OxygenOS 12 to introduce OnePlus Theme Store, OnePlus asks for suggestions

One of the reasons that made OnePlus smartphones quite popular among the community is the focus given to the software experience. The company changed the market when it introduced its very first device with CyanogenOS - a fork of the popular CyanogenMod custom ROM. The partnership with CyanogenOS didn't last much longer, and the company had to develop its own software. The company's house of ideas brought OxygenOS with a very close-to-stock Android approach. It proved to be one of the most popular Android skins out there and several users prefer it over vanilla Android. Last year, however, OxygenOS took a major departure from the stockish look to something more personal. The company started to introduce its own guidelines for design bringing something that is more unique. Users still have plenty of options to customize their smartphones, since customization has been one of the core features in OxygenOS. According to a fresh report, customization will be deeper with the next major OS update, OxygenOS 12. The company has announced that a new OnePlus Theme Store will be introduced.

OnePlus Theme Store is coming in the next major OxygenOS update. As the name implies it will mirror similar features in Samsung's Theme Store. How do you feel about this possibility? Well, OnePlus is ready to hear its users about its next upcoming feature. For that reason, the company is hosting an Open Ears event to discuss the addition and gather feedback on Tuesday, May 18th, at 10 AM Eastern US time. The company may show some of its designs there, as the image above already gives a glimpse of what it is developing.

OnePlus Theme Store will be OxygenOS 12 answer to Samsung and Google's theming options

This is not coming as a mere coincidence. If you recall, Google's Android 12 with Snow Cone codename, will debut with a new theme engine. According to evidence found in the developer previews, Google is ready to introduce a new visual experience with Android 12. We're not sure if OxygenOS 12 will have a similar implementation. However, OnePlus can benefit from what Google is doing with its theme engine. Obviously, there are many ROMs that prove that companies don't really need Google to introduce Theming.

OnePlus Theme Store will appeal to smartphone buyers that love to have custom visuals on their devices. The "Store" can be free or offer a mix of free and paid user-submitted themes. Samsung does something similar with its own store. It allows custom theme creators to get some revenue through the company's ecosystem.

For now, it's unclear whether that "next major update" will come as a big patch for OxygenOS 11 or if users will have to wait until Android 12-based OxygenOS 12. Considering how long OnePlus is taking to upgrade some of its smartphones, we bet on the second option.