Many of you may not be aware that OnePlus has a parallel Android skin called HydrogenOS, which is exclusively available to OnePlus users in China.
OnePlus has confirmed (via Weibo) that HydrogenOS 11, based on Android 11, will be released on August 10. This is great news not only for OnePlus China users, but also for OnePlus users around the world. This is because HydrogenOS and OxygenOS are closely related to each other.
After parting ways with CyanogenOS, once one of the best custom ROMs for Android, the company decided to release two separate Android skins targeting different markets - OxygenOS and HydrogenOS for the global and Chinese market respectively. Initially, the two Android skins were very different.
However, they gradually became remarkably similar. At this point, the only significant difference between the two is that HydrogenOS does not have Google Play services and support for different languages.
Given the similarity of the two ROMs, the arrival of HydrogenOS 11 indicates that the Android 11 version of OxygenOS is not far away. OnePlus has always been quick to deliver the latest Android updates. As we know that the stable version of Android 11 arrives in early September, we can expect the release of OxygenOS 11 in September or at least in October.
As for features, Pete Lau, CEO of OnePlus, previously shared a teaser video suggesting that Android 11-based OxygenOS will bring Always-On Display to OnePlus devices.
Apart from that, we can expect all the fantastic features of Android 11 in OxygenOS 11, such as a chat section in the notification shade, smart device controls right in the power button menu , one-time authorization for apps, and more.
OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro users are already using the beta version of Android 11, so we can expect them to be the first OnePlus to take advantage of the next OxygenOS update in its stable form.