OnePlus 6 Gets Its First Android 11 Beta

The OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T are aging phones, yet OnePlus is still providing them some level of support. At 3 years old, OnePlus continues to send updates to each, even if those updates might not be coming as fast as owners may like.

This week, OnePlus made available the first Android 11 beta for each phone to start the process of moving towards a stable build. I know that it’s July and Android 12 will be here in a month or so, but at least these 3-year old phones are getting it, right? I’m actually surprised that they committed to giving each Android 11, to be honest.

If you’d like to give Android 11 beta a run on your OnePlus 6 or 6T, you can do so by downloading the update and forcing your phone to update to it. It’s a pretty simple process, since OnePlus provides the files for going to Android 11 and then coming back to Android 10 if it hasn’t worked out as you hoped.

As far as the update goes, it’s a big one. This is the big OxygenOS 11 update that changes the skin from that stockish Android you were used to and turns your OnePlus phone into a Samsung clone. You may love it. You may hate it. This is your OnePlus future, though.

You’ll find a newly redesigned UI, new gaming features, an updated camera UI, more ambient display options, and a much better dark mode. Unfortunately, you won’t find the always-on display that other OnePlus phones have. For whatever reason, OnePlus really struggles at making AOD work.

Here is the full changelog:

• System
  • Updated to OxygenOS 11 version
  • Fresh new UI visual design brings you a more comfortable experience with various optimizations of details
  • Since this is a big Android update with multiple new features, the upgrade process might be a little longer, please be more patient.
• Game Space
  • Newly added gaming tools box for convenient switches of Fnatic mode. You can now choose three ways of notifications: text-only, heads up, and block, just for your immersive gaming experience
  • Newly added quick reply feature in a small window for Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram (Enable it by swiping down from upper right/left corners of the screen in gaming mode)
  • Newly added mistouch prevention feature. Enable it, swipe down from the top of the screen, click and the notification bar will pop out
• Camera
  • Updated the camera UI and optimized some of the function paths to offer a more convenient operation
• 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 on ambient display)
  • Newly 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）
• Dark Mode
  • Added a shortcut for Dark Mode, you can pull down the Quick Settings panel and find it
  • Supported automatically enable by 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

To get started with the Android 11 beta on your OnePlus 6 or 6T, hit up this forum post.