OnePlus 3, 3T gets new Open Beta update, brings Pixel-Like launcher, Quick Pay for India and more

Open Beta series for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are generally where the company tests out new features before they can roll it out to all the users with a stable update.

OnePlus has been pretty prompt when it comes to Android updates this year. For the record, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are one of the only few non-Pixel or non-Nexus devices, currently, to run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and following the pattern, the company has now rolled out the next Open Beta update for both the devices. Before we begin with the changelog that the new beta update brings in, Open Beta series for the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T are generally where the company tests out new features before they can roll it out to all the users with a stable update. In other words, if you are running on the latest stable version which is probably OxygenOS 4.1.1 (Android 7.1.1) on your OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T, you will need to install the update via USB sideload which involves wiping user data. 

Coming to the new features, the new Open Beta 13 and Open Beta 4 brings in an all new launcher which resembles a lot to the Pixel launcher. You get round icons, swipe up for app drawer which has also been redesigned and a Pixel like app drawer. Further, the new update also introduces Secure Box inside the File Manager where you can encrypt all your files which you would like to keep private. Adding to this, OnePlus has also introduced something called 'Notficiation denoising' which will basically allow prioriy notifications to peek notifications and will let you grant only the most important apps and their notifications the ability to interrupt you. We also get Quick Pay for India, which will allow one to set up a QR-based quick pay feature that can be quickly accessed while the screen is either on or off with a long press of the home button. The Quick Pay feature is only available for Paytm, Wechat or Ali Play, as of now. Apart from this, OnePlus has also introduced a Gaming Do Not Disturb mode which would lock touch capacitive buttons to prevent accidental touches while playing a game in landscape mode. Also, we can now schedule Night Mode based on the timing. 

Here is the full changelog for Open Beta 13 for OnePlus 3 and Open Beta 4 for OnePlus 3T

>>All new launcher, added support for shortcuts on 7.1.1
>>Redesigned app drawer
>>Redesigned UI for launcher settings
>>Added status bar icon option to display real time network speed
>>Added Notification Denoising
>>Added Gaming Do Not Disturb mode
>>Added automatic Night Mode
>>Added Secure Box for file encryption
>>Optimized touch latency
>>Optimized camera EIS for videos
>>Improved contacts management with linking and merge functions
>>Added quick pay option for India
>>Bug fixes and general improvements

If you are running on the previous Beta build for your device, you should get an OTA update notification soon, otherwise, follow this guide here to install this Open Beta build for your OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T.