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A week after the promised announcement, OnePlus has officially launched OxygenOS 15, the latest version of its smartphone (and tablet) user experience on the international stage, and it is one of the first to arrive based on the latest Android 15, which itself was released back in mid-October.
The theme of the new operating system is “speed meets AI,” building on the company’s long-standing commitment to delivering a “fast and smooth” software experience across all its devices.
In short, AI powers new features that focus on creativity, productivity and safety. It is 2024 after all.
Here’s a look at the biggest upgrades in OxygenOS 15, which debuts on October 30 on the OnePlus 12 (with some AI features not arriving until November) and is expected to appear in the company’s other current selection of phones and tablets. the weeks and months that follow.
We assume it will also ship with the upcoming OnePlus 13.
Fast and smooth
To address OxygenOS’ core principle of ensuring a fast and smooth experience, an upgrade unique to this upcoming (at the time of writing) version of Android is something called Parallel processing.
As the name implies, this alternative approach to system animations follows the six steps Android usually uses when you touch the screen to open an app, for example (Response > Activate > Draw > Render > Refresh > Schedule) and can now perform the first. two phases of the process at the same time, for example, should you change your mind and switch devices to open an app almost immediately.
Previously, the user experience had to reflect all six of these steps before taking the next action you tried to perform, but with parallel processing the system can resolve the first app launch you changed your mind about without affecting the launch of an app influences. the second action you wanted to perform.
It’s an almost unnoticeable shift in side-by-side previews at this stage, but does deliver smoother visual navigation, without affecting OxygenOS’ famously snappy animation style. Additionally, it will likely help phones retain their responsive feel for longer than if they stayed on OxygenOS 14 or older.
Secondly, using the OnePlus 12 as a guinea pig again, OxygenOS 15 also takes up around 20% less storage space than the previous release, meaning more user-accessible space for apps and media, while also bringing new functionality gets.
creativity
OnePlus has reportedly used user feedback to inform the visual tweaks in OxygenOS 15; from a first installation experience with more personality to more rounded iconography; intended to give a ‘friendlier’ feeling.
OnePlus has made something of a reverse iOS move, removing color and visual clutter from the settings menu, adding gradients and greater definition to widgets on The Shelf, while reworking the physics of UI elements; how they respond to taps, swipes, the paths they take across the screen and more.
OnePlus
In our quest to provide users with a more personalized lock screen that still retains its functionality, OnePlus OneTake (pictured above) can separate your chosen subject from a photo and place it on a cleaner, complementary graphic background, which also complements phones with AOD (always-on display) support.
The excellent Open canvas The multitasking experience that we first encountered on the foldable OnePlus Open and has since come to the OnePlus Pad 2 tablet will also grace conventional candy bar-style OnePlus phones with OxygenOS 15.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
On the image editing front, OnePlus had already started adding AI-supported features to its devices, with tools like AI Eraser, AI Clear Face, and AI Best Face appearing in recent months, but there’s another trio of features in the same line landed. with OxygenOS 15 in an attempt to keep up with Google Pixel 9.
AI Blur The aim is to do what the name suggests and remove blur not just from shots taken on your OnePlus device, but from any images you throw your way.
AI Reflection Eraser lets you take clearer shots through windows and the like, with results that appear to surpass those of similar features from competing brands (at least based on our first look at the technology).
Finally, AI detail boost acts as a resolution upscaler, ideal for cropping shots without pixelation, with AI taking lost detail into account where necessary.
Productivity
One of the most exciting new additions to OxygenOS 15 has to be Share with iPhonethat finally seems to overcome the wireless file transfer barrier created by AirDrop.
Google and Samsung have worked together to bring the QuickShare standard to virtually every modern Android device, in addition to Windows PCs, while Apple’s equivalent technology – AirDrop – remains exclusive to products and operating systems within Apple’s walled garden.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
The O+Connect app that powers this new ‘Share to iPhone’ feature is already available in preview on the AppStore, and it looks like users on both sides of the fence will finally be able to seamlessly transfer files between each other.
Unlike QuickShare, this isn’t an Android-wide addition, but it does extend beyond OnePlus devices to include Oppo and Realme phones (other brands that are also within the BBK Electronics family).
Similar to what we’ve seen from Honor’s MagicOS 8 and Samsung’s One UI 6.1, trained on Google’s Gemini models, OxygenOS 15’s Notes app now includes its own AI assistant, which can summarize your instance as concise bullet points and this even from automatically transcribed voice recordings.
Additionally, you can have it clean up your scribbles, removing filler words and the like, freshen up the existing text to make it easier to read, continue writing based on the context of what’s already written, and expand or shorten certain portions of the text . copy, as desired.
You can also use the new in messages AI response feature to generate responses based on the context of your current message thread, with tone suggestions giving you a choice of how to continue the conversation, again similar to what Samsung debuted earlier this year.
Intelligent Search also builds on your device’s system-wide search functionality. This upgrade can scan all your local files and surface specific information from notes, spreadsheets, and more. However, unlike some of the features here, it won’t debut until the arrival of the OnePlus 13.
Security
OxygenOS 15 runs on top of Android 15 and obviously also benefits from the former’s upgrades, which is especially evident when it comes to security.
Enhanced protection with live threat detection, powered by Google Play Protect, is part of the experience, meaning the system analyzes unusual app behavior and also checks for malicious apps or code.
One of the more ambitious upgrades is the theft protection, which goes so far as to detect your device when it’s been snatched from your hands by a thief, then put it into locked mode to keep your data safe.
OnePlus was a little gray on the details of how exactly this works and how it senses a sudden sort of movement when your phone is grabbed from your hands, thrown against a device thrown on the couch, or carried in the hand or pocket while you are being. currently underway, so it will be interesting to see how often this addition is accidentally activated by users.
You can also expect remote locking, without having to use your Google account credentials (a phone number is sufficient) and offline device security, which prevents thieves from retrieving data from a stolen device that is deliberately left in flight mode or out of range held. mobile or WiFi signal.
Biometric authentication is also being added at more points in the user experience, beyond the lock screen; prevent unwanted users from disabling theft protection in the Find My Device app, for example.
If you decide to install OxygenOS 15 for yourself, don’t forget to also type ‘1+=’ in the calculator app. Yes. It’s back.
These are the phones that will be the first to get Android 15.