Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

If you’ve got a OnePlus 9 phone, you can try the open beta of OxygenOS 12 now

Andy Boxall
By

You can now try a beta version of OnePlus’ Android 12-based OygenOS operating system, provided you own a OnePlus 9 or OnePlus 9 Pro. The latest OxygenOS 12 software contains various new features and design updates, plus it integrates Oppo’s ColorOS codebase, as revealed earlier this year after OnePlus and Oppo announced a closer working partnership.

The user interface has been given a visual overhaul. The design has been created around the use of light and shadow, which apparently increases ease of use and readability. More specifically, OnePlus says simplified icons and typography, along with more subtle gradients and the use of shadows, will help the software be more relatable and inclusive. It goes as far as calling OxygenOS 12 will a “safe and chill place.”

Related Videos

We’ll see how this turns out when we try it, at which time we’ll also see some other changes and some new features. The Shelf — OnePlus’s slide-in information screen, accessed from the Home screen — has a new Health card showing steps, calorie count, and if it’s connected to a OnePlus Watch, heart rate too. Cards with other information can be resized and customized. A global search system called OnePlus Scout is also part of the new Shelf page.

Related

OnePlus Scout has been installed on OnePlus phones in India for a while, and another previously India-only feature called Work-Life Balance will be added to OxygenOS 12. Work-Life Balance 2.0 (WLD 2.0) is something like Apple’s Focus Mode in iOS 15, enabling you to better separate work and home use, customize app notifications, and set times for each mode to switch on, or have activation based on location.

Elsewhere, Game Mode has a Voice Modulator to change your voice when playing supported games, and the Notes app has a new Doodle sketch feature and upgraded formatting tools. Dark Mode has three different settings to change the shading, plus the Canvas Always-on-Display feature now has new brush and line colors, and allows the new wallpaper images to be scaled and edited for a cleaner end result. Finally, Private Safe locks personal files away and can be used for documents, photos, and video,

OxygenOS 12 open beta is currently only available for the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, but will be coming to the OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8 Pro, OnePlus 8T, all the OnePlus 7 series phones, the OnePlus Nord, Nord 2, and OnePlus Nord CE 5G in the future.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
OnePlus’s newest accessory brings 80W charging to your car for $39
Official product render for OnePlus's 80W car charger.

In addition to today's full reveal of the OnePlus 10T, OnePlus has announced its new SuperVOOC 80W car charger. This is a huge step for mobile charging on the go. We've seen just how fast 80W can fully juice a device when plugged into a wall outlet, so being able to take those sorts of charging speeds with you on things like road trips or quick errands will be a major convenience. The unfortunate thing about the new OnePlus SuperVOOC car charger, however, is that it won't support all devices.

The charger features two USB ports: one USB-A that supports 80W charging speeds and one USB-C that supports 30W speeds with Power Delivery (PD) standard. If you're looking to make use of the 80W charging speeds from the USB-A port, you'll need to be using a OnePlus phone like the 10T or 10 Pro. Otherwise, you'll need to stick to the 30W charging of the USB-C port. Admittedly, 30W charging is still pretty solid, especially for a car charger, but the fact that only OnePlus devices support 80W charging is a bit disappointing.

Read more
OnePlus gives us our first look at OxygenOS 13, and the phones getting it
OxygenOS 13 logo shown during the OnePlus 10T launch event.

The open beta version of OnePlus’s next operating system, OxygenOS 13, will be available this month. What makes it exciting is it’s built on Google’s Android 13, and will be one of the first opportunities to try out the next major overhaul of the mobile operating system. However, while we know OxygenOS 13 is coming very soon and the devices getting it, we don’t know much about it or its look yet.

Gary Chen, Head of OS Product at OnePlus, had this to say:

Read more
How to watch the OnePlus 10T launch event on August 3
Render of the OnePlus 10T resting in sand covered in shadows. Text reads: "OnePlus 10T 5G. Product Launch | New York, Evolve Beyond Speed. August 3| 10:00 a.m. EDT | 3:00 P.m. BST | 7:30 p.m. IST."

OnePlus is breathing new life into its more affordable T series smartphone lineup this week with the new OnePlus 10T, scheduled to officially launch on August 3 with a big event in New York that will unveil the much-rumored handset. It should also confirm many of the specs we've heard about for a while already.

However, despite all the rumors, there are still aspects of the new phone that are shrouded in mystery. As such, OnePlus almost certainly has a surprise or two up its sleeve for Wednesday's event, which will also include the unveiling of OxygenOS 13 -- a significant update that many OnePlus fans are hoping will clean up the mess that is OxygenOS 12. It remains to be seen whether that will happen, but it should add even more anticipation for Wednesday's launch event.
How to watch the OnePlus 10T launch event
We'll naturally have all the breaking news on the OnePlus 10T and OxygenOS 13 when they land, but if you'd prefer to be part of the experience as it unfolds live, OnePlus will be live streaming the event on its YouTube channel, starting at 10 a.m. ET. You can also register on the OnePlus 10T product launch page to stay on top of the latest news and announcements.

Read more