OnePlus was among the first Android OEMs to release Android 11 Beta 1 for its flagships last year. The company released the beta build just a day after Google rolled it out for its Pixel devices, giving OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro users a chance to experience the latest Android features on their phones. This year, OnePlus has one-upped itself and has released the first Android 12 beta for the OnePlus 9 series on the same day as Google.
OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro users who wish to try out the first Android 12 beta on their devices can now enroll in OnePlus' Android 12 Developer Preview Program to download the new build. According to OnePlus, the first Android 12 beta for the OnePlus 9 series will give users early access to most of the new features introduced in Android 12. These include several system optimizations and privacy improvements, along with security and performance updates. The beta build will also give users access to new application features like rich content insertion, extensions to native image decoding, compatible media transcoding, and more.
Do note that the Android 12 Beta 1 for the OnePlus 9 series targets developers and early adopters with relevant experience. If you don't fall into these categories, we'd advise against installing the build on your phone. Since it's an early release, you may encounter various bugs and missing features. Therefore, it would probably be best for you to wait for upcoming beta releases. While not explicitly mentioned in the press release, we assume that this update does not come with the many UI changes and features of OxygenOS and is instead closer to a pure build of AOSP.
Warning: Many users have complained that the Android 12 Beta 1 build for the OnePlus 9 series ended up bricking devices. The builds have consequently been pulled back. We'll update the article with links to new builds when they are made available.
It's also worth noting that OnePlus hasn't opened the Android 12 Developer Preview Program for the OnePlus 9R. We assume that's because Qualcomm has only released an Android 12 preview BSP for its flagship Snapdragon 888 SoC at the moment, which explains why the betas from OPPO, Realme, Xiaomi, and others are also only for 888-powered devices. Since the OnePlus 9R features the Snapdragon 870 chip, it may be a while before the device gets its first Android 12 beta release.
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For more information on the beta release, check out the Android 12 developer preview page on OnePlus' website. Make sure you go through the rest of our Google I/O 2021 coverage to learn more about everything new in the first Android 12 beta release and much more.