I remember when the first OnePlus phone delivered an alert slider to the palms of our hands. It’s not something that the average Android smartphone has—in fact, it was something that was pioneered by Apple and keenly “borrowed” by OnePlus, but ever since then, most OnePlus phones (and Oppo devices too) have stuck with the feature.
Sadly, for those who love the alert slider, it might be time to say a permanent goodbye to the feature going forward. OnePlus has confirmed its intention to remove the alert slider for good. However, it won’t leave a blank frame in its place, which is where things could arguably get better—albeit less familiar.
The CEO of OnePlus Has Confirmed the OEM’s Plans to Drop the Alert Slider
I haven’t used a OnePlus device before, but for those who have, the alert slider is one of their favorite features. Switching your phone between ring, vibrate, and silent modes is something that can happen multiple times on an average day. Instead of needing to wake your phone and mess around, you can switch your phone to silent as easily as flipping that switch while the phone is still in your pocket.
The feature was inspired by Apple, quite obviously, as the American manufacturer has had an alert slider on its smartphones ever since the very first model. However, the iPhone 15 saw the company finally say goodbye to the alert slider, replacing it with a button that could be customized to perform a variety of actions. It was definitely the more versatile option.
Inspired by Apple once again, OnePlus has made the decision to get rid of the alert slider as well, and that’s as official as it can get. This information comes courtesy of Pete Lau, the CEO of OnePlus, who revealed this information in a OnePlus forum post. It’s a favorite feature of many, but the company wants to push its hardware choices to a point where the alert slider can do a lot more, and that brings us to the next section.
Just Like Apple, OnePlus Will Be Opting for a Customizable Button Instead
Gone is the alert slider, but what will take its place? Just a bare portion of the frame where the feature once-loved used to be? In Apple’s case, it dropped the alert slider and replaced it with a customizable button. Well, I don’t think it should be surprising that OnePlus is also going to take some inspiration from that direction. The alert slider is going to be replaced by a customizable button for OnePlus phones too.
As much love and nostalgia is attached to the alert slider (remember when the OnePlus 10T dropped it?), it isn’t able to do so much. For some people, it is a notable bit of hardware solely dedicated to your phone’s ringing profile. That seems to have been the major issue that Pete Lau had with it.
As a physical switch, its customizability was limited, and by switching over to a button in future OnePlus phones, it is possible for the button to do a lot more. A tap, a double-tap, a triple-tap, a long-press, and so on. It will have a lot more versatility, and the best part is, OnePlus has ensured that you will still be able to change your ringing profile without waking the phone, and that’s nice.
