OxygenOS 15 Hands-on: A Fusion of Speed and AI

OxygenOS 15, the latest operating system from OnePlus, embodies the company’s community-driven philosophy by integrating user feedback with cutting-edge technology. Described as the “lightest, fastest, and most user-friendly” operating system to date, OxygenOS 15 focuses on delivering a “Fast and Smooth experience,” a hallmark of the OnePlus brand.

Enhanced Speed and Responsiveness

• Parallel Processing Technology: This innovative feature enhances animation interactions, resulting in smoother transitions between apps, even when switching rapidly or under heavy loads. This addresses the lag experienced in previous versions due to animation rendering loss, ensuring a consistently stable and smooth experience.
• Reduced System Storage: OxygenOS 15 has undergone a significant reduction in system storage, shrinking by almost 20% compared to its predecessor. This optimization frees up valuable space for personal use, allowing users to store more apps and files without compromising efficiency.

AI-Powered Features for Enhanced Productivity and Creativity

OxygenOS 15 seamlessly integrates the new OnePlus AI, designed to streamline everyday tasks and empower users with advanced functionalities.

Image Enhancement Tools:

• AI Detail Boost (Cloud): This feature transforms low-resolution or cropped images into stunning 4K visuals within seconds. It automatically identifies pixelated images in the photo album and offers one-click enhancement, salvaging those seemingly unusable photos and turning them into high-definition keepsakes.
• AI Unblur (Cloud): Blurry photos can now be a thing of the past with AI Unblur, which automatically fixes blurry images without requiring additional apps. This ensures precious moments are preserved with optimal clarity.
• AI Reflection Eraser (Cloud): Reflections that often spoil shots taken through glass can be easily removed with this feature. It eliminates both strong and subtle reflections with a single tap, restoring natural and realistic content without distortion, even when people are in the frame.

Smarter Search and Note-Taking:

• Intelligent Search (Cloud+On-Device): This AI-driven feature revolutionizes on-device search by enabling users to search across apps (Settings, Files, and Notes) using natural language processing. It interprets user queries to return the most relevant results, moving beyond traditional keyword searches for faster, smarter search capabilities.
• Circle to Search (Cloud): This feature allows users to quickly search for images or text on the screen by drawing a circle or tapping and marking. Activated with a simple long press of the navigation bar or Home Button, Circle to Search facilitates effortless searching without leaving the current app, especially useful for visual searches or hard-to-describe items.
• AI Notes (Cloud): AI Notes enhances productivity by automatically organizing notes, highlighting important points, and improving readability. It also offers features like expanding or reducing content, adjusting formality, and correcting grammar, ensuring well-structured and polished notes for efficient idea summarization and detailed report drafting.

Additional AI Features:

• Pass Scan (On Device): This feature enables users to quickly scan paper boarding passes and add them to Google Wallet. It works from both the camera and photo album, offering convenience and flexibility by eliminating the worry of lost or misplaced boarding passes.
• AI Toolbox 2.0—AI reply (Cloud): Integrated within the AI Toolbox accessible from the smart sidebar, AI Reply intelligently understands conversations and generates contextually relevant replies in chat apps.
• Gemini (Cloud): Available in OnePlus’s upcoming flagship devices, Google Gemini will be the default assistant, enhancing creative and operational capabilities. This advanced assistant aids in writing, planning, and learning, with Gemini Live allowing verbal interactions for brainstorming, simplifying complex topics, and rehearsing for important moments with real-time responses in over 40 languages.

Thoughtful Design Enhancements for an Elevated Experience

• Delightful Design: OxygenOS 15 introduces design enhancements that elevate the user experience. Updated Shelf Cards feature a fresh half-tone color scheme and expanded card sizes for a more visually pleasant and personalized interface. The addition of popular apps like Zomato and Blinkit on the Shelf enriches scene views, making daily interactions more dynamic and enjoyable. Shimmering effects during charging, app installations, and unlocking create a smoother, more immersive experience. Refinements to the Gaussian blur effect in the Control and Notification Centers, applying real-time color mixing based on the background wallpaper, result in a more seamless and visually cohesive interface. Exquisitely redesigned icons reflect OnePlus’s aesthetic philosophy, radiating a clean and serene elegance while preserving classic geometry.
• Burdenless Experience: OxygenOS 15 emphasizes a seamless, burden-free experience.
• OnePlus OneTake: This feature ensures smooth visual transitions from the Always-On Display (AOD) to the lock screen and main screen, providing a coherent and intuitive experience. The one-click image matting function allows users to adapt photos as wallpapers with the “Depth” feature, making the subject stand out without obstruction, further enhancing personalization and visual appeal.
• Open Canvas: This feature expands to more OnePlus devices on candy-bar phones, enhancing multitasking with seamless two-app split-screen interactions. It allows users to switch between apps seamlessly while maintaining window sizes, making multitasking more convenient and efficient.
• Share with iPhone: This feature simplifies file sharing between OnePlus and iPhone devices. OnePlus users can activate file sharing through a built-in settings option, while iPhone users need to download the “O+Connect” app. This cross-platform capability fosters a more accessible sharing experience, highlighting OxygenOS 15’s commitment to enhancing user convenience.

Enhanced Safety and Security Features for Peace of Mind

• Theft Protection: OxygenOS 15 introduces comprehensive theft protection mechanisms, automatically locking the device when theft activity is detected, such as sudden acceleration detected by the gyroscope. Additional protections include remote locking through the FindMyDevice portal, offline locking if the phone remains offline or if the SIM card is removed, and biometric verification for sensitive actions like disabling anti-theft functions.
• Google Play Protect Live Threat Detection: This feature leverages the Google Play Protect system to analyze app behavior and detect potential malware. Suspicious activity triggers data to be sent to Google Play Protect for verification, and confirmed malicious apps are blocked, safeguarding user data.

In conclusion, OxygenOS 15 represents a significant leap forward in the evolution of OnePlus’s operating system, seamlessly blending speed, AI, and thoughtful design. Its focus on user feedback, coupled with the integration of cutting-edge technology, results in a highly personalized and intuitive user experience that caters to a wide range of needs, from enhanced productivity to robust security.