OnePlus teases Android 11 upgrades, including dark mode improvements

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A new version of OxygenOS is incoming

OnePlus Nord
The OnePlus Nord. (Image credit: TechRadar)

OnePlus would very much like to remind you that a new version of its own OxygenOS take on Android is arriving very soon, with new features and imagery teased on various social media platforms over the weekend.

As 9to5Google reports, OnePlus is trailing a "major UI change", an improved dark mode, and the arrival of an always on display feature, which has been one of the most eagerly awaited upgrades for OxygenOS.

While the teases that OnePlus has dropped don't give us much in the way of actual information, there are a few hints in the accompanying pictures about how these user interface tweaks are going to look on screen.

In a tweet, OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau suggests the new look is going to be a "fresh" one – and the animation that he's included in the tweet might point to an improved one-handed mode along the lines of the Samsung Android One UI look.

Some of these early previews are likely to relate to HydrogenOS, the version of Android that OnePlus makes for the Chinese market. However, OxygenOS will look very similar, even if it arrives a little bit later.

OnePlus is scheduled to unveil a brand new version of HydrogenOS, incorporating Android 11 tech, tomorrow (August 10). On the same day, the final developer version of OxygenOS 11 is also scheduled to be released.

With Android 11 expected to be pushed out to the masses very soon, it's possible that OnePlus will get its own version of the software out of the door first. OnePlus has been working closely with Google in supporting the beta releases of Android 11.

Much more should be revealed tomorrow, and with iOS 14 also due to roll out officially at some point in the next couple of months, it's going to be a busy time for software updates on both the Apple and Google mobile OSes.

David Nield
David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.