OnePlus Tablets Are Getting One Of Android’s Best, And One Of Its Worst, Productivity Features
Contents
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The latest OxygenOS 15 update brings Google’s Circle to Search and a new floating taskbar to the OnePlus Open and OnePlus Pad 2.
- Circle to Search allows users to quickly search anything on their screen by tapping, highlighting, or drawing over it.
- The floating taskbar, while aiming to balance productivity and screen real estate, lacks a quick toggle to switch styles and on tablets, it requires disabling gesture navigation for the fixed version.
OnePlus makes some of the best Android tablets with some really useful productivity features. The company’s Open Canvas, for example, sets the standard for mobile multitasking and is available across its tablets and foldables. While this feature first debuted on the OnePlus Open foldable, it later came to tablets through an over-the-air update. Now, a recent update brings two more major productivity features to its large-screen devices.
Google’s amazing Circle to Search feature is finally here for the OnePlus Open and Pad 2
With the latest OxygenOS 15 update for the OnePlus Open and OnePlus Pad 2, the company has brought Google’s Circle to Search to its previous-generation foldable and tablet. Circle to Search allows you to quickly search anything on your screen by simply tapping, highlighting, or drawing over it. The feature debuted on last year’s Galaxy S24 series and has since expanded to dozens of devices, including some OnePlus phones.
While Circle to Search is available out of the box on the new OnePlus Pad 3, it’s great to see OnePlus bring it to its older tablets as well. Technically, the rollout to the OnePlus Open and Pad 2 began last month with the OxygenOS 15.0.0.821 update, just ahead of the Pad 3’s launch. This release time frame suggests that OnePlus develops its “large screen” version of OxygenOS independently of a specific device, which would explain why new features like Circle to Search and the new floating taskbar arrive on its tablets and foldables around the same time.
OnePlus borrows Google’s floating taskbar feature, but it forgot to add one thing
The new floating taskbar that OnePlus introduced in OxygenOS 15.0.0.821 is reminiscent of the one seen in stock Android. A short swipe up from the bottom reveals the new taskbar, which floats just above the bottom edge instead of spanning the screen’s full width. From here, you can switch apps by tapping their icons or launch Open Canvas by dragging and dropping them. The taskbar automatically hides if you tap an item or anywhere outside of it.
While the floating taskbar smartly balances productivity with screen real estate, it can be slower for multitasking compared to the old fixed version. Recognizing this trade-off, Google built a quick toggle into Android 15 to switch between the floating and fixed styles. Unfortunately, OnePlus has chosen not to implement this convenient toggle. Instead, like Samsung’s One UI 7, OxygenOS forces you to dig through the Settings app to make the change. Even worse, on OnePlus tablets, the option to switch back to the fixed taskbar is missing entirely, unless you’re willing to give up gesture navigation.
On the OnePlus Open, you can at least switch between the floating and fixed taskbars by navigating to Settings > Foldable features > Task bar > Task bar style. On OnePlus tablets, however, this option is missing. Your only choice is to disable the taskbar completely from Settings > Accessibility & convenience > Task bar. You can also force the taskbar to stay pinned by switching to classic three-button navigation, but that means giving up modern gesture controls.
Even on foldables where the setting exists, the experience isn’t perfect. Switching to the fixed taskbar doesn’t restore old functionality, like long-pressing an empty spot to minimize it. Furthermore, the new swipe-up gesture seems to conflict with the one for going home, causing some users to accidentally exit an app when they meant to open the taskbar. This could be a sensitivity issue, but without a quick way to switch modes, it all adds up to a frustrating experience.
While I like the idea of the floating taskbar, especially on the OnePlus Open where vertical space is precious, I’m not a fan of its current implementation. On Samsung devices, you can install the Good Lock “Home Up” module to add a quick switch toggle, but no such workaround exists on OnePlus devices. Thankfully, OnePlus has a history of listening to customer feedback, so hopefully, the company will see these complaints and address them in a future software update.
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