OnePlus News Daily Dose #55: OnePlus 3/3T Pie second H2OS beta, US carrier deals, 5G apps and more!

Daily dose readers, have you guys noticed that OnePlus silently set a new record by providing the official Android 9.0 Pie update (community beta at this moment)? Let me elaborate – OnePlus 3 was launched in 2016, featuring Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC.

OnePlus 3

OnePlus 3T was launched later that year, and the smartphone maker bumped the spec a little with minor changes like a slightly upgraded Snapdragon 821 SoC. The first generation Google Pixels used the same SD821 platform.

Umm… got the point? OnePlus 3 becomes with first phone with Snapdragon 820 SoC to receive 3 major Android version updates! The OG Pixels are going to receive Android Q, but we are explicitly talking about SD820 here.

Lots of people still on their OnePlus 3… Proof that a good product is good not just when you buy it, but more importantly, over time. https://t.co/uppXmPVs4H

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) April 18, 2019

In fact, OnePlus Product Lead Szymon Kopeć is ready to buy you a pie (edible of course!) if you can mention any other phone having 3 Android version updates.

Buying you a pie if you'll be able to name other phone which got 3 Android version updates 🍰 https://t.co/d3FzKheJMV

— Szymon Kopeć (@szymonkopec) April 19, 2019

From a developer’s perspective, OnePlus could easily bump the the kernel version to 4.4. But they decided to stick on the legacy 3.18 branch. Not everyone is happy about that, considering the improvements on the newer kernel.

Sucks to see OnePlus 3 Pie update still using the 3.18 kernel. Qualcomm has done the hard work to make OEMs easy to adopt 4.4 for msm8996 platform.

— arter97 (@arter97) April 18, 2019

Well, very few OEMs actually bother to upgrade the kernel version to a higher one, so OnePlus is not exactly an outlier here.

The company released the first community beta build of OxygenOS 9.0 for OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, after announcing a similar public beta build of HydrogenOS 9.0 in China.

Merely days after the global beta, the Chinese H2OS variant for OnePlus 3/3T is now getting the second public beta. The changelog of the newest beta is as follows (translated from Chinese):

System

– Fixed an issue where the HOME and multitasking keys could not be used properly

– Fixed an issue where Bluetooth LDAC could not be used

– Optimize the problem that the spacing between the two sides of the status bar is too wide

Desktop

– Fixed an issue with no icon on the desktop after installing the app store

Calendar

-Fixing the issue of the 2019 Labor Day holiday not being synchronized to national holidays

Document management

– Fixed issue where file manager stopped running

Readers may remember that OnePlus China team announced a bug bash round couple of days ago. The first entry in the changelog, i.e. the glitch with the Home and App switching buttons were highlighted there. Good to see that the engineers are working eagerly to flush the bugs.

The H2OS 9.0 second public beta builds can be downloaded using the following links:

• OnePlus 3
  • Primary download: OnePlus server
  • Mirror: Baidu (Password: 03po)
  • MD5: 6F9C8FC2E723D18AD346ACC5E7D3069A
• OnePlus 3T
  • Primary download: OnePlus server
  • Mirror: Baidu (Password: peq8)
  • MD5: 97668401DBCB9BF699297DF43C2A52F3

For further information, readers are requested to visit the official update announcement threads: OnePlus 3 ; OnePlus 3T.

We hope that global OnePlus 3/3T users will soon receive similar treatments. Support matters, doesn’t it?

Support matters.

We launched the OnePlus 3 in June 2016 with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Now, in April 2019, we're bringing our Android 9.0 Pie Beta to that same device. 🥧 https://t.co/8IIzPgQNmo

— Ard Boudeling (@ArdCB) April 18, 2019

On the other hand, we have spotted some interested job listings on the official OnePlus Careers site. Judging from the descriptions, it might be possible that OnePlus is in talk with US wireless carriers other than T-Mobile to launch the upcoming OnePlus 7/7 Pro (even the 5G model!) on their networks.

US carrier deals are one of the prime tactics to boost sales figures, thus we are not at all surprised by this hint. Take a look at this article for further info.

Talking about OnePlus 7, another accessories maker/retailer has now listed cases and screen protectors for both regular OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro.

The retailer is none other than UK based Mobile Fun, who are famous for leaking multiple pre-release details about Samsung Galaxy S10. The maker of these cases is Olixar, who already listed them in their own site.

The render of the ultra thin clear case for OnePlus 7 Pro shown above can be an indicator of the rumored two-tone gradient color back design, but you should take it with a pinch of salt.

On the other hand, Pete Lau shared a subtle hint about the secret behind smoothness of the next OnePlus phone.

Translated using Google Translate

iPad Pro is widely regarded as a gadget with ultimate smoothness due to its 120 Hz display panel. Looks like the leaked info about 90 Hz display in OnePlus 7 Pro is going to be a real deal!

Meanwhile, the OnePlus and EE backed 5G Apps of Tomorrow competition has finally ended. Just a quick recap: OnePlus initiated this grand plan back in MWC 2019.

What is 5G Apps of Tomorrow?

5G will reshape how we previously imagined the future, offering limitless opportunities for innovation. Our community has always been at the forefront of change – encouraging us to strive for the best and never settle for anything other than improvement.

Invent the future of 5G together with us and @EE! https://t.co/X7bIqymKTy

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) February 26, 2019

We want our community to be the driving force behind 5G innovation. So, we’re offering 5 creators the chance to lead the way in showing the world what 5G is really capable of. All you need to do is submit your idea, and we’ll help turn the best ones into reality.

Today, the team has picked up 5 entries after public voting:

• Health Education
• Autonomous driving real-time data sharing
• Again
• Health App Monitoring & Care
• Itinerary

🎉Congratulations to our 5G Apps of Tomorrow winners. Check out their winning visions of the future.

— OnePlus (@oneplus) April 19, 2019

The winners have been awarded full funding and support from OnePlus and EE to materialize their app ideas. They will also get the chance to visit OnePlus for a meeting with CEO Pete Lau. Visit the official thread to get further info.

Friday night is calling – allow me to finish this up here. See you guys next week!

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