Category: OnePlus 3T

In a surprising announcement, OnePlus has stated that Android P will be coming to the 2016 OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T phones.  The company has said that in order to do this, they will be abandoning efforts to get Android Oreo 8.1 to these phones and will focus on Android P instead.

After internal discussions and evaluation, we have decided to focus our development resources on the Android P project instead of upgrading the device to Android 8.1, so that we can offer more exciting features and improvements for our OnePlus 3 and 3T users.

The news is surprising in that most 2016 will likely not see the next generation of Android, slated for release as some point in August.

With the OnePlus 3 being two years old and the updated OnePlus 3T being nearly that old, you don’t see many updates for these former flagship devices any longer and that is par for the course for most manufactures these days.  So when an update for an older phone is released, especially one that contains security updates, it gets noticed – or at least it should.

OnePlus has released an update to OxygenOS, their Android variant, for the OP 3 and 3T that brings a handful of fixes as well as the July Android Security Update to these phones.  The updated build is OxygenOS 5.0.4 for those keeping score at home and OnePlus is phasing the roll out to devices.  That means it could be several more days before all owners see it land on their phone.

OnePlus has begun the process of rolling out an update to OxygenOS for the OnePlus 3 and 3T.  The updated version is 4.1.7 and brings a handful of fixes, security improvements and optimizations to the Android-based platform.

The August 2017 Android Security Update is included in the 4.1.7 build, bringing it up from the May 2017 patch, the last time the OnePlus 3 and 3T so an OS update.  This makes the 3 and 3T one of just a handful of phones outside of Google’s own Nexus or Pixel devices that have the August update.

OnePlus has also optimized the battery and improved overall system fluidity which should make these devices a feel a bit snappier when you are using them.  What exactly was improved here was not outlined in the release notes but users are reporting that these are positive steps in usability.

Good news for those of you who have a OnePlus 3 or 3T.  Pete Lau, the Founder & CEO of the company has confirmed via Twitter that Android O will be coming to the 3 and 3T once it is released.

A lot of you have been asking, so I’m proud to say Android O will come to OnePlus 3 and 3T.

— Pete Lau (@petelau2007) May 31, 2017

The question, of course, is when?  OnePlus has been catching a lot of grief lately because of previous commitments to get Android Nougat out for the OnePlus 2 and the OnePlus X.  Those updates simply haven’t happened and at this point, could well never happen.  So while the company’s CEO has said it will be coming, there are probably more than a few OnePlus 3 & 3T owners that are hesitant to believe it.

OnePlus took to Twitter today with some good news for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T owners.  Google Assistant is coming your way.  The built in assistant, which Google announced was coming to all devices running Marshmallow and Nougat, has been slowly making the rounds as manufactures work with Google to get it on their devices.  OnePlus is just one of the latest but it is good to see that manufactures aren’t standing in the way of getting it out to customers.

If you own a 3 or a 3T, like other devices who have already received Google Assistant, there isn’t anything you need to do other than make sure you have the latest build of the Google Search app on your phone.  That more-or-less tells Google your phone is ready to be updated on the backend.

OnePlus has rolled out another small but significant update to OxygenOS 4.0 for their OnePlus 3 and 3T.  The update bumps the build up to 4.0.3 and contains a number of bug fixes and patches.  Two of the items addressed in the release have to do with Wi-Fi, with IPv6 now supported and an improved Wi-Fi Switcher.  This feature will switch your connection over to data if your Wi-Fi signal is consistently poor.

The camera app has also been updated, increasing stability in the app according to the release notes.