Android 16 Could Borrow This Ingenious OxygenOS Feature for Better Multitasking

With the early release of Android 16 nearing the horizon, we are getting more and more previews of its upcoming features. This mid-season update is likely to bring several visual changes to the UI. And according to this new report, Android 16 could also bring an improved split screen experience to smartphones.

Folks at Android Authority found that the Android 16 DP2 version, released last month, contains a code to support a 90:10 ratio in split screen mode. While the feature itself isn’t present in the early-release software, they somehow managed to get it working.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that it shares a striking resemblance to OnePlus’ Open Canvas feature. This function also offered a 90:10 split and recently came to their smartphones alongside other OxygenOS 15 features. You can try it out right now if you have a OnePlus phone running on the latest Android 15 update. Here’s a preview of how the split-screen looks on OnePlus devices.

This bigger ratio lets you enlarge apps to the extent that they take up almost all the screen space. At the same time, keep the other app open, which you can access by bringing down the split screen divider. This is far better than the 70:30 split that we currently have. Not only are the UI elements not cramped, but it is also easier to use on smaller devices.

Google hasn’t shied away from taking notes of features offered by other phone-makers and implementing them on Android. So this could be a similar instance, and I, for one, don’t mind it at all. This bigger split on OnePlus phones has made it easier for me to take notes, while scrolling through X, or manage Spotify when texting my partner on WhatsApp. It would be pretty exciting to see this on Android 16 and hopefully, it’s available on the first public beta.