Update: January 27, 2021 (12:03 PM ET): OnePlus pushed the Oxygen OS 11 update to unlocked variants within the OnePlus 8 series months ago. However, today is now the official day when the update lands on OnePlus 8 phones purchased through Verizon. That phone — which has a different name in OnePlus 8 5G UW — is slightly different from the unlocked variants, which might be why there was such a delay.
Regardless, the update lands with all the Oxygen OS 11 features you would expect. That also includes all the Android 11 features. However, it also comes with the November 2020 Android security patch. I guess Verizon has been sitting on this update since then? Who knows.
Check out the changelog below.
System
- Fresh new visual design and optimization of details provides a more comfortable experience.
- Brand new weather user interface supports dynamic switches between sunrise and sunset. Day and night are right in the palm of your hand.
- Optimizes the stability of some third-party apps and improves user experience.
Game Space
- Newly added gaming tools box for convenient switches to Fnatic mode. You can now choose three ways of notifications: text-only, heads up and block, just for your immersive gaming experience.
- Newly added quick reply feature in a small window for WhatsApp and INS. Enable this functionality by swiping down from the upper right or left corners of the screen in gaming mode.
- Newly added mis-touch prevention feature. Enable it, swipe down from the top of the screen, click, and the notification bar will pop up.
Ambient Display
- Added Always-on Ambient Display function, with custom Schedule/All day option included. (Go to: Settings > Display > Ambient Display)
- Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It changes according to your phone usage data. (Go to: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
- Added 10 new clock styles. (Go to: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
Dark Mode
- Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode. Simply pull down the quick setting to enable.
- Supports automatic turn on feature and customized time range. (Go to: Settings > Display > Dark Mode > Turn on automatically > Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise / Custom time range)
Zen Mode
- Added 5 new themes (ocean, space, grassland, and others) and more timing options.
- Included the Group feature in Zen Mode. Now you can invite your friends and enjoy Zen Mode together.
Gallery
- Supporting Story function automatically creates weekly videos with photos and videos in storage.
- Optimizes the loading speed of the gallery, and the image preview is faster.
For more info on the history of updates for the OnePlus 8 series, continue on.
Welcome to the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro update hub. Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about the latest Android updates for the two devices, including their current versions and when future updates are likely to arrive.
Both the 8 and 8 Pro run OxygenOS, OnePlus’ proprietary Android skin. OxygenOS is known for fast updates that come for a very long time, so be sure to bookmark this page and visit often.
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OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro updates
- Current stable version: Android 11
- When will the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro get Android 12? October 2021 (estimated)
The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro launched on April 14, 2020. Both launched with the latest version of Android out-of-the-box: Android 10. We expect both devices to receive at least two major Android updates in the future — Android 11 in 2020 and Android 12 in 2021.
Days after the phones launched, OnePlus rolled out the Oxygen OS 10.5.4 update for the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro. It was a minor update, but brought Google’s Live Caption feature to the phones. It also enhanced support for the OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z earbuds, optimized the cameras and fingerprint sensor, improved system stability, and more.
However, a bunch of users started reporting the appearance of a green tint on the displays of their phones. Some also reported a black crush issue which made dark areas of the screen lose detail.
OnePlus then rolled out Oxygen OS 10.5.5 for both the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The update sort of fixed the green tint problem for some, but the black crush issue remained.
The changelog was also tight-lipped about the display problems. The only indication on it related to the display was a pointer noting “optimized the display effects,� which doesn’t clearly mean the green tint or black crush issue.
In early May, OnePlus rolled out Oxygen OS 10.5.6.IN11AA for the OnePlus 8 Pro and 10.5.5.IN21AA for the OnePlus 8. The changelog didn’t clearly verify a fix for the display problems on the OnePlus 8 Pro, but mentioned general system, camera, and network improvements.
However, some users who received this update weren’t too happy with it. A user on Reddit said that the update fixed the green tint issue on the OnePlus 8 Pro when DC Dimming was switched on, but it reappears when DC Dimming was switched off. Another user on OnePlus forums reports that the camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro became worse after the update and resulted in images showing random flares.
On May 29, OnePlus reportedly started rolling out an update to disable the color filter camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro, not just in China, but globally. The move came after it was recently discovered that the gimmicky color filter camera on the back of the OnePlus 8 Pro can be used as a sort of X-ray camera. The update was attached to Oxygen OS 10.5.9.
The aforementioned update was short-lived though, as the firm then pulled it and confirmed to Android Police that it was an accidental roll-out.
On June 4, OnePlus rolled out a heavy update for the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. It added HEVC encoding to the phones allowing users to record videos at the same quality as the legacy H.264 codec while consuming far less storage. It also added a bunch of system optimizations, the May security patch, and more.
It also reinstated the “X-ray vision� capabilities of the color filter camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro. OnePlus had accidentally removed the controversial feature with an update in May. So if you happened to install the OnePlus 8 Pro update that disabled the feature, you can simply apply this OTA to get it back.
The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro received the August 2020 security patch, optimizations for the 16MP selfie camera, some bug fixes, and system stability improvements in the August update.
Early adopters were given the option to install Open Beta 1 of Oxygen OS based on Android 11 in September, closely followed by the release of Open Beta 2. The beta versions brought a number of UI tweaks to the system as well as improvements to the ambient display, Game Space, Zen Mode, and Dark Mode.
In mid-October, a new stable version of Oxygen OS 11 rolled out improving the phones’ Ambient Display, Dark Mode, Zen Mode, and Gallery app. Tweaks to Game Space and general system fixes also arrived.
On November 20, the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro started received Oxygen OS open beta 4. The update mostly consisted of bug fixes and optimizations. The November Android security patch also came along for the ride, but there were no new features to speak of.
A week later, the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro received Oxygen OS 11.0.2.2 in India, EU, and North America. It included a number of bug fixes and optimizations but doesn’t really add any new features to the phones. It did tag in the November Android security patch which was previously being rolled out with the Oxygen OS open beta 4 update.
OnePlus pushed out the fifth open beta update on December 23 2020, bringing Rewind Recording for Game Space, selfie camera animation tweaks, and addressing a Bluetooth call bug. It also brought the December 2020 security patch to the table.
| Android 10 | Android 11 | |
|---|---|---|
| OnePlus 8 | Current | TBA |
| OnePlus 8 Pro | Current | TBA |
Let us know which OnePlus 8/8 Pro update you’re rocking in the comments, and if you’ve spotted a recent update we’ve missed, tip us!
Are you looking for another device update? Head to our general Android 10 update tracker at the link.
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