Oxygen OS 15: All Features You Must to Know About

OxygenOS 15 is here, marking OnePlus’s most feature-rich update to date. It is built on Android 15, with OnePlus adding a slew of features, design changes, and under-the-hood improvements. The official beta version will be available on October 30, and the stable version will begin rolling out at the end of November or early December. Let’s dive into all the new OxygenOS 15 features you need to know.

1. Design Tweaks and Visual Improvements

One of the first things you’ll notice in OxygenOS 15 is the new design. Both system icons and widgets have been redesigned with more rounded corners and new color schemes. Also, there are new widgets for most of the built-in apps showing more details.

There’s also a new “Halo” fingerprint unlock and smoother charging animations. The beloved black, white, and red color theme is back and now it is called Two-Tone giving the look reminiscent of earlier OxygenOS versions.

2. New Lock Screen and Always-On Display Features

OxygenOS 15 introduces Flux Themes, a new way to customize the lock screen and Always-On Display. Flux themes let you apply depth effects to the wallpapers and make the subject pop out. While there is an option to add text behind the subject like on iOS for depth effect, you can only add pre-given quotes.

Animations when switching between the Always-On Display, lock screen, and home screen have also been refined, providing a polished transition. You can add extra info to the lock screen, like weather details, step counts, etc.

3. Parallel Processing for Enhanced Performance

OxygenOS 15 debuts Parallel Processing and with that OnePlus has shifted from serial processing system to parallel processing when opening apps. This allows multiple parts of an app’s launch process to happen simultaneously.

This change helps speed up app launches and makes switching between apps feel more responsive. Users might notice smoother app animations and better overall fluidity, especially during multitasking. However, it’s a refinement rather than a massive leap compared to OxygenOS 14’s already fast performance.

4. Improved Multitasking: Open Canvas and Split View

The multitasking experience has been upgraded with a new feature called Open Canvas. This allows you to adjust the split-screen view so that one app may take up more screen space than the other, providing a more practical way to multitask. The smaller app remains accessible along the screen’s edge and can be swapped in with just a tap. This feature was first introduced in OnePlus’s foldable phone OnePlus Open and now it’s available for all OnePlus phones.

Oxygen OS 15 is built on Android 15. So you can save app pairs that you frequently use together. You can also open both apps in a split-screen view with just one tap. Furthermore, there are new gestures for floating windows. For example, you can swipe down a notification to open the app in a floating window and swipe the bottom bar sideways to minimize it.

5. Live Alerts Inspired by Dynamic Island

OxygenOS 15 introduces Live Alerts, a feature inspired by Apple’s Dynamic Island. Running background activities, like a music player or timer, appear in a pill-shaped bubble around the camera cutout. You can tap to expand it for additional controls or swipe to cycle between activities. This feature allows you to quickly access what you need without diving into the full app.

6. AI Blur

AI is the flavor of the season and so OnePlus has added a range of AI tools across the OS and apps. AI Blur in OxygenOS 15 helps reduce blur, specifically targeting people’s faces in photos. It works by applying noise reduction to make the faces clearer in images that might have been captured with some motion or focus issues.

While AI Blur was developed to make blurry faces more visible, it doesn’t perform miracles and you may see mixed results depending on the original quality of the photo. It’s useful when trying to salvage photos with slight blur issues.

7. AI Reply

This adds quick response suggestions that appear in the Smart Sidebar when you’re using chat apps. It scans the conversation on-screen and suggests replies that you can use instantly. Unlike other similar tools that rely on specific keyboards, this one works independently, making it accessible regardless of your setup. While it’s convenient for speeding up responses, the quality of suggestions might vary, and sometimes they may not fit the chat’s tone or context.

8. Other AI features

• AI Reflection Eraser: Removes reflections from photos taken through glass, offering good performance, especially compared to similar tools on competing phones.
• AI Detail Boost: Allows you to zoom into photos without losing details. However, more than the quality improvement, the results feel smoothened out to remove the artifacts.
• AI Assistant for Notes: The Notes app now allows AI-powered formatting, tone adjustment, summarizing, and more, offering a versatile writing assistant that operates efficiently in real time.
• Pass Scan: This allows you to take a picture of your boarding pass and save it directly to Google Wallet, streamlining travel plans.

9. File Sharing and iOS Compatibility

Sharing files between Android and iPhone has been one of the biggest issues. Now OnePlus is making strides to bridge the gap between both with the new Share with iPhone feature. However, iPhone users need to download the O+ Connect app. But once done, we can share files between OnePlus phones and iPhones just as easily as using Quick Share or AirDrop.

10. Split Notifications and Quick Settings

With OxygenOS 15 notifications and quick settings can now be accessed separately through Split Mode. Swiping down from the left side of the status bar opens notifications while swiping down from the right side accesses the quick settings. This change mirrors iOS’s design but adds an extra layer of convenience for accessing both areas independently.

11. Security and Privacy Enhancements

OnePlus has taken security a step further with the addition of Google’s Theft Protection. This is an Android 15 feature, that locks your phone if it detects that your phone is snatched out of your hand, making it more difficult for thieves to wipe and reuse stolen devices. It can also come in handy if your friends grab the phone out of your hands.

Another major change is that now even if your power is off the phone, you can still track it using Find My Device, providing peace of mind in case of theft.

A new Charging Limit feature has also been introduced to protect battery health by halting charging at 80% if the phone remains plugged in for an extended period. Additionally, Private Safe has been improved to allow the creation of folders and filtering items, making it easier to manage hidden data.

12. Intelligent Search

The “Intelligent Search” feature in OxygenOS 15 allows users to search through local files using natural language. Instead of simply searching by file names, users can type in questions, and Intelligent Search will answer based on the information in downloaded files.

For instance, if there’s an Excel sheet downloaded with sales figures, then Intelligent Search will fetch quarterly results if asked for. It aims to make finding information easier.

Smaller Changes Across the UI

• New Animations: Volume slider, opening a folder, and widget transitions have received animation upgrades to make them smoother and more responsive.
• OnePlus Shelf Improvements: More customization options have been added, although the shelf remains similar to earlier versions. There are also suggestions that we may have new Shelf widgets in the later updates.
• Improved Audio: Holo Audio has been upgraded to provide an immersive experience not just for music but also for video calls, audiobooks, and navigation, simulating spatial audio.
• Battery Protection Reminder: An automatic reminder to turn on charging limit features protecting battery health.
• Dynamic Icon Options: New Radiance and Shadow icon packs have been added to add a fresh look to the home screen.
• Easter Egg: OnePlus brought the Never Settle Easter egg back into the Calculator app. Just tap 1 and + and then tap on equal to see the easter egg.

With all the new features, the system storage size is reduced by 20% freeing up almost 5GB of data. Compared to the recent Oxygen OS updates, the latest Oxygen OS 15 is a significant update, improving features, performance, and also customization options. My favorite is the new Open Canvas feature.

Ravi Teja KNTS

From coding websites to crafting how-to guides, my journey from a computer science engineer to a tech writer has been fueled by a passion for making technology work for you. I've been writing about technology for over 3 years at TechWiser, with a portfolio of 700 articles related to AI, Google apps, Chrome OS, Discord, and Android. When I'm not demystifying tech, you can find me engrossed in a classic film – a true cinephile at heart.