The Oxygen OS remains true to the authenticity of the Android Lollipop with some commendable enhancements. The good thing about this OS is that the smart features are totally void of unnecessary gimmicks. So let’s find out what is so special about the Oxygen OS. Here are 5 features the OnePlus X offers.
Customizable Buttons
This option is found under the general settings section. It lets you enable or disable on-screen navigation buttons, and also allows you to swap the positions of the recent, home and back buttons. The logic behind this is pretty obvious; it makes the usage handier for left-handed users, as they might feel it more comfortable to have the keys opposite to the ususal layout. It also allows users to enable or disable and select actions for the home button. For all the three buttons, two actions are supported-
Long Press actionDouble Tap action
While using these actions you can select from these options:
Open RecentsSearch AssistantTurn off screenOpen CameraVoice SearchOpen Last Used AppOpen Shelf
To customize these settings go to Settings > Buttons.
Off-screen gestures
There are 4 gestures that can be accessed on the OnePlus X to make it easier and faster to launch apps while the screen is sleeping. One of them is not very unique but the other three are really new and useful. You can save a lot of taps and time using these gestures and moreover, you can turn on/off these gestures individually. The 4 gestures and their functions are:
Double Tap to wake– This one is the most common but useful gesture, simply double taps the screen to wake up the device.Open Camera– Simply draw an ‘O’ on the display to reach to the camera app directly.Toggle Flashlight– To turn the flashlight on, all you need to do is to draw a ‘V’ on the display while the device is sleeping and it will immediately turn the flashlight on.Music Control– This is the coolest gestures that I came across on this device. Drawing || with two fingers will play and pause the music, and < or > will change the tracks to previous and next.
To enable or disable these gestures go to Settings > Gestures.
Change the battery display style
This is not a very useful feature but still something that might be missed by many of the OnePlus X users. OnePlus X allows you choose from 3 different battery display style, and the fourth option lets you hide the battery battery bar. You can choose from one of these options:
Battery Bar– This looks just like the normal battery icon.Battery Circle– It displays a ring with the amount of charge left in a circular format.Battery Percent– It hides the bar and the ring, and just displays the amount of battery remaining in percentages.Battery Hidden– It hides the battery icon.
You can change these icon setting by going to Settings > Battery > Tap on the Battery icon in middle of the search and additional option icon.
Customize the look and feel
Out of so many amazing options, the one I found most useful for myself was the Customization option. It not just allows you to change the display to dark mode, but also allows you to change the accent colour. This will be seen in the latest Android M version eventually.
The accent colours remain the same on the normal display but in the dark mode, you can choose from eight different colours. Dark mode looks really great and makes it much pleasant for the eye in low light situations.
You can also choose from 8 different colours for LED notifications. It allows you to allot the LED light colours for 4 options:
Global NotificationWhen battery is fullBattery ChargingBattery Low
To use this option go to Settings > Customization.
Set priority for alerts
The OnePlus comes with a 3 level s slider on the left side of the handset, which can be used to set the alerts you want to receive on your phone. You have an option to choose between the three modes: No Interruption– When you have selected this mode, you will not receive any notifications or alerts on your device. Priority Interruption– Under mode, you can enable or disable the desired alerts on according to your choice. There are 3 options in this mode, namely Events and Reminders, Calls and Messages. You can either enable or disable the Events and reminder notifications, but it gives you an option to choose the contacts you want to receive calls and messages from.
You can edit these settings in Settings > Sound & Notifications > Interruptions. All notifications– This is the third mode that eventually allows all the notifications, calls and alerts on your phone.
Bottom Line
OnePlus has implemented a lot of cool tweaks on top of the stock Android and the Oxygen OS experience feels great without spoiling the authenticity and usability of stock Android. The best thing about the UI is the well baked interface, and it does not include any irrelevant features and mods.
