It turns out enthusiasts have nothing to worry about. Pete Lau, its CEO, recently provided clarification to the masses that OnePlus will still remain independent after the merger, and that independence includes any future development of OxygenOS.
As a quick primer, OnePlus phones in China used a variant of that OS called HydrogenOS – this was necessary as the local models shipped without Google Play Services. The OnePlus 9 lineup, is the only exception to this rule, uses OPPO’s ColorOS instead in the region. The CEO already explained to XDA that in the global market, OnePlus phones will continue to use OxygenOS. On that note, the upcoming Android 12 update comes with a significant visual refresh through the new Material You design, and OnePlus often sticks to Android’s vanilla aesthetics instead of OPPO’s own ColorOS skin. (Sources: GSMArena, XDA // Image: Android Police)
