OxygenOS is doomed
OnePlus did nothing but disappoint me when talking about OxygenOS during their event.
Part of this week’s newsletter was written from Culture Espresso, a coffee and cookie shop not far from my hotel in New York City, and some was written from my house outside of Atlantic City, NJ. I’ve been doing this a lot, writing in random spots whenever inspiration strikes. It’s been driving a majority of my coverage of the OnePlus 10T event, which I was in NYC for. And that’s where we begin.
Now, full disclosure: I actually really like the 10T. I gave it a very positive review compared to what others sites gave it, and I felt it was justified given how well it delivered on what OnePlus promised it would do. The performance was there in full function thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 and all of OnePlus’ custom work, the 125W SuperVOOC charging is absolutely incredible, battery life lasted all day, and everything from the display to the haptics were on point. I didn’t like the cameras very much and there’s no wireless charging, but as long as you’re okay with that, you’ll probably like the hardware of this phone.
Notice how I specifically said the “hardware.” The software is a different story.
With the OnePlus 10 Pro, OnePlus and sister company Oppo decided to merge code bases and power each other’s phone operating systems with the same set of tools. Each manufacturer would have their own unique features and whatnot, but a lot of the under-the-hood work would be very similar, if not identical.
That’s usually fine for consolidation’s sake, so long as every market you ship phones to equipped with that software respect the choice. The United States does not, for example. There’s a very distinct difference between Android skins that are available in the US and those that are available in other markets like Europe and Asia. Typically, US users don’t like heavy skins and would rather have something a bit closer to stock Android, which OnePlus was offering for years with OxygenOS. Up until the 10 Pro, their version of Android focused on simplicity while delivering purposeful features that seamlessly integrated with the rest of the device, making it one of the best Android experiences available.
With the merger between OxygenOS and ColorOS (Oppo’s operating system), OnePlus entered full-on super-heavy-Android-skin-for-no-reason mode and bogged down the system to seem like a weird hybrid between Samsung’s One UI and ColorOS. I reviewed OxygenOS 12 very poorly on CNN Underscored because of that, and at least to me, it’s a major dealbreaker when it comes time to pick a new phone for my SIM to live in. If a phone doesn’t have good software, there’s a very small chance I’ll use it beyond my review period.
So as you can imagine, I was excited for OnePlus to reveal OxygenOS 13 based on Android 13. I was hoping they’d take a turn for the better and go back to their roots a bit with a more simplistic software experience. After all, the 10T signaled a return to form for the company with its heavy focus on performance - maybe they’d do the same for the software.
The short answer? They didn’t.
The entire presentation for OxygenOS 13 was full of more announcements that made it seem closer to ColorOS than anything else. The UI is very bubbly and round, the colors are punchy and vibrant, and OnePlus kept saying how much nature inspired the design, comparing the blue and orange accents to the water and a sunset.
The Shelf makes a return in the top right-hand corner of your screen, letting you swipe down to access its features like you do for Control Center on the iPhone. There’s a handful of quality-of-life improvements to help you balance work and personal tasks, a few new widgets (including one for weather that looks just like an iPhone), a few new always-on display modes (one being a Spotify player), and tons of customization options. This is typically what you’ll find in OxygenOS.
What you don’t typically find is such a heavy redesign of the UI. OxygenOS 12 is by no means a great version of Android, but at least it seemed like a more gradual update compared to OxygenOS 11. Meanwhile, version 13 is a significant makeover, giving OnePlus a much louder presence in the pile of Android forks and skins on the market today.
If that’s not enough, before the presentation, OnePlus confirmed to journalists that OxygenOS would continue on this trajectory of maximalism rather than keeping things as minimal as possible - y’know, like they used to. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but I had high hopes since the split from ColorOS could’ve meant that the system got noticeably better with future updates.
I was wrong, and I don’t think OnePlus will be looking back any soon. If you were a fan of the minimalist approach OxygenOS used to take on Android, your chances of using a future OnePlus phone are likely doomed. I can’t imagine myself using OxygenOS full-time any more, especially now that version 13 will take on such a drastic redesign.
Until something changes, I suppose I’ll just keep complaining. I’ll get some hands-on time with the system once it enters beta for the OnePlus 10 Pro, so stay tuned for more articles like this.
Amazon buys iRobot: In an all-cash transaction worth $1.7 billion, Amazon has confirmed that it will be acquiring iRobot, parent company of the famous Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners. It’s the latest in Amazon’s seemingly endless buying spree of major companies to further diversify its own portfolio of products and services it offers. Right now, it’s unclear what Amazon intends to do with iRobot beyond leaving it alone to act like normal for the time being (CEO Colin Angle will remain in his position, for example), but it seems that a lot of people agree Amazon is valuing the data iRobot has on the inside of your home much higher than the robotic vacuums themselves. The Verge has a great piece on that idea. (Hamza Shaban, The Washington Post | Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge)
The entry-level iPad’s rumored redesign won’t include a headphone jack: This isn’t exactly surprising, but it’s a bit of a head scratcher when you consider who buys this tablet. It’s primarily people who want to save money, so I can’t imagine Apple would drop the headphone jack from the cheapest iPad you can get and force everyone to buy a set of AirPods. Also, many people have been pointing out that the cheap iPad is typically the one to be handed to children, and trusting a child with pairing headphones over Bluetooth is definitely… an idea. Anyway, the $329 iPad is apparently getting flat sides and USB-C later this year, at least according to new CAD renders. (Matridox)
iPadOS 16 might roll out later than iOS 16: Anyone who’s been using the iPadOS 16 beta knows that it’s in a really rough state at the moment. Stage Manager is a train wreck, there are stability issues, and almost nothing about the OS feels finished. To make it shippable, Apple might wind up delaying the release of iPadOS 16 until later on in the fall, after iOS 16 is released to iPhone users. That’s according to Mark Gurman over at Bloomberg, and it seems pretty plausible. Apple could delay it to coincide with the release of the new iPad Pros which are expected in October, giving the company new software features to tout as well as more time to work out kinks. This is a topic I’ll be following closely. (Mark Gurman, Bloomberg)
Motorola cancels its new Razr event, then (reportedly) reschedules it for August 11th: In the middle of all the OnePlus craziness myself and dozens of other tech reporters experienced this week, Motorola had a bit of a crisis behind the scenes when it decided to scrap plans for a launch event around the upcoming third-generation Razr and flagship X30 Pro smartphones. The event was planned for August 2nd but was reportedly cancelled due to rising tensions between Taiwan and China with US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the former. Now, however, the event is apparently back on and scheduled for August 11th, at least according to a teaser image Motorola uploaded to Weibo. Whether it actually happens this time has yet to be seen, but the 11th happens to fall into next week, so we’ll know sooner than later. (Chandraveer Mathur, Android Police)
Short answer: a lot!
When I got back from New York, I had two packages waiting for me: one with T-Mobile’s new REVVL 6 Pro 5G and the other Lenovo’s new ThinkPad Z13. I’m testing both of them now and will have reviews posted to Matridox in the coming weeks.
I’m working on three other reviews that should come in the next week or two: Lenovo’s ThinkVision P34w-20 ultra-wide monitor, the Withings ScanWatch hybrid smartwatch, and Marshall’s Willen portable speaker. I should have time to finally tackle these reviews in the next few days so stay tuned!
I’m also working on some stuff behind the scenes I can’t talk about for my freelancing gigs, which I think you’ll all enjoy.
Let’s get a Q&A session going! Tweet me @LegendaryScoop and I’ll answer your questions in next weekend’s edition of Wiretapped.