Is OnePlus betting its future on a single button? OnePlus co-creator Pete Lau takes to the brand's blog to announce the end of the alert slider. This famous sliding button, present almost without interruption since the brand's beginnings, had become a central element to differentiate a OnePlus from the rest of the smartphones.
We knew it was under threat for a few years, the OnePlus 10T had done without it, some Oppo smartphones, belonging to the same group, have borrowed it. After three years of internal debate, the die is cast, the alert slider will disappear in favor of a customizable button. The action button introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro probably weighed in the balance.
The manager has not yet provided details on this button. But he clarifies an important point: it will still be possible to change sound profiles without waking up the smartphone.
He details:
The alert slider, one of the "favorite functions", but it is undoubtedly outdated
The alert slider may have been an important element to stand out on the design, it seemed more and more useless with the evolution of Android interfaces which make changing the ringtone mode easier.
Pete Lau also writes that it was "one of my favorite OnePlus functions. It’s simple, intuitive, and works flawlessly. In fact, I loved it so much that we even introduced it to OPPO devices.”
He does qualify his decision, however. “But here’s the thing: as much as I love the Alert Slider, I still ask myself the same question. How could it do more? As iconic as it is, it’s a huge piece of hardware just to change sound profiles. It didn’t sit well with me. I’ve spoken to OPPO about it several times. our product team because I thought we could go further."
A Gamble
Then the question arose whether or not to keep a slider: "Here's the problem: The Alert Slider is a hardware switch. Its function is tied to its physical position, which means it can't be reprogrammed or expanded without losing its simplicity. So we had two choices. Leave it as is or evolve it into something even more powerful.”
Will Oppo get the first look at this new button with its Oppo Find X8 Ultra and Find X8 mini, or will we have to wait for a possible OnePlus 14? One thing is certain, OnePlus is taking a big risk here. The brand has already gotten so close to Oppo that some models share almost all of their technical specifications between the two giants. At the same time, the brand with the red logo seems to have been at a dead end for a few years now. Trying something new therefore seems to be the healthiest move to make.
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