OxygenOS 11.0 Open Beta 1 w/ Android 11 now available for OnePlus Nord

Damien Wilde | Jan 5 2021 - 5:08 am PT

After confirming that the OxygenOS 11.0 Open Beta would be available for the OnePlus Nord just a few days ago, owners can now get a taste of Android 11 on their affordable Android devices right now.

OnePlus confirmed in an official blog post that the OxygenOS Open Beta 1 based on Android 11 is now available for the OnePlus Nord and brings with it all of the core features that we saw on OnePlus 8 and 8T series handsets in late 2020. The caveat here is that at press time, the builds are only available for global and Indian OnePlus Nord devices. Those in Europe will be offered download links “shortly.”

Some of the highlights include the new always-on display feature, Canvas AOD customization, a dark mode shortcut key within the quick settings toggles, a redesigned Shelf, new Gallery layout, plus all of the visual changes for which OxygenOS 11.0 has been chastized by hardcore fans. OxygenOS Open Beta 1 is only available for the original OnePlus Nord and not the N10 5G or N100 as yet. You can check out a snippet of the changelog below:

OxygenOS 11.0 Open Beta 1 for OnePlus Nord update changelog

System
- Update to Android 11 version
- Fresh new UI visual design brings you a more comfortable experience with various optimizations of details
- Optimize the stability of some third-party applications and improve user experience
Ambient Display
- Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It will change according to the phone usage data ( To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
- Added Canvas feature that can automatically draw a wireframe picture based on a lock screen photo on your phone (Path: Settings > Customization > Wallpaper > Canvas > Choose photo preview and it can be generated automatically）
- Newly added 10 new clock styles ( To set: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
Dark Mode
- Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode, pull down the quick setting to enable
- Supporting automatically turn on feature & customize time range. Path: Settings > Display > Dark Mode > Turn on automatically > Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise / Custom time range
Shelf
- Newly shelf interface design, the interface is clearer
- Added weather widget, animation effect smarter
Gallery
- Supporting Story function, automatically form weekly videos with photos and video in storage
- Optimize the loading speed of the gallery, and the image preview is faster

As with almost every single OxygenOS Open Beta — including the OxygenOS 11.0 Open Beta — we recommend a full backup of your OnePlus Nord before proceeding. Although this process is fairly safe, you can still run into issues and problems that may result in a loss of data. You’ll also need to sideload the OTA update, which requires a full restore should you want to return to the stable update path in the future.

It’s also highly recommended that your device battery level is above 30%, with at least 3GB of device storage free and available. If you’re happy to proceed, you can grab the zip files for your region-specific device below:

To sideload the OxygenOS 11.0 Open Beta update on your OnePlus Nord, head to Settings > System > System Updates > Click top right icon > Local upgrade > Click on the corresponding installation package > upgrade > System upgrade completed > Restart.