OnePlus is updating the OnePlus 6’s software to match that of the newly launched 6T.
The update comes in the form of OxygenOS 9.0.2 and adds several nice features and a few visual changes. Users can expect to see:
- Nightscape camera mode
- Studio lighting for face contour
- Better gesture implementation
- New UI in About phone section
- Optimized standby power consumption
- Updated Android security patch to 2018.11
- Ability to launch Google Assistant by holding the power button for 0.5 seconds
- General bug fixes
The most noticeable update is the new gesture implementation. Previously, OnePlus’ gestures were slow and didn’t give the user much visual feedback. I would compare the old gestures to hitting a button, but instead of a button you just swiped up where the button should be.
The new gestures are much more reactive, and to me they seem to flow along with my finger on the screen.
It still uses the same actions, a quick swipe up from the middle takes you home, a swipe on the left or right bottom edge acts as the back button and swiping up from the center, and holding opens multi-tasking. It’s hard to explain, but the new gestures are much more fluid than the older ones.
In addition to the new gestures, OnePlus 6 users can now use ‘Nightscape’ camera mode. It functions much like the Google Pixel’s new ‘Night Sight’ mode by taking a few photos quickly as the user holds the phone steady and then uses software tricks to brighten the scene considerably.
In my very brief test of the feature, it worked well and made the dark scene that would have been almost unseeable before bright and detailed.
The other tweaks are less noticeable, but these two add some great features to the phone, and it’s exciting that OnePlus brought these features to its older phone instead of making them a 6T exclusive.
OnePlus has also changed something server-side that has caused the popular third-party Oxygen Updater app to come to a halt, according to Android Police.
OnePlus enthusiasts used to be able to download and install the latest OnePlus software updates as soon as they were available with the app, but now users will have to wait until the update is pushed out to them.
Source: Android Police
