What you need to know
- OnePlus now has a closed beta program for OxygenOS testers.
- The program is open to 200 testers, and you'll need to have a OnePlus 8T to join.
- Interested users will also need to have been active on OnePlus's community forums before applying.
OnePlus is opening up its OxygenOS closed beta program to new testers this week. This will let select members of the OnePlus community share their feedback with OnePlus staff in early stages of development, allowing not just for bug hunts, but also shaping the product that'll ship at the end of the test period.
Announcing the program, OnePlus said:
The Closed Beta Group is the closest group to OnePlus staff. This group is made up of an elite crew of OnePlus community members. This group needs absolute secrecy, as testers will often get builds and features weeks or even months before they are released to the public. Given this, you are required to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) with OnePlus to be part of this program.
The beta is limited to 200 testers, so you'll need to act fast. OnePlus notes that you'll need to have a OnePlus 8T, be a current active member of the OnePlus Community, and also be able and willing to share feedback through Slack.
You can apply through OnePlus's Community forums if you meet those requirements.
OnePlus built its brand by being a community-focused company and listening to its most engaged customers. This year alone, it already ran two IDEAS program where it dipped into the fanbase to adopt new features into OxygenOS. Not all adopted ideas have been seen as universally good. The drastic OxygenOS 11 change which saw the OS move towards One UI than stock Android came as a result of the company building its operating system to meet fan requests, though some have critiqued this as moving away from the original vision of OxygenOS as a close to stock operating system.
OnePlus 8T
The OnePlus 8T is the best OnePlus phone and currently regarded as one of the best Android phones in 2020 as a whole. A sleek design and speedy internals make this phone worthy of consideration.
