- OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has announced that the company is ditching the iconic alert slider on its phones.
- The company is working to bring a customizable button similar to the action button on iPhones.
- This new customizable button could debut with the next OnePlus flagship smartphone lineup.
Ever since the OnePlus 2 debuted back in 2015, the alert slider has remained a core part of OnePlus’ identity. It’s a simple switch that lets you toggle between different audio profiles inspired by Apple’s iPhone mute switch. However, the company is now changing directions by retiring the alert slider in favor of a more customizable button. Basically, your next OnePlus phone will have an action button, just like the iPhone.
This announcement comes from OnePlus CEO Pete Lau in an official post on the community portal. Talking about the new button, the alert slider replacement, Lau said, “Imagine a button that adapts to you. Whether you’re a power user or prefer simplicity, this button works for you, not the other way around. Wherever life takes you, it seamlessly fits your lifestyle. It’s an innovation that is not just smart but intuitively yours.”
Seeing this, one can’t help but draw parallels to Apple. They ditched the physical mute switch, first on the iPhone 15 Pro series, replacing it with a customizable Action button. OnePlus could be going the same route, seeing how often they take notes from the Cupertino giant, like the dynamic island-style implementation in OxygenOS 15.
That said, Lau is aware of how big of a decision this is, and how closely this physical attribute is tied to OnePlus’ identity. In the post, he reassured that the button will still let you control audio profiles. Furthermore, he opened the stage for discussion on how the community wants to see the new implementation.
The gist of all this is we can expect the OnePlus 14 series to come with a customizable action button. My skeptic mind also lingers on the fact that it could be a way for the company to let you easily bring up their AI feature, similar to what Samsung did with the Bixby button or what Nothing has done recently with the Nothing Phone (3a) series.
The response from the fans hasn’t been all favorable as people do not want to see the iconic feature go. As someone who has been following OnePlus since their first device launch, it is disappointing and seems like the company is losing its identity again right after making up (or not) for what it did to OxygenOS.
What do you think about this? Do you think they should retire the alert slider, or find it a step in the wrong direction? Let us know in the comments below.
