OnePlus 5 Receives Android 8.0 Oreo With First Open Beta Build: Check Out the New Features

OnePlus 5, the first 2017 flagship from the Chinese smartphone firm, on Saturday received its first Android 8.0 Oreo based Open Beta build. With it, the company has also announced the start of its Open Beta programme for the OnePlus 5. Notably, the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T smartphones launched in 2016 started receiving their stable Android 8.0 Oreo-based OxygenOS 5.0 builds last week. In the meanwhile, a purported Oreo-based Open Beta 2 build for the OnePlus 5 has leaked, pointing to the inclusion of the Face Unlock feature that was first unveiled for the OnePlus 5T earlier this month.

Like previous Open Beta builds from OnePlus, the Oreo-based build for the OnePlus 5 needs to be flashed onto the smartphone, requiring users to back up their devices as all data will be lost in the process. Users can follow the official OnePlus flashing guide for instructions, and can download the ROM from here for flashing. To recall, OnePlus has promised that the stable Oreo update for the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T will be rolled out in Q1 2018, so if you are impatient to use Oreo on your device, your best bet is the Open Beta - however, do note that it is a beta build, and will have bugs that need to be ironed out.

The OnePlus 5 Android 8.0 Oreo-based build's changelog has been posted on the company's forum, and it contains Oreo features such as Picture-in-Picture, Auto-fill, Smart text selection, and a new Quick Settings design. It also brings along the October Android security patch. OnePlus specific additions include Parallel Apps, Notification Dots for the OnePlus launcher, a new app folder design, and the ability to upload photos directly to Shot on OnePlus.

Separately, an XDA Developers forum member last week posted what appears to be an official link to the OnePlus 5 Open Beta 2 build. Ironically, this link was posted a couple of days before OnePlus announced the first Open Beta build. A separate XDA Developers post cites a user that installed the leaked Open Beta 2 build, and spotted the Face Unlock feature that the company had unveiled with the OnePlus 5T. If real, this would mean the Face Unlock feature will arrive for the OnePlus 5 with its second Open Beta build, and that users can reasonably expect it to make it the stable build next year.