Against all odds, OnePlus actually met their own deadline for the Android 7.0 Nougat update, with the update for both OnePlus 3 and 3T going live just hours before the deadline – 1st Jan 2017. And this is a stable release. And in true OnePlus spirit, it mostly steers close to the stock Android, with a bit of tweaking here and there.
If you’ve just updated your OnePlus 3 or OnePlus 3T to OxygenOS 4.0, and are wondering just what exactly has changed (because a lot of it looks the same on the surface), this list is for you.
Read: How to Get the Official Android 7.0 Nougat Update on Your OnePlus 3/3T Right Away
1. New DPI Scaling
Nougat adds native DPI settings and OnePlus 3 really needs it. For me, the default UI was just way too big for the screen size. From “Display” in Settings, you can select “Display Size”. You can then switch between 5 presets – going between minimum to larger. Unlike Custom ROMs, there is no fine-tuned control for this.
For me, the “Small” settings was a bit too small so I went in and increase the text size just a bit. Minimum and Small sizes give you 5 rows in of icons in the launcher.
2. New Notification System
One of the highlights of Nougat is the overhauled notification system. Not only does it bundle notifications by apps, it also brings the quick reply feature that lets you reply to a message without even opening the app (and as this is a native feature and not a third party app, it works reliably every single time). It’s now much easier to manage notification settings for an app, right from the notification panel.
There’s also the new look, with notifications now going edge to edge and showing more information, which is great for our big, high-resolution displays.
3. New Default Accent Colour in Dark Mode
Dark Mode in OnePlus 3/3T still rocks. And not it looks a bit like the Pixel phones as the default blue accent color has changed a bit.
4. Multi-Window Support
You can now run two apps side by side. Go to the Recents menu, tap and hold an app and drag it to the top/bottom. Then select another app. To remove an app, hold the divider in between and swipe it off the screen.
5. Double Tap Recent Button
This is a really useful way to quickly switch between the most recent app. It’s like alt-tab for your Android phone. Double tap this button and you’ll switch to the most recent app, double tap again and you’re back to the original app. OnePlus had an implementation where you could do this by pressing and holding the Home button. But this native Nougat implementation is so much better.
6. Redesigned Settings App
The Settings app received a bit of a redesign and some settings items have been shuffled. There’s now context about the items inside a list, right below some items.
7. Custom Quick Settings Tiles
OxygenOS now supports Quick Settings tiles created by apps. For example, I can have a shortcut for a new tweet from the Flamingo in my notification shade. This still a new feature and we hope more developers take this up. Tiles from third party will show up at the end of the list in Edit mode.
8. Data Saver
Google Chrome’s Data Saver feature now comes to the entire OS. Basically, any data that’s not going through the private and secure HTTPS protocol first goes through Google’s servers that compresses the data, then sends it to you. You could end up saving around 50% data using this feature.
9. Hide Icons From The Status Bar
There’s a new “Status Bar” entry in the Settings app that lets you hide icons from the status bar that you don’t need. You can disable icons for Wi-Fi, cellular range, Bluetooh, Hotspot, Volume and lot more.
Read: Android 7.0 Nougat: All the New and Hidden Features
10. Launcher Changes
The persistent Google search bar is gone, converted into a widget. So it’s easy to remove it and regain the space.
How’s Nougat Doing For You?
Have you upgraded your OnePlus 3 or 3T to Nougat? How’s it working so far? Have you spotted any bugs or issues? Share with us in the comments below.
