Oxygen OS 12 beta opens for select OnePlus phones

A few months ago, OnePlus rolled out the first taste of Android 12 to its devices via a closed beta program. While there have been a few issues, some users have been enjoying the next iteration of Android for quite some time now.

Today, however, OnePlus is rolling out the first open beta of Oxygen OS 12. This means anyone can install the software on their phone without needing to register for the closed beta program.

Either way, now it’s very easy to get Android 12 on your OnePlus 9 series phone. All you need to do is download the beta software and upgrade it manually. It doesn’t even require a factory reset of your device.

Before you jump in to install it, however, there are two things you should keep in mind. Most importantly, this is still beta software and most likely will have a lot of bugs and issues. If you like stability and use the phone as your daily driver, you’ll probably want to skip the Oxygen OS 12 beta. The other thing to keep in mind is that upgrading to the beta doesn’t require you to upgrade. factory reset, but rolling back to the stable version of Oxygen OS 11 would. In other words, don’t upgrade if you think you might want to downgrade afterwards.

What’s new in the Oxygen OS 12 beta?

The most important aspect of Oxygen OS 12 is something you probably won’t even see: Color OS codebase integration. OnePlus and sister brand Oppo are merging in several ways, and this beta of Oxygen OS 12 is one of the first steps towards developing a unified operating system for both brands.

It’s unclear how this change will affect OOS, but OnePlus says it will make it faster, smoother, and easier to update. We’ll have to wait and see if this turns out to be true.

Apart from this significant (but invisible) change, the new updates to OOS 12 are mostly cosmetic in nature. OnePlus Dark Mode is enhanced to allow users three types: Soft, Medium, and Enhanced. OnePlus has also updated a number of its apps, including Shelf, Zen Mode, and Notes. The updates are primarily aimed at making things look better, but with little real new functionality.

Which OnePlus phones will get it?

As mentioned earlier, the only phones that have access to the Oxygen OS 12 beta at the moment are the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. OnePlus has confirmed which phones will eventually get it, but has not disclosed a timeline.

If you own one of these phones, you will see the beta version of Oxygen OS 12 at some point:

Keep in mind that the OnePlus Nord N200 will get Android 12, as previously confirmed by the company. However, this list suggests that there won’t be a beta program for it. Instead, it’ll just get a stable update whenever it’s ready.