The OnePlus 8 Series smartphones are just remarkable, the design, the camera, and the features are simply impressive. Both, the OnePlus 8 and the OnePlus 8 Pro come with the new OxygenOS which is loaded with features, from customizations to handy shortcuts and security features. Here are the 20 handy and useful OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro tips, tricks, and hidden features.
1) Clone Apps For Multiple Account Use
While you see a lot of options on the OxygenOS, one of the vital features we find is the dual apps feature or you can say the Parallel Apps feature. This feature is present on the OnePlus smartphones since long, the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro comes built-in with it.
Using this feature makes sense if you are using two accounts in the same app, for instance, you have two WhatsApp accounts, Snapchat accounts or maybe two or more Facebook or Messenger logins, this feature can be very handy for those who want all their accounts to be active simultaneously.
Head towards the Settings on your OnePlus 8, swipe to the bottom, and tap on Utilities where you will find a few options for your OnePlus smartphone including App Locker, Quick Launch, Pocket Mode, Work-Life Balance, Parallel Apps. Tap on the Parallel Apps and choose the apps you want to clone, tap the slider to the right of the apps to clone or duplicate.
Once you turn on the app slider, you will see a toast notification at the bottom that the parallel app has been created. You can see the cloned or duplicate app in the app drawer.
How do you identify if the app is being cloned? You will see two apps one with a small orange symbol in the corner of the app icon, this indicates that the app is a cloned version.
2) Quickly Launch Apps Using Fingerprint Scanner
The in-display fingerprint scanner is present on the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro and to use it is a more obvious thing for many. But it can also be handy if used to open apps. Yes, your phone can quickly launch the apps without unlocking the phone just by using its in-display fingerprint scanner.
Register your fingerprints with the phone if you haven’t done it yet. Go to Settings -> Security & lock screen -> Fingerprint and add fingerprints to add your fingerprints on the phone. When you are done, activate quick launch feature by heading towards Settings -> Utilities -> Quick Launch and turn on the slider that says Turn on Quick launch.
Tap on the Shortcut settings and you will see a list of 5 app shortcuts that can be modified for the quick launch. Add the shortcuts you wish to launch using the fingerprint scanner.
Launching the apps is easy, just press and hold the fingerprint scanner to get the list of available shortcuts. Swipe to the app you want to launch and release it, this will instantly launch the app and you don’t need to unlock the phone or press any button.
3) Lock Apps With Fingerprints
For those who are concerned about security and privacy, make use of its in-display fingerprint scanner, the OnePlus 8, and OnePlus 8 Pro both come with an in-display fingerprint scanner to lock the device. While it’s more popular among users, using fingerprints to lock the apps is less likely to be used by people but can be handy at times.
Lock your Gallery, WhatsApp, Instagram, or any other apps, use the App Locker feature to secure them, there’s no need to download any third-party apps from the Google Play store.
Before you lock the apps, register your fingerprints on the phone. Go To Security & lock screen -> Fingerprint and add a passcode/pattern to add a fingerprint. You can always add multiple fingerprints whenever you want, once added do the following.
- Launch the Settings on your phone.
- Swipe to the bottom and tap on Utilities.
- Find the App locker and tap on it.
- Tap on Add apps to get a list of supported apps that can be secured via your fingerprints. Enter PIN or passcode if prompted.
- Check the box for the apps you want to lock.
Now, whenever you open the locked apps, you will be asked to authenticate fingerprint, place your finger on the sensor to unlock the app, it prevents unauthorized access to the apps on your phone.
4) Control Data & Wi-Fi For Apps
Have you wanted to get rid of the data-hungry apps and want to take control of the Mobile data or the Wi-Fi they use? The OxygenOS has numerous features and this one handy feature will let you block the internet access for the apps that you think it’s using unnecessary data.
Go to Settings -> Apps & notifications -> Data usage control and choose the app that you want to block the access of the Mobile data and Wi-Fi access. Tap the small arrow to the right and choose Forbidden. You can also use the options Wi-Fi only or Data only.
5) Take Three-Finger Screenshot
Bored with taking screenshots the traditional way, the Power button and Volume Down button is just too mainstream. Why not use the gesture-based three-finger screenshot feature.
Taking three-finger screenshots on OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro is easy, all you have to do is swipe from the top to the bottom with your three fingers.
Enable three-finger screenshot under Settings -> Buttons & Gestures -> Quick Gestures -> Three-finger screenshot.
6) Change Refresh Rate
A higher refresh rate means the display on the phone ultimately gives a smoother viewing experience. The 90 Hz refresh rate can be useful in playing games by achieving higher frames per second, the PUBG now supports 90 fps gameplay which can be easily done in the graphics settings.
By default, the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro’s display is set to 90 Hz refresh rate, however, you can manually change it to 60 Hz (which may be useful for longer battery life) or 90 Hz if somehow it’s in 60 Hz mode.
To change the refresh rate on your phone, head to the Settings -> Display -> Advanced -> Refresh rate and set choose the refresh rate from 60 Hz or 90 Hz.
7) Changing Screen Resolution
The OnePlus 8 Pro comes with a Quad HD+ resolution giving you a sharp and crisp display. The resolution can be change from Quad HD+ to Full HD+ which helps in extending the battery life. To extend the battery life even further, set the resolution to Full HD+ from Quad HD+. To change the resolution, just below the Screen refresh rate, tap Resolution, and switch it to Full HD+.
- Go to Settings -> Display -> Resolution to modify screen resolution.
8) Enter Dark Mode
One of the most useful features on the phone is the dark mode, the dark mode is available on many Android phones which also includes several OnePlus smartphones with OxygenOS running. The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro offers a dark mode and to turn it on, enter Settings -> Customization -> Present Theme and change it to Nuanced dark. You can also change the tone by going to Tone and choose Dark to enter the dark mode.
9) Change Fingerprint Animation Effect
The in-display fingerprint scanner on your OnePlus smartphone comes with animation and this animation can be changed to your liking. Changing the fingerprint animation is easy, head to the Settings -> Customization -> Fingerprint animation effect and choose from the different effects.
10) Launch Camera Quickly
Looking for a faster way to open your camera? Your OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro come with a handy feature that lets you quickly open the camera. By pressing the Power button twice, the camera quickly opens.
- Go to Settings -> Buttons & Gestures -> Double click the power button.
If this option is disabled, you need to change the Power button settings for Emergency Rescue. Enter Settings -> Security & lock screen -> Emergency rescue -> Power button for quick SOS and change it to 5 press or disable. Now head back to Buttons & Gestures, the double click power button option will be enabled and the Camera will be selected by itself.
11) Get Shot On OnePlus Watermark
Have you seen any photos with the Shot on OnePlus watermark on social media? Want the Shot on OnePlus watermark on the photos you take from the OnePlus 8/8 Pro’s cameras, there’s an easy way to do it. All you have to do is launch the Camera App, go to the Settings, swipe to the bottom, and find the Shot on OnePlus Watermark. Tap on it and enable the slider. You can also add your name to the watermark.
12) Change Accent Colors
OxygenOS provides you an option to change the theme of the interface. If you are bored of the same look, you can give a new color to the interface, change the accent color to your liking.
- Head to the Settings -> Customization -> Accent color and select the color you wish to apply to the interface. Enjoy the new look.
13) Enter Night Mode
Using Night mode can help ease your eyes, the harmful Blue light emitted from the screen is eliminated. Enable Night Mode from the Settings -> Display -> Night mode -> Turn on Night mode automatically. You can also swipe from the top to bring the notification shade and choose the Night mode shortcut.
14) Enable Reading Mode
Your OnePlus 8 supports a reading mode for comfortable viewing and making the reading experience better. Reading Mode comes with two effects – Mono and Chromatic. The Mono effect makes you more engaged in words whereas the Chromatic effect offers you a more comfortable color reading experience.
To turn on reading mode on your OnePlus 8 or 8 Pro, swipe from the top to bring the notification shade and choose the Reading mode shortcut. You can also,
- Go to Settings -> Display -> Reading Mode and turn on the Reading Mode. Choose an effect that suits you.
15) Use Old Navigation Buttons
OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro both use a full bezel-less designed screen which makes it more interesting to use. And with the full screen, the modern navigation has been minimized to gain space on the screen. But for some users, the new navigation may not be easy, they just want to use the traditional Android home, back, and recent keys, so OxygenOS offers you to fall back to the old navigation.
To use old navigation buttons, head back to the Settings -> Buttons & gestures -> Navigation bar & gestures and choose the navigation layout Back, Home, Recents.
16) View Battery Percentage In Status Bar
The battery percentage by default on your OnePlus smartphone isn’t visible in the status bar, but you can view it by enabling a quick setting. To see the percentage,
- Go to Settings -> Display -> Status Bar and tap the slider Show battery percentage.
Now check the status bar, you will see a percentage beside the battery icon.
17) View Network Speed In Status Bar
Just like the battery percentage in the status bar, you can also view the real-time network speed in the status bar. Whatever you download, surf or browse the internet, you can see the speed of your connection to know if it’s faster or not. To view the network speed in the status bar, here’s what you have to do.
- Head to Settings -> Display -> Status Bar again and turn on the slider Display network speed.
Now surf the internet or download an app or something and see the speed.
18) Customize Ambient Display
The AMOLED display on your OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro supports Ambient display, you can view music info, notifications, calendar events at a glance without unlocking the phone, you also get a horizontal screen light on each notification arrived. You can view and modify the settings from Settings -> Display -> Ambient display.
19) Hold Power Button For Google Assistant
If you want to call for Google Assistant, you can make use of the power button, just press and hold the power key to trigger the Google Assistant. This feature can be turned on or off from the Settings -> Buttons & gestures -> Press and hold the power button and choose the Voice assistant option.
20) Double Tap To Wake
Another handy trick that you can use is the ‘Double tap to wake’ feature. Tap the screen twice to wake up the device, the screen will light up without pressing the power button. This feature can be handy if you want to wake the phone without pressing the power button.
- Go to Settings -> Buttons & gestures -> Quick gestures -> Double tap to wake and hit the slider to the right.
21) Flip To Mute & Raise To Answer Calls
If your OnePlus 8 or 8 Pro rings for a call, you can simply mute it by flipping upside down. Also, if it rings, you can raise to answer the calls. These little features sometimes also come useful and to enable them, head to the Settings -> Buttons & gestures -> Quick Gestures and turn on the slider Flip to mute. Below it, you can find Raise to answer/switch to answer incoming calls automatically by raising the phone to your ear, enable the slider to turn on this feature.
That’s all folks. If you liked all these tips and tricks, don’t forget to share it using the social media buttons. Also visit more OnePlus guides, tutorials, tips, and tricks as well as for other Android smartphones.
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