Overview: OxygenOS 16 arrives with a smarter, more customizable Android 16 experience
OnePlus has officially unveiled OxygenOS 16, the latest OS iteration designed to run on the anticipated OnePlus 15. The update aims to blend Android 16’s native customization capabilities with OnePlus’ emphasis on smooth animations and a refreshed AI toolkit. The result is a platform that not only looks different but also feels faster and more responsive thanks to a refreshed animation pipeline and improved multitasking features.
Gemini and Mind Space: A deeper AI integration
A centerpiece of OxygenOS 16 is the newly intensified collaboration between OnePlus’ Mind Space app and Google Gemini. Mind Space, which first surfaced with the Plus Key (OnePlus’ replacement for the Alert Slider) on some OnePlus 13 units earlier this year, now acts as a contextual data reservoir. It captures screenshots and voice memos, organizing them into easily navigable folders for later retrieval. The big twist with OxygenOS 16 is that Gemini can reference Mind Space content to tailor its responses. By giving the AI a richer context, OnePlus hopes to deliver more relevant, precise guidance and smarter assistance in daily tasks.
In practice, you could imagine asking Gemini for help with a travel itinerary and having it draw on your saved notes, screenshots, and memos to suggest routes, reservations, and pacing that aligns with your past preferences. This isn’t mere nostalgia for data — it’s a move toward a more proactive, context-aware assistant that can bridge the gap between stored thoughts and real-time tasks.
AI features for writing and photo editing
Alongside Gemini integration, OxygenOS 16 ships with an expanded AI toolkit. AI Writer can transform text into mind maps and structured tables with just a few taps, a useful feature for students, professionals, and content creators who want to visualize ideas quickly. The AI writing suite also includes traditional tools such as proofreading and summarization to refine content before sharing it across platforms.
For photos, OnePlus introduces AI Portrait Glow, designed to improve face visibility in low-light situations, and AI Perfect Shot, a feature that blends multiple frames to produce an image where everyone’s eyes are open. This last capability is reminiscent of crowd-aware photo assistants and mirrors similar quality boosts seen in other ecosystems, but with OnePlus’ own spin and processing style.
Expanded customization and smoother interactions
OxygenOS 16 commits to deeper personalization. Users will enjoy an array of lock screen options, with new fonts, layouts, and the ability to convert stills into animated GIFs or set video lock screens. The goal is to allow users to curate a device experience that aligns with mood, context, or even time of day.
Beyond the lock screen, OnePlus has opened up more home screen customization through new widgets and the capacity to scale app icons, borrowing a concept popularized by Nothing OS. On the motion front, the company promises faster animations and a more fluid feel across the OS thanks to Parallel Processing 2.0. In short, new interactions can begin before the previous ones finish, reducing perceived lag and creating a more seamless user journey.
Productivity and connectivity: tablets, and cross-platform screen mirroring
OxygenOS 16 doesn’t stop at phones. It broadens OnePlus’ multitasking approach to tablets with an expanded tablet-specific experience. New connectivity options enable screen mirroring from your OnePlus device to macOS and Windows computers, simplifying workflows for users who juggle multiple devices, especially in work-from-anywhere scenarios.
All in all, OxygenOS 16 aims to offer a more polished Android 16 experience with meaningful AI features, stronger personalization, and practical cross-device capabilities. The update is expected to begin shipping with the upcoming OnePlus 15, signaling OnePlus’ intent to push a more integrated, AI-aware, and user-centric platform into the mainstream.
