Hands-on with Android P Beta 3 on the OnePlus 6

OnePlus is one of the few OEMs working with Google to bring Android P developer previews to their smartphones. They have just released Android P Developer Preview 4 (Beta 3) for the OnePlus 6, so we decided to install it and check out some of the changes. The company has been hard at work adding not just new features but stabilizing OxygenOS based on Android P for a future release.

(Note that OnePlus refers to Android P Developer Preview 4 as Developer Preview 3 as this is their third preview released. Google's Developer Preview 1 was only released for the Google Pixel smartphones.)

OnePlus 6 Android P Beta 3 Changelog

The changes listed below summarizes my hands-on overview of some of the bigger visual changes.

• New horizontal recent apps menu
• New Lock Screen and Quick Toggles
• New Alert Slider, Volume Control and Power Menu Animations
• Sleep Standby Optimization
• Shelf Redesign

And here's OnePlus' official changelog.

• System
  • Updated Android security patch to 2018.7
  • Updated Google Mobile Services
  • Improved system stability
  • Fixed issue with hotspot functionality
• Camera
  • Improved image quality
  • Fixed issue with watermark option functionality
• Third-Party Apps
  • Improved camera functionality with third-party apps
  • Fixed compatibility issues with certain third-party apps

Other known Issues:

• System
  • System stability and power consumption issues
• Bluetooth
  • Compatibility issues with Bluetooth connectivity
• Third-Party Apps
  • Some apps may not function as expected when running on this Developer preview release

Hands-on with Android P Beta 3 on the OnePlus 6

New Recents Menu

The new recents menu is finally here! It arrived on Google Pixel smartphones with Android P Beta 2 but OnePlus kept the old implementation until this release. It features a side-scrolling multitasking window and works even with OnePlus gestures enabled.

Interestingly, the lock, fullscreen, and split-screen modes have all been relegated to an overflow menu in the top right. You can only swipe away applications upwards, you can't hold down on them to enable split-screen like you can on the previous interface. It feels somewhat of a design regression to me, but it's hopefully subject to change.

New Lock Screen and Quick Toggles

There are new, cleaner lock screen and quick toggle sections. The icons have changed and it looks cleaner. When your phone is muted, the blank space at the top will let you know as well. It's not so useful given we can physically see that thanks to the alert slider, but it's still nice to know.

New Alert Slider, Volume Control, and Power Menu Animations

A number of small animation changes have been introduced for the alert slider, volume controls, and power menu.

Currently, changing the alert slider with the screen off does not wake up ambient mode.

Both the power menu and the media controls now have new icons too, and fit the Android P design language. The power menu currently doesn't following the system theme and is white even when I've set the dark theme.

Sleep Standby Optimization

The new sleep standby optimization added as part of OxygenOS 5.1.9 is also here. Interestingly, it's switched on by default while it isn't as part of OxygenOS. It's meant to disable the network connection intermittently while your device is sleep in order to save battery.

OnePlus Shelf Redesign

One of the more minor changes, OnePlus has slightly redesigned the Shelf which is a part of the launcher.

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And that's about it in terms of OxygenOS specific changes. You can read all about Android P Beta 3's changes that were introduced on the Google Pixel, which OnePlus has also included. The OnePlus 6 with Android P is looking exciting, and with a final build coming in the next few months we can't wait to see what else the company brings us.

If you've noticed as well, some of the screenshots also show the Google Pixel's newly added gesture navigation! We've figured out how to enable it, and all it requires is your computer. You can check out our tutorial here.

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