OnePlus phones have gained a massive amount of popularity in very little time, thanks to the premium features they offer at less premium prices. Due to such qualities, OnePlus phones have gained a special place in India, where users are holding onto OnePlus phones longer than devices from Samsung, Apple and LG, according to a recent Counterpoint survey. In addition to offering quality handsets, the company is also looking for ways to expand its presence in the country, such as through continuous engagement with its community, software support and more. Now the company is looking for people to participate in the OnePlus closed beta group, which will test India-specific features.
OnePlus announced it was looking for closed beta testers for India-specific features in an official help forum. The Chinese company said it will be taking only 100 applications for the program, and applicants will need to meet certain requirements.
These requirements are: owning a OnePlus 6 or 7 series device, being an active member of the OnePlus Community, and always being willing to communicate and offer feedback to the OnePlus team via Slack.
“As we build more India Specific features based on the feedback of our community, we will be starting a separate Closed Beta testing group to take a test drive of our new upcoming India Specific features,” OnePlus said in a post.
Before applying for the program, you should know that you will sometimes be required to flash builds that need a clean flash, which may result in data loss. If you are interested, meet the requirements and are OK with possibly losing data, then you can apply from this link to make “OxygenOS better together.”
OnePlus called for applications for closed beta testers last month also. In a post on the OnePlus Forum, the company said it is looking for 250 OnePlus 7 Series users to test software. The company said it wants users to test more buggy builds of the OnePlus 7 series. Further, the Chinese company said feedback will help it come up with more stable OnePlus 7 update builds, such as the Open Beta.
OnePlus Global Product Operations Manager Manu J said previously that the Closed Beta Group is the closest to staff and includes “an elite crew of OnePlus community members.” Once selected for the OnePlus Closed Beta Group, you will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
“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,” Manu J said last month.
OnePlus first announced the OnePlus Beta Program in October 2016. At the time, the company said the closed beta builds are called “alpha builds” and that closed beta testers are responsible for testing the latest code and features.
OnePlus currently manages its software via three separate builds that run concurrently: Open Beta, Closed Beta and the MP, which is the official build. To learn how these three work, visit this link.
In other OnePlus news, the company started rolling out new beta updates for the OnePlus 6T and the OnePlus 6 earlier this week. This update brings a new Android security patch and many other changes.
Specifically, the beta update for the OnePlus 6 is the OxygenOS Open Beta 22 update, while for the OnePlus 6T, it is the OxygenOS Open Beta 14 update. The changelog for both updates is the same.
In addition to the July Android security patch, the beta update fixes the quick reply feature when using the camera app in landscape. The update also makes some changes to the user interface. The File Manager app’s UI is updated with an improved navigation experience. The update also adds a clock widget to the OnePlus 6T and OnePlus 6.
OnePlus has also updated the Switch app, which is used to transfer data from an older phone to a new OnePlus handset. The app now supports more types of data migration. If you haven’t received these update even though you are registered in the OnePlus OxygenOS beta program, go to Settings > System updates to install it if it has already arrived.
