OnePlus finally brought Android 11 to the OnePlus 7T series earlier this week, and now, OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro are following suit, as the company announced on its community forum. The update adds all the benefits you would expect from OxygenOS 11, excluding the same feature that has not yet been released in the OnePlus 7T series – the always-on environment screen.

OnePlus had some problems with the environment display in the 7 and 7T series during the beta test, which is why it remains exclusive to the Open Beta for now. Other than that, you’re getting everything that OnePlus added to OxygenOS 11: the controversial redesign of the user interface, a toggle button for dark mode and some minor camera updates. There are also new notification channels and privacy improvements that Google introduced with Android 11.

Unfortunately, OnePlus continues to avoid the security patch version, a strategy that we have repeatedly criticized. The Android 11 build is being released with the February security patch, which should be out of date for two months in just a few days.

Changelog

  • System
    • Update to OxygenOS 11 version
    • The new visual design of the UI offers a more comfortable experience with several detail optimizations
    • Optimize the stability of some third-party applications and improve the experience
    • Android security patch updated to 2021.02
    • GMS package updated to 2021.01
    • Since this is the update of the Android 11 version with many new features, the update time may be longer. Please wait for the update to complete
  • Camera
    • Updated the camera’s user interface and optimized some of the function paths to provide more convenient operation
    • Newly added HEVC codec to perfectly reduce video storage size, capture and record more without compromising on quality
    • Newly added access to a third-party application to share the image by pressing and holding it in preview
    • Recently added quick access to the recording mode by pressing and holding the shutter button and sliding the button, you can easily zoom in or out
    • Recently added the playback display in Time-lapse mode to show the actual shooting time
  • Ambient screen
    • Insight watch style recently added, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It will change according to your phone usage data (to define: Settings> Personalization> Clock on the ambient screen)
    • Newly added Canvas feature that can automatically draw a wireframe image based on a photo of the lock screen on your phone （Path: Settings – Personalization – Wallpaper – Canvas – Choose the photo preview and it can be generated automatically）
  • Dark mode
    • Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode, pull down the quick setting to enable
    • Support for automatically activating the feature and customizing the time interval (path: Settings – Display – Dark mode – Activate automatically – Activate automatically from sunset to sunrise / Custom time interval)
  • Game Space
    • Newly added game toolbox to conveniently switch from Fnatic mode. Now you can choose three ways of notification: text only, alert and block, just for your immersive gaming experience
    • Newly added quick response feature in a small window for Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram (activate it by sliding down the top right / left corners of the screen in game mode)
    • Newly added incorrect touch prevention feature. Activate it, swipe from top to bottom on the screen, click and the notification bar will appear
  • Shelf
    • New shelf interface design, the interface is clearer
    • Added weather widget, smarter animation effect
  • Gallery
    • Supporting the story function, automatically creates weekly videos with photos and videos stored
    • Optimize gallery loading speed, and image preview is faster

The update is being rolled out in stages, as usual, so it may take some time before it reaches your device. If you want to speed up the process, we can only recommend the third-party Oxygen Updater application. It downloads the most recent OTA file for you and guides you through the installation process.

The article erroneously stated that the OnePlus 7 series received an always-on display option with the update, which is incorrect. We updated it to remove the error.