Breath of fresh air
Users played a huge role in the creation of OxygenOS, all feedback and wishes were taken into account during development. To further communicate with the consumer, OnePlus is releasing the Feedback app, which will allow users to send tips and bug reports directly to developers. OxygenOS delivers a higher quality Android experience that is very lightweight and flexible in settings. The result of OxygenOS is a fast and clean operating system. New features inspired by Android 7.0 Nougat and a number of small tweaks to user interface. We have simplified our platform to ensure fast updates software created with you.
Make it yours
Freely customize icons quick access in the status bar to improve navigation. Resizing app icons for a cleaner and more consistent look. Add a passcode or fingerprint verification for individual apps to make your device more secure.
One of the main features of OxygenOS is gesture control. Right from the lock screen, you can launch the desired application by simply drawing the corresponding letter on the display. In addition, there is the ability to control music and other functions without activating the display. AT file manager and others standard applications gestures are also supported. Externally, the system is similar to the standard version of Android, but with much more advanced features.
For example, you can customize the quick settings menu as you wish.
Now you can reply to a message by mail or messenger directly from this notification. Android 7 for OnePlus 3T supports quick replies right in the notification bar. Also, the curtain itself has undergone changes with notifications and quick settings.
finally in Android Nougat multi-window mode has appeared, which allows you to run several applications at the same time on one screen. OnePlus 3 and 3T flagships are among the first to get this cool feature in Oxygen OS 4.0.
The settings menu has updated design with an emphasis on green and blue tones, as in the original Android 7.0 from Google.
OnePlus kept its promise and released the long-awaited android update Nougat for OnePlus 3 and 3T smartphones. Some users have already started 2017 with OTA update alerts. Android 7 ROM is flying through the air as an update to the proprietary Oxygen OS operating system to version 4.0. If you haven't received the coveted firmware yet, don't despair, OnePlus usually updates its smartphones in "waves", you just have to wait your turn. And now let's go through the key improvements of the new operating system.
Updated block with notifications
Now you can reply to a message by mail or messenger directly from this notification. Android 7 for OnePlus 3/3T supports quick replies right in the notification bar. Also, the curtain itself has undergone changes with notifications and quick settings.
Multi-window mode and quick application switching
Many users have been waiting for this, finally a multi-window mode has appeared, which allows you to run several applications at the same time on one screen. The OnePlus 3 and 3T flagships are among the first to get this cool feature in Oxygen OS 4.0.
Another handy feature is a double tap to switch between two latest applications. It's fast and convenient, and most importantly, everything is done right on the screen without extra keys and buttons.
Home screen scaling DPI
For those who don't like the default sizes of desktop shortcuts and widgets, the Android N update introduces screen scaling. For example, for "small" and "very small" sizes, 5 icons are available in a row on the desktop, instead of the standard four. There are a total of five steps to shrink and enlarge labels and other navigation elements.
Interface: icons and widgets
The settings menu has been redesigned with green and blue accents, similar to the original Android 7.0 from Google. And the interface itself has become somewhat similar to that in Google smartphone Pixel. Various icons have been added to the system to display the status and active modules (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) in the status bar on the desktop.
On the desktop, the main widget is now the clock, and the Google search bar has disappeared. A mode of "simplification" of system shortcuts has appeared, after activation they are all brought to a single style, more understandable and visual. You can switch between the regular desktop and the "simplified" one at any time. Widgets in Oxygen OS 4.0 have a separate shelf, and a handy desktop editing tool has been added.
Perhaps these are the most basic changes that are available in the new android versions 7.0 Nougat for OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3 smartphones. The company promises to update all users' smartphones within 2-3 weeks.
Ever since Cyanogen OS partnered with Microsoft, OnePlus has decided to use Android with its own skin. Oxygen OS is in many ways bare-bones Android 5.1.1, but it has a number of cool features that we'll take a look at.
Most of the innovations are about customization, and some of them are so useful that it makes you wonder why other manufacturers still do not use them. There are also smaller changes regarding the correction of minor flaws, but there are not so many of them.
Setting up navigation buttons
One Plus 2 has three capacitive buttons, the middle of which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Left and right are depicted in the form of a dash. The user has the option to assign an additional action to a double and long press of each of the buttons, or completely turn off the navigation functionality by selecting the on-screen buttons instead, as in the Nexus. Thus, you can assign the launch of the camera to a double press of the middle button, as in the Galaxy S6. Here full list functions that can be assigned:
- Open/Close Menu
- Recent Apps
- Search Assistant
- Turn off the screen
- Open camera app
- Voice search
- Open the last running application
- Open Shelves
O last function let's talk in more detail
Shelves are absolutely new section, which is the home bar for frequently used apps and contacts that you can easily access. The section is currently in a beta test, so in the future the functionality will be expanded. If you do not appreciate this innovation, you can get rid of it by turning it off in the settings.
Full unlock
The fingerprint scanner on the OnePlus 2 is even faster than the competition, but Oxygen OS has the ability to unlock the device bypassing the lock screen.
Icon sets
Android is open operating system, which gives the user unlimited options for customizing the appearance. Oxygen OS went a step further by providing the ability to change application icons so that they change in all menus. Initially, the user has 3 sets available, which he can change at any time.
Dark theme.
Google announced in Android M a theme that changes the light colors in the settings menu, but it is already available in the OnePlus shell.
Gesture support.
OnePlus 2 supports launching apps with gestures from the lock screen. The user can draw the letter "C" on the lock screen to turn on the camera or "V" to turn on the flashlight. During music playback, you can draw two parallel lines to pause.
Changing accents
The intention of Material Design is that there is a clear separation between background and text. Section text and settings icons are called accents, and Oxygen OS users can change their color to their liking. 
Customization of LED-indication.
Finally, OnePlus 2 lets you customize the color of the notification LED. For example, you can set a notification to be red for missed calls, blue for missed messages, and now you won't get confused when the indicator flashes. 
The review used OnePlus 5 devices on Hydrogen 3.5.0 (non-PCT) and Oxygen 4.5.14 (PCT), both with Android 7.1.1.
Appearance
In the process initial setup Oxygen OS greets the user with simple and familiar steps for connecting to the network (in the absence of a SIM card or Wi-Fi / mobile Internet connection in the device), setting up Google account, add a fingerprint, and select accessibility options.
The first thing a user sees when turning on any smartphone is the lock screen. Here, as in the rest of the system, only necessary minimum: date, time, network status and operator name at the top of the display, dialer and camera call widgets at the bottom left and bottom right, respectively. On the lock screen, you can set your own wallpaper, different from those on the desktop. When playing music, for example, through Spotify, the cover of the album from which the song is playing becomes the background of the lock screen.
The approach to organizing the desktop is familiar to adherents of the "clean" version of Android. Folder with applications from Google on the left, on the right - an icon Google Play, in the dock - the most desired applications. The icons are different from stock, one of three branded sets is used here - OnePlus (default), Round (round), Square (square). Screen animation in terms of speed / smoothness is as close as possible to that in the Pixel interface, there is no setting for animation effects. As for the launcher, only one OnePlus Launcher is available in the European version of the device, in the Chinese version, the so-called OnePlus H2 Launcher is added to it, in which all applications are spaced on desktops in the style of MIUI and similar versions of Android.
Quick screen settings, as in the "clean" version of Android, are available by long pressing. Here you can change the background of the lock screen, desktop, add widgets to the latter and personalize appearance, as well as enable/disable the navigation gesture quick settings in the notification bar. The latter is quite flexibly configured, which is good news. However, this is not the prerogative of Oxygen. In the notification panel, the user can reconfigure the location of shortcuts, add the necessary options from the list, as well as shortcuts to applications that support such functionality. From my list, these are Spotify and TunnelBear.
Instead of the Google Now panel, there is a Shelf tab, accessible by swiping to the right of the home screen. It displays information about recent apps, contacts, reminders, weather forecast, and system settings. Additionally, there is an option to add a supported favorite application widget.
As for the pre-installed applications, apart from Google Apps, the user will find a voice recorder, a calculator, an AccuWeather "weather" client, a download manager, a file manager, an SMS client, as well as a Community application in which the user can discuss this or that issue with other OnePlus owners, however, communication is often not carried out in Russian. Standard music app is Google Play Music, mail is Gmail.
The dialer continues the austere design approach. Its companion Contacts app is divided into three tabs: Favorite Contacts, Recent Calls, and All List. The Messages app has basic functionality.
The rest of the pre-installed applications are as simple as possible, nothing more.
The settings menu has undergone almost no visual changes. Nevertheless, there were some innovations in the settings themselves, which, in my opinion, favorably distinguish Oxygen from the "drain". About them - in the next paragraph of the review.
Features of Oxygen OS
We will move through the list of settings from top to bottom. The first item that catches your eye is the setting of the mode switch. We are talking about a three-position switch that allows you to quickly change the mode of alerts and notifications. In the corresponding settings item, the parameters of each of the modes are changed. For example, for the "Do Not Disturb" mode, it is possible to create a list of favorite contacts, messages and calls from which will take priority over the set mode and will be accompanied by alerts.
Of course, important point- buttons. By default in Oxygen OS 4.5.14, the back button is on the left and the Recent Apps button is on the right. But my "Samsung" past does not let go, so the buttons were reassigned, since the system allows you to do this. The backlight and vibration of the keys are also turned off. There is an option to replace the touch keys below the screen with an on-screen navigation bar, but this is not my story at all, as regular readers are already well aware. By and large, it was precisely such details that predetermined my choice of a smartphone, I am very impressed with such flexibility and the choice of work and interaction scenarios given to me as a user. We return to the item "Buttons". For each of the keys ("Home", "Back", "Recent Applications"), two commands are provided: for double and long pressing. Also a plus, you can beat your usual scenarios in different ways in search of the optimal combination of keys and commands. Completes button setup option quick launch camera by double pressing the power button.
System gestures are another way to personalize your user experience. Here, Oxygen developers offer quite original ways to control the interface and media playback. For example, a habit is quickly developed to bring up the notification shade by swiping down from anywhere on the screen. Calling the menu with applications works similarly, only with a swipe up.
Special attention is paid to setting up the screen and its modes of operation. In addition to the options for color temperature, night and sleep mode, a reading mode is available here, a variation of the Ambient Display functionality that allows you to view notifications on the phone lying on the table and display them in black and white immediately upon receipt. The event indicator is also configured with the assignment of its own color to each application. Out of the box, three color schemes are available to the user, my favorite is dark, which goes well with the black case, and it seems as if the display occupies the entire front panel up to the fingerprint scanner.
In their variation of System Tuner, Oxygen developers have added a hidden item in the settings called "OnePlus Lab". At this stage, there is only one item in the “laboratory” on OnePlus 5, but it will allow you to set the priority of notifications by application as flexibly as possible, sorting them by importance into five available categories. To open access to the “laboratory”, you need to hold down the settings icon above the quick notification panel in the drop-down curtain for 5-10 seconds, and the corresponding item will appear in the settings closer to the end of the list.
Special abilities also rich in innovation. For example, there is a mode in which the device "understands" what is in your pocket and does not respond to attempts to "wake up" the screen or put your finger on the scanner. Also, for those who cannot tear themselves away from the phone even at night, there is a scheduled schedule for turning on / off the device in accordance with the time periods set by the owner of the smartphone. In the same paragraph, there are settings for the OTG storage mode, game mode and the choice of the preferred Bluetooth codec. Optionally, you can join the program for collecting statistics on the use of your device; the founders of the company promised to rework the data collection algorithm before the last update.
Of the security options, I would note the option to lock selected applications with a password, thereby creating an additional layer of protection. Well, the “icing on the cake” is the ability to pull out a panel with a short list of items in the settings menu from any settings item with a swipe from the left edge of the display to the right for a quick transition.
Differences from Hydrogen
In the international version of the OS from OnePlus, the choice for the user has already been largely made. These are both default applications and the presence of pre-installed Google services, the need to use which is taken as an axiom. Hydrogen comes pre-installed with about ten applications that are designed for the Chinese market (JD, AliPay, QQ, Amap, browser, nice mail client), added support cloud storage Oneplus. Wherein unnecessary applications are easily removed, Google Play is just as easy to install. The only problem for a number of users may be the lack of Russian localization in the menu. Again, flashing from the Chinese version to the international version is quite fast and is not difficult in itself.
In the comments on the thematic forums, there is an opinion that Hydrogen demonstrates relatively better autonomy, the indicators in my case are close to those in the review by Eldar Murtazin. Of course, they cannot be considered something like a standard; on the second day of using the phone, separate Google services, so I do not undertake to confirm or refute the theory expressed by users. At this stage outside work systems on Hydrogen/Oxygen are almost identical. Who knows, maybe in fact the manufacturer has taken a course to combine these versions into one platform.
Impression
After a rather long period of using TouchWiz and third-party firmware based on it, Oxygen is perceived as calmly as possible, it has a minimum of superfluous things, while there is the possibility of personalizing and customizing the system behavior to suit your own needs and preferences. The design is close to ascetic, minimalism and rigor can be traced in all the "corners" of Oxygen. To some it will seem boring, someone, on the contrary, is looking for just such an approach.
The system “just works out of the box, got it, quickly set it up and use it,” while maintaining good autonomy. In this, Oxygen reminded me of iOS, whose fans for a long time referred and continue to refer to the complexity and intricacy of Android. It is quite possible that this was the goal of the Oxygen developers - to copy this particular aspect of the user experience of smartphone owners from Apple.
According to the information on the network, in the next month or two, Oxygen is waiting for an update to Oreo, it will affect the OP 5 and 5T smartphones. For 5T, this will be mostly optimization existing system, and the OP 5 software will include “chips” currently available only in OP 5T (face unlock via front camera, "parallel applications", split screen in the "picture in picture" mode for simultaneous work with two applications and others).