OnePlus is constantly working to give a good user experience to its users. OnePlus gave information about Android 13 and Oxygen 13 on the official forum.

This news is great for the owners of the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. Who has been waiting for the software update for the last several weeks? The Chinese manufacturer announced the availability of OxygenOS 13 open beta based on Android 13 for the two former models Peak. Let’s have a quick look at the complete list of news, the process to follow for the installation, and some important information on the availability of the update.

OxygenOS 13 Open Beta (Android 13) per OnePlus 9 or 9 Pro

The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro aren’t the first models from the brand to make this significant leap, before it was touched by the flagship OnePlus 10 Pro and the latest arrival OnePlus 10T, not to mention the various closed betas available. Communication, as mentioned in the beginning.

OxygenOS 13 FAQ: Find your answer

Since we are talking about an update to OxygenOS based on Android 13 – hence a major update – the number of news can only be considerable. Changes start with the new aquamorphic design and go along with the refurbishment of the Always-On Display to the security and privacy area, and optimization of performance through the new Dynamic Computing Engine. You can see the full changelog below.

Update changelog

• Aquamorphic Design
  
  • Adds Aquamorphic Design theme colors for enhanced visual comfort.
  • Applies the Aquamorphic Design philosophy to animations to make them natural and vivid.
  • Adds Shadow-Reflective Clock, with shadow simulating the orientation of the sun and moon.
  • Adds a Home screen world clock widget to show the time in different time zones.
  • Upgrades to Quantum Animation Engine 4.0, with a new behavior recognition feature, which recognizes complex gestures and provides optimized interactions.
  • Optimizes UI layers for a clearer and neater visual experience.
  • Applies real-world physical motions to animations to make them look more natural and intuitive.
  • Optimizes the widget design to make information easier and quicker to find.
  • Optimizes fonts for better readability.
  • Optimizes system icons by using the latest color scheme to make the icons easier to recognize.
  • Enriches and optimizes illustrations for features by incorporating multicultural and inclusive elements.

• Efficiency
  • Adds Meeting Assistant to enhance the meeting connecting and note-taking experience, and introduces an option to make notifications more subtle and less distracting.
  • Adds large folders to the Home screen. You can now open an app in an enlarged folder with just one tap and turn pages in the folder with a swipe.
  • Adds a new type of Always-On Display that shows live information about music, ride-hailing, and food delivery (Supports only some apps).
  • Adds media playback control, and optimizes the Quick Settings experience.
  • Adds more markup tools for screenshot editing.
  • Adds support for adding widgets to the Home screen, making information display more personalized.
  • Adds Sidebar Toolbox. You can open a floating window inside apps for a smooth operation.
  • Upgrades Doodle in Notes. You can now draw on graphics to take notes more efficiently.
  • Optimizes Shelf. Swiping down on the Home screen will bring up Shelf by default. You can search content online and on your device.

• Seamless interconnection
  • Optimizes cross-device file transfer, with more file formats and device models supported.
  • Optimizes Screencast, with cast content automatically adapting to the target screen.
  • Optimizes earphone connectivity to deliver a more seamless experience.

• Personalization
  • Optimizes Bitmoji to offer more Always-On Display animations.
  • Optimizes Insight Always-On Display, with more personalized Always-On Display settings available.
  • Optimizes Portrait Silhouette Always-On Display, with more drawing tools and line colors available.

• Security & Privacy
  • Adds an automatic pixelation feature for chat screenshots The system can identify and automatically pixelate profile pictures and display names in a chat screenshot to protect your privacy.
  • Adds regular clearing of clipboard data for privacy protection.
  • Optimizes Private Safe. The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is used to encrypt all files for enhanced security of private files.

• Health & Digital wellbeing
  • Adds Kid Space. When in Kid Space, your browser app automatically switches to Kids mode to create a child-friendly space.
  • Adds Eye comfort in Kid Space to protect children’s vision.

• Performance optimization
  • Adds Dynamic Computing Engine to improve the system speed, stability, battery life, and app experience.

• Gaming experience
  • Upgrades to HyperBoost GPA 4.0 to stabilize the frame rate and balance the performance and power consumption in key scenarios.

Known Issues

Since we are talking about a first beta (OBT1), they cannot miss the appeal of the bugs of youth; the list of known ones includes:

• Carrier version devices (VZW) aren’t compatible with the Open beta builds.
• After the flashlight is activated, the notification of the flashlight switch will not be shown on the lock screen.
• Incoming call notifications will not be displayed when an iPhone is calling.

More information has been promised on the latter issue shortly.

Availability and how to install the update

In the post it is immediately specified that at the moment the OxygenOS 13 Open Beta 1 is available for OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro in India and North America, while European users will still have to be patient.

For installation purposes, the device must be updated to the latest build of OxygenOS 12 (C.63), have more than 30% remaining battery and at least 4.5 GB of free memory. Branded models are not compatible.

As the procedure deletes all data, it must be backed up first. To switch from the stable version to the OBT via Local OTA, you need to:

1. Download the latest version of the ROM available at  this link .
2. Copy the package to the smartphone’s internal memory.
3. This step changes by version:
   1. IN: after activating the developer mode from the settings, go to “ Settings  >  System  >  Software update “, tap the icon on the top right, select “ Local update ”, locate the correct file, and wait for the installation to complete.
   2. NA: Install this APK , open the app, tap the gear icon at the top right, find the desired package, select it and wait for the installation to complete.
4. When finished, restart your device.

For the rollback procedure, refer to this link.