OnePlus Releases Community Build of OxygenOS 3.0 (MM) for the OnePlus 2

Android N is the latest talk of the town, but that’s only restricted to a select few Nexus devices. For the rest of us non-Nexus simpletons, we still have to stay content with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

Now, users of the OnePlus 2 can jump on the Android 6.0 Marshmallow bandwagon too! In an official manner, no less. This comes to us courtesy of the Community Build of OxygenOS 3.0 for the OnePlus 2 released by OnePlus themselves.

OnePlus had been in the process of soak testing Android 6.0 since a few weeks, and the progress and stability on the release is at a level which makes them comfortable to share with a wider audience. Note, this is not an OTA upgrade available to all users, this is still a community build of OxygenOS 3.0. What OnePlus means by a community build is that they have ironed out most major issues, but they still need feedback on some more minor ones from users spread over a wider geographical area.

We’d like to ask for a little help with testing some aspects of the software that require a larger user base around the world. Here’s what we need your feedback on:

• Network testing (how is this update working on your specific carrier, your specific region?)
• Are you noticing improvements to the camera (both UI and picture quality)?
• Performance and battery life – let us know how your phone runs.

OnePlus is calling it a “daily-driver-material” community release of OxygenOS 3.0, and as such, you can expect a certain level of stability from this official release. However, getting the ROM on your OnePlus 2 will require a bit more effort than just pressing the “Install Now” button on an OTA link (as there is no OTA link as of yet). But, things are still fairly easy seeing that this comes directly from OnePlus themselves.

For installation, all you have to do is download the ROM, place it on your phone’s storage, reboot to stock recovery and flash it from there without wiping any data. OnePlus does have certain disclaimers for users not on stock OxygenOS ROM and recovery:

We only support dirty flashing of this build using Oxygen recovery.

Dirty flashing (that means flashing the update without wiping data or factory resetting first) requires OxygenOS 2.2.0 or higher.

Factory reset is needed if you are using any other recovery or coming from any other ROM. We do not guarantee these cases to work properly. We cannot guarantee results on rooted devices as well.

Further, this build is OTA eligible for OxygenOS 3.0’s public releases, meaning that you will seamlessly get future OTA’s on your OnePlus 2 without having to resort to any additional steps like downgrading, manual flashing etc.

Incase you are interested in the full changelog and can’t simply flash builds which say “Android 6.0 Marshmallow”, here are the things that are new in this build if you are coming from an OxygenOS based on Android Lollipop:

• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow upgrade
• New OnePlus Camera UI
  • UI has been cleaned up: swiping up/down now switches between photo/video, whereas HD/HDR and flash settings live in the top right corner
  • You can now change the aspect ratio and toggle grid view without going all the way to the settings
• New wallpaper picker
  • Easily preview and set both home screen and lock screen wallpaper in one place.
• Shelf UX has been improved
  • No more edit mode, long press boards to rearrange or remove
• General system performance improvements
  • Benchmarked 47% faster than OxygenOS 2.2.1 on key test scenarios
• Fingerprint performance improvement
  • Tested 45% faster than OxygenOS 2.2.1 on average
• Settings changes
  • Old app permissions are gone, say hi to new (native Android) app permissions.
  • Alert Slider has its own entry point with more customization options
  • Improved settings menu readability by changing the order a bit
• March security patches

OnePlus notes a few issues for flashers, the major one being that your fingerprints will not be carried forward, and so you will have to re-register your fingerprints. For an up-to-date and complete list of issues that you could face, we recommend checking out the main announcement post over at the OnePlus forums.

As OnePlus recommends, and we echo, do backup whatever is important to you before flashing. Despite there being virtually negligible risks as long as you follow instructions, it does not hurt to be double sure when it comes to important data.

The Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for OnePlus’s flagship device is quite late, coming to us almost five months after the public release of Android 6.0. OnePlus is not setting good benchmarks for sending out quick updates for an OS that is quite close to stock Android. Other OEMs, both big and small, have had faster update adoption rates despite having more cumbersome UX’s to port. Nonetheless, the update is finally here. Better late than never, we say.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your OnePlus 2 and head on over to the downloads page and flash up! Be sure to leave feedback for OnePlus in their community thread, and leave your first impressions of the update in the comments below!

 

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