OnePlus may have missed its self-imposed late March deadline for the launch of its OxygenOS ROM, but it turns out that it didn’t miss it by too much.
OxygenOS is now available for download from OnePlus’s website. The company has included step-by-step installation instructions with dedicated sections for Windows and Mac users. There’s also a list of known issues, including the Files app lacking support for multi-select delete and an intermittent issue that prevents you from hanging up a call when using headphone controls.
OnePlus’s OxygenOS is based on Android 5.0, and it’s got a handful of unique features included with it. For example, OnePlus has thrown in gestures that can be used to quickly activate features when the screen is off. You can double-tap the screen to wake it, draw an O to activate the camera, draw a V to turn on the flashlight, and draw to straight lines with your fingers to play music. You can also draw < or > with your fingers to change tracks.
OnePlus also touts OxygenOS’s customizability, which offers customizable lock screen wallpapers and the ability to swap between hardware or software navigation buttons (which was available on the One before, but it's good to see it still available). The Quick Settings feature in the notification panel of OxygenOS allows you to add, remove, and reorganize the settings. OnePlus has also included a File Manager app for viewing your downloads and other files on your device.
OnePlus previously said that OxygenOS would utilize Google’s Material Design and that it would be free of bloatware, and so far it looks like OnePlus did manage to keep the OxygenOS UI pretty simple. And while some folks might be understandably overwhelmed by the process of manually flashing OxygenOS, the company’s installation instructions are written rather clearly. OnePlus also says that it’s working on an “easier, more automated” way to load OxygenOS onto the OnePlus One, so if you really don’t want to perform a manual flash, you can wait for that new method to arrive.
If you do decide to go ahead and flash OxygenOS onto your OnePlus One, be sure to share your impressions with us!
