New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Smartphone vendors, who maintain in-house skinned version of Android, prefer to ship new features as exclusive to the recent most devices in the portfolio. They do backport some of these features to older phones, but only after the hype period ends.

Samsung-OneUI
Samsung One UI is available out of the box on the Galaxy S10, while older Galaxy phones have received the update later

In case of OnePlus, the Chinese OEM recently launched the OnePlus 7 series with an updated version of OxygenOS. The Pro variant of OnePlus 7, which is already available via open sales, comes with OxygenOS 9.5 – a minor bump from regular 9.0 branch.

The Chinese OEM has introduced features like Zen Mode and a native screen recording utility, which are not present in OxygenOS 9.0.x for older OnePlus phones such as Oneplus 5/5T and OnePlus 6/6T.

oneplus_7_pro_oos_9.5_zen_mode_screen_recorder
Zen Mode and Screen Recorder in OxygenOS 9.5 for OnePlus 7 Pro

However, these features should be available soon on via Open Beta channel for legacy OnePlus devices.

Screen recording will be available on 6 /6T and OnePlus 5/5T, watch out for them in an open Beta build soon.

(Source)

Nevertheless, OnePlus 7 Pro adopters are surprised to see the unavailability of a particularly useful feature in the updated OxygenOS. We are talking about the ‘Pocket mode’ functionality.

why is there no assistive lighting for face unlock this time??

also there is no pocket mode.

I really liked these two features.

(Source)

oneplus_7_pro_pocket_mode_tweet
Source

I don’t know if its me somehow or this Is one of those “pocket mode” moments, but I noticed that 3-4 times in last 2 days that when I take it out of pocket my data is off. so ….

(Source)

oneplus_7_pro_pocket_mode_forum

In OxygenOS 9.0.x, users can access the Pocket mode settings by navigating to Settings => Utilities and toggle it to activate the feature. The description of the functionality is as follows:

Prevent accidental screen touches or fingerprint operations when the phone is in your pocket.

In fact, we can access it without any hiccup on our OnePlus 6 unit running latest OxygenOS 9.0.5 (stable channel).

oneplus_6_oos_9_pocket_mode

We are not sure if it’s a bug or an oversight from the OnePlus engineers. As readers may notice from the user reports, the option does not exist at all in their OnePlus 7 Pro (even after the day-one patch).

oneplus_7_pro_oos_9.5_no_pocket_mode
The same menu from OnePlus 7 Pro running OxygenOS 9.5.3

In case you are wondering, the OnePlus 7 Pro indeed features a dedicated proximity sensor. The ‘Pocket mode’ can be thought of as an extra layer of tuned sensitivity settings around the default threshold values coded inside the proximity sensor.

oneplus_7_pro_proximity_sensor_specs

However, removing such a useful feature might create issues in the user experience. Moreover, we also highlighted the surge of bug reports regarding faulty ambient display and double tap to wake in (DT2W) in the OnePlus 7 Pro. Could it be related to the missing pocket mode?

oneplus_7_pro_ambient_display_bug_forum

Interestingly, the OnePlus bug hunter team has officially acknowledged the existence of the aforementioned bug. They are now trying to reproduce and fix the issue.

oneplus_7_pro_ambient_display_dt2w_bug_hunter

PiunikaWeb readers should remember that the Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup has also been plagued with several issues related to accidental touches inside pocket.

galaxy_s10_accidental_touch_samsung_forum_2_police
Galaxy S10 accidental touch protection issues

In their case, the whole accidental touch protection component in their OS needed a major overhaul to squash out the compatibility issues. Samsung officially acknowledged the bug, and reportedly fixed it in subsequent software updates.

s10_march_april_update_samsung_members_app
Galaxy S10 early-April update roadmap (notice the first entry under upcoming updates)

We hope OnePlus will follow the footsteps of the Korean OEM and bring back the missing ‘Pocket mode’ via future OxygenOS OTA update for the OnePlus 7 Pro.

Have you noticed the unavailability of the Pocket mode functionality in your brand new OnePlus flagship? Comment below.

Update 1 (May 25)

Upcoming OnePlus 7 Pro update should fix some of the known bugs that are officially acknowledged by the OnePlus Bug Hunter team. The glitchy pocket mode has also been recognized by the company.

For further details, see here.

Update 2 (May 27)

OnePlus is rolling out a new update for the OnePlus 7 Pro as per schedule, addressing some known bugs and bringing camera fixes. The bootloader has also also updated.

oneplus_7_pro_oos_9.5.4.gm21aa_ota_changelog

For further details and download links, see here.

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Kingshuk De
896 Posts

I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.

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