The OnePlus One is remembered for a lot of firsts for the company as well as for the industry. Surprisingly, the OnePlus One did not ship with OnePlus's own software but shipped with CyanogenOS, and that was actually one of the reasons why the tech enthusiasts circles first noticed the device. But a while after the launch of the phone, OnePlus parted ways with Cyanogen and began working on its own software solutions -- OxygenOS and HydrogenOS. From 2015 to 2020, OnePlus has grown tremendously as a company, and now, the Chinese OEM is preparing to unveil HydrogenOS 11 based on Android 11 on August 10, 2020.
OnePlus One Hydrogen OS: First Impressions
OxygenOS and HydrogenOS are software "skins" and user experiences from OnePlus, both of which trace their roots back to the early years of the company. While OxygenOS served the needs of international users, HydrogenOS served the needs of users in China, with features and UI that appeases that set of audience. Initially, the ROMs sported very different looks and several different features. But after more than a year of separate existence, OnePlus had decided to merge the codebase for OxygenOS and HydrogenOS with a view of providing quick software updates to its user base.
Download the new Hydrogen Icon Pack from the OnePlus 8
In essence, OnePlus has more or less merged the software experience on its devices across regions. HydrogenOS still exists for the Chinese region, but apart from a few China-specific features, it is very similar to the global software. These features are not unlike the India-specific features that we see from the company.
With HydrogenOS 11 and Android 11 officially making an appearance on August 11, we can take a look at some of the changes that OnePlus has in store for its software. While the teaser does not explicitly mention so, we expect the first public releases to be within the Open Beta tracks, so users looking for a stable experience on day 1 should probably keep their expectations grounded. Since Android 11 has largely been available for Snapdragon 865-based flagships (with some rare exceptions), we also wouldn't be too surprised if the initial releases remain restricted to the company's flagships, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. As far as expected features are concerned, we are expecting a redesign of the Weather app, but we are also hoping for an Always-On Display implementation as well as has long been promised. We also expect most of the features to migrate over onto OxygenOS as well.
Source: OnePlus Weibo