OnePlus’ OxygenOS 15 software is the next major update. OxygenOS 15 is based on Android 15 and includes a number of UI changes, and a handful of AI features that are now standard.
It also includes improvements to multitasking and security. OnePlus 12 running the closed beta of the OS. Earlier this month, an open beta will be released that should be similar to the final build. This year, let’s see what OnePlus brings us.
OxygenOS 15’s Design Highlights
OxygenOS 15’s new design is one of its standout features, with OnePlus introducing several design changes across the interface. To support these visual updates, the OS also sees structural adjustments under the hood to enhance user experience.
First-Party App Icon Updates
OnePlus has revamped the icons of several first-party apps, including Calculator, Clock, Photos, Settings, Recorder, and Weather. While the apps are updated visually, they remain static, unlike animated icons found on some competing devices. Furthermore, color schemes between light and dark modes show minimal variation.
Customization Options with New Themes
OxygenOS 15 introduces two new themes—Radiance and Shadow—in addition to supporting custom icon packs. Unlike ColorOS, which defaults to circular icons, OxygenOS maintains a square icon shape by default, adding to its distinctive style.
Notification and Quick Settings Changes
Updates to the notification and quick settings pages allow users to split these into two separate pages, similar to iOS and certain Android systems. For those preferring continuity, the pages can still be displayed together as in previous versions.
Slider Design Adjustments
Toggles now have a more circular appearance, offering an option to adjust them to match the previous design seen in OxygenOS 14 for those who prefer consistency.
Expanded Home and Lock Screen Customization
The OS now provides extensive customization options for both home and lock screens. A new style filter adds a refracted glass effect, similar to Nothing OS, along with more wallpaper options, including several HDR-enabled live wallpapers. Users can also blur the wallpaper for a unique effect.
Enhanced Wallpaper and Display Options
The same customization features apply to lock screen wallpapers, allowing users to adjust the clock’s font, size, and color in a style reminiscent of iOS. Additionally, the lock screen can now recognize objects in the frame, adding depth filters that overlap lock screen elements with objects, animals, or people.
Font Updates and Minor Visual Changes
Among smaller visual tweaks, the default One Sans font is now bolder for better readability, although Roboto remains the default font option. These updates contribute to the refreshed look and feel of OxygenOS 15.
Advanced Visual Effects Settings
Settings now include advanced visual effects that can be applied to notifications, quick settings, and home screen folders. On beta-tested OnePlus 12 devices, this option had no visible impact but is expected to add visual flair on supported devices.
Smart Suggestions and Dynamic Island Feature
Smart Suggestions has removed notifications for certain apps, like cab-hailing and food delivery services, transforming the camera area into a dynamic notification area similar to iOS’s “dynamic island.” Tapping this area lets users access notifications or interact with Live Alerts, like setting timers or managing connections.
Charging and Unlock Animations
A new charging animation displays when connecting the device to a power source, with faster chargers triggering more vibrant animations. Additionally, a new Halo animation now accompanies fingerprint unlocking.
Minor Updates to First-Party Apps
Many first-party apps retain a similar look to previous versions. The Calculator now includes a number system converter, the Camera app has rearranged settings, and the Photos app gains some AI-enhanced features.
OnePlus’ Demonstration of OxygenOS Performance
OnePlus showcased OxygenOS 15’s performance improvements in side-by-side comparisons with OxygenOS 14. Although reminiscent of typical app-speed comparison videos, OnePlus used these visuals to highlight the OS’s competitive edge.
OnePlus’ Dedication to OxygenOS Improvements
OnePlus’s efforts to enhance OxygenOS 15 underscore its commitment to user experience, with ongoing improvements in UI, animations, and performance that reflect the brand’s attention to detail and drive for smooth, high-quality interactions.
Artificial Intelligence
Prior versions of OxygenOS included some AI features, but OxygenOS now includes a much broader range of features that cover even more functions.
Using AI Detail Boost, low-resolution photos are sent to the server, where they are sharpened and more detailed. Compared to a simple sharpening filter, it looked slightly sharper and had slightly more details.
Although the texture is garbled, it’s only noticeable if you look closely. Generally, this feature works well with photos that have been cropped aggressively or digitally enlarged.
AI Eraser had a hit-and-miss record. When using Smart Lasso, the images often contained visible remnants of what had been erased. The way it filled in the blanks once it had erased the object completely left noticeable blurred patches.
Human subjects would also not be detected unless they stood upright if they were removed. Some decent results were achieved, though not always better than Smart Lasso or Paint Over. Perhaps this is the reason why AI Eraser doesn’t perform well since it’s done locally.
AI Unblur also sends your photos to the cloud like Detail Boost. Motion blur is created when the camera moves and creates a mess. Despite the blurriness, this mode produced some reasonably useful results. Although, it is important to note that it is designed to work with images in which the blur is caused by the movement of the camera, not the subject.
AI Reflection Eraser completes the list. We tried a few images, but it just didn’t work well in the ones we tried. Cloud-based services are also available.
Aside from the Photos app, users can also use the enhanced Intelligent Search feature to find information across multiple apps on their devices. This is both locally and online.
Using just your normal natural language query, you can find files containing your query, even if its phrasing is slightly different. You can also receive a summary along with the answer files. We were unable to test this feature during our testing.
Pass Scan (on-device) scans and adds boarding passes to Google Wallet using your camera or photo album. AI Notes (cloud) app formats, cleans, and polishes your notes. Writing style can also be changed to casual or formal by using elaborate or shortened words.
Message apps can use AI Reply (cloud). Based on your conversation, it generates a variety of tones and replies. Also included are Google services, such as Circle to Search and Gemini, which is now the phone’s default voice assistant.
Other features
Furthermore, OxygenOS 15 features a variety of other new features apart from the previous tentpole features.
Starting with the operating system, OnePlus claims to have reduced its size. OnePlus claims the OxygenOS 15 on the OnePlus 13 will be 20% smaller than OxygenOS 14 on the OnePlus 12. Current devices cannot benefit from this offer, since it is only for upcoming devices.
Following the OxygenOS 15 installation, our OnePlus 12 took up an additional 4-5GB. Going from “you won’t get any size savings” to “actually, we’ll take up even more space” isn’t pleasant.
