Theta Android News: OnePlus is slashing the number of Oxygen OS betas it releases each month

Friday, June 5, 2020

OnePlus is slashing the number of Oxygen OS betas it releases each month

OnePlus 7T Pro oxygenos

OnePlus today announced that the Oxygen OS beta release schedule is changing.
Instead of four closed betas and two open betas each month, there will be two and one respectively.
The reasoning behind this change is given as gunning for a higher level of stability, but it might have more to do with workload.

If you like using the latest Oxygen OS beta software on your OnePlus phone, we've got some unfortunate news for you. Today, the company announced it is effectively halving the number of beta releases it issues out each month.

Since 2016, OnePlus has stuck to a pretty reliable release schedule for its two channels of Oxygen OS beta updates: four releases each month for closed betas and twice each month for open betas. Moving forward, though, closed betas will get two launches each month and open betas will get just one.

Oxygen OS beta channels and scheduling

In a lengthy forum post announcing the change, Oxygen OS developer Manu J. reveals that the schedule change is rooted in the idea that many people rely on Oxygen OS beta software as their daily driver. With so many beta users depending on the software, the team felt it would be better to make betas more stable, which results in fewer releases.

While this makes sense, it is also likely that the sheer number of beta releases the team needs to push out each month has probably become overwhelming. With more and more OnePlus devices launching each year, all of which needing their own Oxygen OS beta channels, the workload is probably becoming untenable.

While many fans of the brand might be upset by this news, it could be a positive development in the long run. If there are fewer beta releases it might make it less appealing to folks who just want updates as fast and often as possible and don't actually contribute to the beta program with bug reports, feature suggestions, etc.

As a final bit of clarification, the schedule changes announced today have no effect on stable releases of Oxygen OS. Those launches will still happen once every one or two months for all currently supported devices.