Verizon's OnePlus 8 5G UW finally receiving OxygenOS 11 update based on Android 11

The first OxygenOS 11 builds for OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro went live about three months ago, but some carrier-branded units have been skipped from the initial rollout. Customers who bought the OnePlus 8 5G UW from Verizon were among those who didn't receive the update until this month, whereas most of those who own the phone got it last year.

Well, as the saying goes – better late than never. Starting today, Verizon customers using the OnePlus 8 5G UW can download the OxygenOS 11 update based on Android 11, AndroidAuthority reports. You can find below the most important changes included in the update, but if you've read the original changelog published three months ago, you'll notice that there are no differences.

System

• Fresh new visual design and optimization of details provides a more comfortable experience.
• Brand new weather user interface supports dynamic switches between sunrise and sunset. Day and night are right in the palm of your hand.
• Optimizes the stability of some third-party apps and improves user experience.

Game Space

• Newly added gaming tools box for convenient switches to Fnatic mode. You can now choose three ways of notifications: text-only, heads up and block, just for your immersive gaming experience.
• Newly added quick reply feature in a small window for WhatsApp and INS. Enable this functionality by swiping down from the upper right or left corners of the screen in gaming mode.
• Newly added mis-touch prevention feature. Enable it, swipe down from the top of the screen, click, and the notification bar will pop up.

Ambient Display

• Added Always-on Ambient Display function, with custom Schedule/All day option included. (Go to: Settings > Display > Ambient Display)
• Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It changes according to your phone usage data. (Go to: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)
• Added 10 new clock styles. (Go to: Settings > Customization > Clock Style)

Dark Mode

• Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode. Simply pull down the quick setting to enable.
• Supports automatic turn on feature and customized time range. (Go to: Settings > Display > Dark Mode > Turn on automatically > Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise / Custom time range)

Zen Mode

• Added 5 new themes (ocean, space, grassland, and others) and more timing options.
• Included the Group feature in Zen Mode. Now you can invite your friends and enjoy Zen Mode together.

Gallery

• Supporting Story function automatically creates weekly videos with photos and videos in storage.
• Optimizes the loading speed of the gallery, and the image preview is faster.

The bad news is the update comes with the November 2020 security patch, which might indicate that Verizon has been testing OxygenOS 11 for OnePlus 8 5G UW for an unusually long period. On the bright side, OnePlus releases updates for its flagships quite often, so we do not doubt that a newer security patch will make its way to OnePlus 8 5G UW units very soon.