OnePlus has unveiled the China-specific HydrogenOS 11 software which is a Google Play Services-free version of its popular OxygenOS software. The new OS skin for OnePlus phones in China now brings features like always-on display, multi-user Zen Mode, voice notes, interesting dark mode, dynamic weather UI, smart gallery layout, and many other noticeable features. OnePlus has promised that OnePlus 6 and later devices will get these new improvements with the HydrogenOS version.
While the software skins have two different names, they are in fact built by the same team and understandably have the same codebase. Talking about the dark mode, it has got some UI tweaks as the shades of black are different for visual distinction of the information. The mode can be activated based on scheduled times and there is a quick settings toggle too.
The RAM management has also got better now, as more apps can run with the same amount of memory, thereby reducing instances of apps being terminated in the background. To take advantage of the higher refresh rate screens, OnePlus has also brought the Turbo Booster 2.0 mode for better full frame rate tasks – for example, while gaming.
The developer build of HydrogenOS 11 is already available for the OnePlus 8 series phones and the final stable version will be released by the end of this year. Public beta of the software skin will come in September and the other devices like the OnPlus 7 series and OnePlus 6 series will get it in mid-December. This means we can expect cross-platform sharing of features with both OxygenOS and HydrogenOS.
