OnePlus is placing the ending touches on OxygenOS 14; the public beta is now rolling out, and the model is soliciting suggestions from customers round the world. At the outset, OxygenOS 14 is not too totally different to final yr; the interface options the identical design aesthetic, albeit with a few delicate adjustments — it makes use of an Aquamorphic 2.0 design language that dynamically adjustments colours based mostly on time of day.
Then there’s the awkwardly-named Fluid Cloud function that primarily tries to mimic the iPhone’s Dynamic Island on the standing bar. When you launch a timer, make a name, or play music, you may see a pill-sized icon in the standing bar, and interacting with it would develop to a full-size window with further controls.
Ahead of the public beta of OxygenOS 14, I interacted with Gary Chen, OnePlus Product Partnership Lead, and Zach Lin, Lead on OxygenOS Product, to discuss OxygenOS 14 and what the future holds for OnePlus’s software efforts. Chen has overseen OnePlus’s software for a number of years now, and was at the helm throughout the OxygenOS 11 design overhaul and all through the ColorOS transition.
We received began with OxygenOS 14 and the largest user-facing adjustments in the Android 14-based construct. Lin shared some extra particulars round Fluid Cloud, noting that it was impressed by the “stable, liquid, and gasoline construction of Aquamorphic Design,” and that a key enterprise with the visible refresh is to present an “intuitive circulate” that is sensible to anybody simply getting began with the interface reasonably than getting customers to adapt to a new function.
“The methods to work together with info and notifications is totally different with Fluid Cloud function. Inspired by the stable, liquid, and gasoline construction of Aquamorphic Design, Fluid Cloud presents notifications inside bubbles, capsules, and panels in a naturally merging and flowing means. This reimagined model of the standing bar can current totally different kinds of real-time companies with minimal disruption at the high of your display screen in accordance to your customized preferences and priorities.”
Lin additionally delved into the shifting colour palette and the new ringtones and notification tones which might be debuting in OxygenOS 14. “The color system additionally upgraded to have the ability to change dynamically based mostly on components together with time of the day, smartphone standing, and content material. For occasion, the background color of Alarm Clock will probably be totally different at totally different time all through the day. There are additionally 9 units of Aquamorphic-themed ringtones — together with calls, alarms, and notifications which is co-developed with Sonic Minds from Denmark and Epic Sound from Finland, each of whom are skilled artists with wealthy music-related expertise.”
As for different options, I requested if OnePlus would think about rolling out a desktop mode — like Samsung DeX — on its telephones. Lin shared some of the productiveness options debuting in OxygenOS 14, however would not touch upon a desktop mode, so it is not on the playing cards as of now. “The File Dock function permits for acquire and share info and content material anytime throughout totally different screens like telephones and tablets by merely dragging and dropping. In addition, on OxygenOS 14, OnePlus units are extra related than earlier than. Multi-Screen Connect 2.0 permits for sooner connection speeds, in addition to smoother two-way discovery capabilities.”
Stability has been a continuous challenge for OnePlus over the final 18 months, with the ColorOS integration introducing a slew of bugs that severely hampered the person expertise. OxygenOS 13 fastened issues to an extent, and Lin famous that “stability, smoothness, and energy effectivity are extremely prioritized in the growth of OxygenOS 14”. One of the causes the beta program is being opened up to rather more units this yr — 16 in whole — is to get suggestions from a wider vary of customers.
Another means the model is trying to guarantee higher stability is by overhauling the underlying framework. The Trinity Engine makes use of six algorithms to higher optimize the {hardware}, and Lin states that the guiding mission with OxygenOS 14 is to ship a “sooner, smoother, extra secure and safe expertise.”
“You could have observed that we spent a lot in introducing applied sciences and algorithms on OxygenOS 14. This is as a result of that the product philosophy of OxygenOS 14 is to make the most of self-developed applied sciences and algorithms to higher discover the potential of the highly effective {hardware} of OnePlus units,” stated Lin. “For occasion, our customers will not be conscious of algorithms resembling CPU-Vitalization, RAM-Vitalization, and ROM-Vitalization, however ultimately they may get a sooner, smoother, extra secure and safe expertise with higher energy effectivity.”
What made OxygenOS a cult favourite was its clear and clutter-free UI, which was left behind in the transition to ColorOS. So I requested Chen if OnePlus would ever think about going back to a vanilla UI — sadly, that ship has sailed. “After the integration, OxygenOS and ColorOS are developed on the identical codebase, to enable for higher construct high quality and updates, which may even lead to some similarities.”
“As a outcome, OxygenOS will share the identical design philosophy — Aquamorphic Design with ColorOS to incorporate the vibrant color system, however it nonetheless has personalized design components together with icons, widgets, wallpapers, ringtones, and AOD to meet the wants of OxygenOS customers. Our final purpose is to synergistically mix the most interesting features of each merchandise, leading to a new and distinctive providing,” famous Chen.
I requested if OnePlus would possibly think about rolling out a function that lets customers select between a vanilla UI and a themed interface — comparable to what ASUS does with ZenUI — and whereas Lin famous that suggestions from the group drives the producer’s choices, he would not verify if such a function would debut on OxygenOS, so I would not guess on it.
As for what’s coming to OxygenOS in the future and the place the software is headed, Chen reiterated the model’s dedication to delivering a quick and clean expertise, and shared that stability and safety will probably be a key focus. He talked about how the Trinity Engine is essential to realizing these objectives. “It displays our new interpretations on the quick and clean expertise, to be instinctive and free to management, which suggests each motion and reflection is pure and clean and all you want is to faucet and revel in. The subsequent step is to carry our signature quick and clean expertise to extra OnePlus units.”
On the topic of extra units, OnePlus is preparing to launch its first foldable — the OnePlus Open — in a few weeks, so I requested Chen if there are any foldable-focused options in OxygenOS 14. He did not share any specifics, solely noting that the model is “working very intently with Google to co-develop foldable-related options.”
“We try to leverage our profitable expertise in creating candy-bar smartphone software merchandise to polish the person expertise on a foldable cellphone,” stated Chen.
Like each different producer, OnePlus is trying to add AI-related options to OxygenOS, and though Chen did not disclose any particulars, he talked about that OnePlus continues to be at the exploratory stage, and that it is working with companions to see the way it would possibly make the interface higher. “Currently, we’re working intently with our partnerships to discover how to incorporate AIGC know-how to enhance the usability of OxygenOS 14.”