OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7T users who've been champing at the bit for the Always-On Display (AOD) feature can try it out right now in the OxygenOS 11 Open Beta 3, but as excited as you might be to give it a whirl, you should probably steer clear for now.
AOD has popped up on a range of smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S21, and allows your handset to show a select handful of data while it's sleeping, like the date, time, battery life, and so on, but it can be tinkered with to suit your preferences. As you'd imagine, AOD can be a drain on the battery, which is probably why it's missing from the iPhone 12.
The feature was tucked away in the OxygenOS 11 Open Beta 2, and wasn't available for the OnePlus 7, or OnePlus 7T, but could still be enabled. With the release of OxygenOS 11 Open Beta 3, owners of the handset can turn it on in their settings, but the feature is reportedly buggy – not working at all in some instances – and is a significant drain on the battery (via XDA Developers).
- Sorry PS5, Amazon Alexa just got a huge upgrade on the Xbox Series X
- Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is easy on the eye and the wallet in this first look
- OnePlus Nord 2 swaps Qualcomm for MediaTek – and it packs power
If you want to charge ahead anyway and are desperate to use it, battery be damned, you can switch it on in Settings > Utilities > OnePlus Laboratory > Always-On ambient display. OnePlus notes:
"Enabling the AOD feature will lead to increased power consumption in the build. However, this will be optimized in the upcoming builds."
It's a bit of a rigmarole installing the beta build, so if you own a OnePlus 7, or OnePlus 7T, we'd advise sitting tight until a more stable version rolls out and you can make the most of it.
In the meantime, all eyes are on the upcoming OnePlus 9, which is set to open for pre-orders on March 23, according to the latest leak. The flagship is set to debut this month, so we only have a few weeks left before we get to see what kind of improvements OnePlus has in store.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Shabana worked at T3.com as News Editor covering tech and gaming, and has been writing about video games for almost a decade (and playing them since forever). She's had bylines at major gaming sites during her freelance career before settling down here at T3, and has podcasts, streaming, and video content under her belt to boot. Outside of work, she also plays video games and should really think about expanding her hobbies. If you have any tech or gaming tips, shoot over an email or DM her on social media.
-
This Versace fragrance was top of my Christmas list – it's almost $50 cheaper in early Cyber Monday deal
Pick up the iconic Versace Eros for less this weekend at Walmart
By Sam Cross Published
-
Nespresso’s best pod coffee machine is under $100 in Cyber Monday deal
Get 37% off the Nespresso Vertuo Pod+ in Best Buy’s Cyber Monday sale
By Bethan Girdler-Maslen Published