ePlus, in a Reddit AMA yesterday, has revealed that it’s “actively working” on the Oxygen update based on Android 7.0 Nougat for the OnePlus 3. Carl Pei, the co-founder of OnePlus, also confirmed that Android Marshmallow update will roll out to the OnePlus X starting next week.

Earlier OnePlus decided to merge its two OS teams, Oxygen and Hydrogen into a unified platform based on Android. The OxygenOS 3.5.2 community build is the latest product of the merger. The company had said earlier, “The main benefit of combining our team resources is to speed up software updates. We know we have some room to continue improving there, and this is an important step in the right direction.”

Replying to a user’s question about releasing Android Nougat update for Oneplus 3, Brian, the head of ROM product, said, “We cannot share a timeline right now, but we are already actively working on it.”

“As for updates, if there’s any company feeling the pressure of needing to update fast, it’s OnePlus. We have the most vocal and tech savvy user base, so this point is not lost on us. I believe that now, with our new software team structure, we’ll be able to move a lot faster than before,” said Pei.

The company also said that the Oxygen built based on Android Nougat will “stay close to stock Android experience. But we will have more useful features than stock”.

In another comment, Carl Pei confirmed that the company will release Android Marshmallow update for the OnePlus X smartphone.

While Pei maintained his earlier view on building a OnePlus ecosystem, he also denied that the company is working on a smartwatch.

OnePlus so far hasn’t specified a name for the Hydrogen/Oxygen merged OS, the prospects of having a single unified ROM for the entire world does seem enticing, especially since it promises quick updates in future. But it comes at a price. Oxygen OS will not be the same again, post the merger. The merger may end up killing Oxygen OS, even though the company wouldn’t accept it on a public platform.

[source;intoday]