Just a few days after revealing the list of phones that will be receiving the Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 update, OnePlus has begun rolling out the first open beta of the software update for the Nord. The update brings with it Android 11-based improvements and a host of features such as the new always-on display styles, a refreshed design for the shelf, a dark mode shortcut in quick settings, overall UI changes, and much more.
While the Nord becomes the third device from the company to begin receiving the latest version of Android – following the OnePlus 8 and 8T models, there is no word on when the other Nord-branded phones, the Nord N10 5G and the Nord N100, are expected to receive the update. Those devices, though brand new, ship with Android 10 out of the box.
As for the OnePlus Nord itself, here is the complete list of features being added:
- System
- Update to Android 11 version
- Fresh new UI visual design brings you a more comfortable experience with various optimizations of details
- Optimize the stability of some third-party applications and improve user experience
- Ambient Display
- Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It will change according to the phone usage data ( To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
- Added Canvas feature that can automatically draw a wireframe picture based on a lock screen photo on your phone（Path：Settings-Customization-Wallpaper-Canvas-Choose photo preview and it can be generated automatically)
- Newly added 10 new clock styles ( To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
- Dark Mode
- Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode, pull down the quick setting to enable.
- Supporting automatically turn on feature & customize time range. path: Settings – Display – Dark Mode – Turn on automatically – Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise / Custom time range
- Shelf
- Newly shelf interface design, the interface is clearer
- Added weather widget, animation effect smarter
- Gallery
- Supporting Story function, automatically form weekly videos with photos and video in storage
- Optimize the loading speed of the gallery, and the image preview is faster
The company has also detailed the steps to be performed to install the update on devices running the stable builds in the blog post. While using a local OTA package for updating will not erase device data, the firm does urge users to perform a backup in case there are any hiccups. Additionally, it notes that the phone’s battery level must be higher than 30% and the device should have a minimum of 3GB in available storage space.
You can download the update packages for the global version here and the Indian version here. The company says that it will be posting download links for the European version later. There is no word on when the OnePlus 7 and 7T will receive its public beta since the firm is still conducting closed testing to address some encryption issues.