OnePlus’ clear Android 15 roadmap may coerce more phone makers to follow suit

There are two distinct sides to this fragmentation coin, as has always been the case. Earlier this month, Google officially rolled out the Android 15 update. Unless you have a compatible Google Pixel phone that is, you would still be waiting the latest Android on your phone. And that wait is likely to continue at least for the next few weeks, as phone makers speed up beta testing before a formal rollout. OnePlus, on its part, has laid out a clear roadmap for OxygenOS 15, the software their smartphones run, which will be based on Android 15. That is distinctly different from the ambiguity most other phone makers have served up thus far. Vivo, seemingly an exception to that observation.

“With OxygenOS 15, we aim to create a product that resonates with our users, integrating advanced and meaningful AI features and a unique design that they helped to create,” he stated. “This release sets a new standard for software performance and productivity,” says Arthur Lam, Director of OxygenOS Product at OnePlus, in a statement shared with HT.

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Of course, OxygenOS 15 running Android 15, will have a thick layer of artificial intelligence (AI) to talk about. Aside from Google Gemini model and assistant integration, OnePlus’ own AI Detail Boost and AI Unblur as well as AI Reflection Eraser should give smartphone cameras a few more performance muscles to flex. Alongside, incoming are very noticeable interface tweaks, including a specific mention for “Shimmering Effects and Gaussian Blur across various system scenarios”.

OnePlus will be adding smartphone theft protection mechanisms, something Google too had detailed for Android 15 in the months leading up to its release. The idea is that the phone, using a variety of metrics such as inputs from the gyroscope, the location as well as unknown locations, will lock itself to protect a user’s data. OnePlus says more protections will include a remote lock feature that’ll allow users to lock their phone using only their phone number, and without needing to log in to a Google account.

There will also be something called “offline lock”, which claims to protect the data in a phone, if a thief has turned off any wireless connectivity on a stolen device, to extract data — the specifics of the duration it needs to be offline for this mechanism to active, are yet to be clarified.

OnePlus says OxygenOS 15 based on Android 15 gets its first public beta version on October 30, with a planned release of the final version starting with the OnePlus 12 flagship phone, beginning before the end of November. Other phones, including the OnePlus 12R and the Nord phones join, in the weeks that follow. In parallel, they say AI features will begin rolling out to OnePlus products by the end of November. “To ensure optimal performance, select AI features will be made available exclusively on designated models,” they add in a statement, with further clarity expected in the coming days.

OnePlus’ roadmap for Android 15 is a positive contrast to everything we’ve heard till now, from other Android phone makers. Particularly for those users who spend top money on the flagship devices.

Also Read: OnePlus 12 is a refined flagship, bravely walking the path of conventionality

Smartphone maker Nothing, for example, a tech start-up that prides itself on being nimble with software updates, rolled out the first public beta for the Nothing Phone (2a) a couple of weeks ago. As of this moment, it is not clear if the flagship phone, Nothing Phone (2) and indeed the Phone (2a), previous generation Nothing Phone (1) and indeed the CMF Phone 1, will get the beta versions of Android 15.

A beta software may not be a palatable proposition for most users, in terms of reliability. Nothing says the Phone (2a) will get the final version of Android, called Nothing OS 3.0, at some point in December. Quite how their flagship phone buyers perceive this, remains to be seen. Motorola too, which has been rather lax with Android updates in recent past, is believed to have a beta test version in place for certain phones, but there is no further clarity on the release roadmap. Honor has unveiled the MagicOS 9.0 just yesterday, and while there is confirmation that phones in China will begin to get updates from next month with that carrying out for the best part of early 2025, there’s little in terms of clarity for the global markets including India.

For now, Samsung only says they are “preparing to roll out the much-anticipated Android 15 update with One UI 7.0 for its Galaxy devices later this year”. They haven’t given a date, for now. If the trend of the years gone by continues, they’ll likely roll it out for multiple Galaxy S series phones in the initial stage — the latest generation flagships, and perhaps even the tablets, should get the newest software update in the initial days. A stark contrast to Nothing, to note.

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Xiaomi too has an Android 15 beta program in place, for devices including the flagship Xiaomi 14, as well as the Xiaomi 13T Pro. It is expected that HyperOS 2.0, their take on an Android smartphone operating system, will be ushered in with the expected launch of their next flagship, the Xiaomi 15, later this week.

All phone makers may have been left behind by Vivo though, because the phone maker is believed to have begun the Android 15 based Funtouch OS 15 final version rollout in mid-October, starting with the Vivo X Fold3 Pro and X100 Series flagship devices. HT has not had any real-world experience with Funtouch OS 15, and we will not be able to comment on the performance, aesthetics or how well the AI features work. They have a long way to go however, with users of their massive portfolio including the V40 series, V30 series, V29 series as well as the previous generation flagship, the X90 and the X80 series, expecting the newest Android version.