OnePlus has finally announced the first Open Beta build for OnePlus 6 (review) based on Android 9 Pie. The news comes via OnePlus Forums and as it’s the first Open Beta build, alongside the new features, there are some issues that could hamper the device’s usage as a daily driver. However, the highlight of the build is obviously the new UI that Android P brings for the device, along with the OS’ gesture navigation. Gesture navigation is already available on the OnePlus running the Oreo build but the new gestures are slightly different. There are also other smaller features and system improvements for the handset, but they have not been detailed.
There are some OnePlus specific customisations available in the build. There is now support for accent colour customisation and a new Do Not Disturb mode with adjustable settings. A new Gaming Mode 3.0 has also been added that allows text and third-party calls notification go through while gaming. Coming to the known issues in the new Android Pie build, the Google Pay service is said to not be working currently. It’s not known whether this includes the recently rebranded Google Tez or not. Additionally, the Google Play Store might show "Device is not Certified by Google" and some applications might not function normally. However, as stated above, some bugs can be expected in the first Open Beta build and one is advised to wait for the second Open Beta build before flashing their handset as most of the aforementioned bugs should be fixed by then.
The new Open Beta comes two weeks after the company sent out closed beta invitations for testing Android 9 Pie on OnePlus 6 smartphones. Interested OnePlus 6 users can find the flashing instructions and files here.
OnePlus recently rolled out the OxygenOS 5.1.11 update for its flagship smartphone, which brings system and camera optimisations to the device. The patch also addresses the screen flickering issue that was reported to be appearing when the device was used in daylight. The problem is said to occur when adaptive brightness was turned on. The new update should fix this issue. Additionally, the update also brings improvements to the HDR mode, however, the company has not mentioned how exactly it has improved or what changes have been made to the HDR mode.