing Sam Twist, a Senior Product Manager at OnePlus.
OxygenOS 11 will launch with Android 11 for OnePlus smartphones, and it’s already available in beta form. This update represents a step away from stock Android, as it combines stock Android, and Samsung’s One UI skin, kind of.
OnePlus is changing focus to “generalist population” with OxygenOS 11
The company’s focus is no longer just on the enthusiast crowd, as it was in the past. Flagship killers are no longer a part of the picture, as the company is looking to branch out.
OnePlus released a number of non-smartphone products thus far, and is ready to take a step further. The company’s first smartwatch is also rumored, by the way.
In any case, OxygenOS 11 puts great focus on one-handed usage, and Mr. Twist shared some more information in the aforementioned interview.
He questioned the term “stock Android”. He said that Google doesn’t exactly use stock Android, it builds upon it a different experience for Pixel phones. That is true.
OnePlus is trying to push forward the idea of a “burdenless” experience, instead of the stock-like one. Mr. Twist says that the look and feel are much more important to OnePlus than staying true to stock Android.
This new variant of OxygenOS is supposed to help you use your large phone with one hand
He says that OnePlus wants to take the best advantage of a large display, while making it easy for users to use such phones. That’s why the company re-arranged elements in OxygenOS 11.
Those elements are now easier to reach with your finger, while using the phone with one hand. That’s why all those comparisons with Samsung’s One UI were drawn. OnePlus also borrowed some UI element positioning from Samsung as well.
Mr. Twist says that stock Android is not optimized to be efficient on larger displays, which is true. That’s why OnePlus decided to change things up a bit, to offer a better experience to consumers.
He also shared some information regarding OnePlus’ design team. It’s quite small, by any standard, actually. The OxygenOS team has 191 members overall, while 30 of them have been working on the OxygenOS 11 design.
OnePlus also did detailed research regarding the usage habits of consumers, and what would the ideal approach be. OxygenOS is what they came up with. The company was actually able to draw out 95th percentile and fifth percentile hand sizes, just to pinpoint the exact design. Stable OxygenOS 11 is expected to reach OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro either this month, or the next.