OxygenOS received quite the visual overhaul last year with version 11, borrowing some design elements from One UI to improve one-handed use. The OnePlus 7 series was late to the Android 11 party, only getting the update in March — six months after Google released it for Pixel devices. Despite the wait, there are plenty of new features and improvements in OxygenOS 11, and now the T-Mobile version of the 7 Pro and 7T are getting a piece of the action.

T-Mobile hasn't provided a detailed changelog for the update, but it is safe to assume that it's similar to the unlocked versions of the phone, perhaps with a few carrier-specific changes. Here are some of the things you should expect to see (taken from the unlocked changelog):

Changelog

  • System
    • Update to OxygenOS 11 version
    • Fresh new UI visual design brings you a more comfortable experience with various optimizations of details
    • Optimize the stability of some third-party applications and improve the experience
    • Since this is the upgrade of Android 11 version with many new features, the upgrade time may be longer. Please wait for the completion of the upgrade
  • Camera
    • Updated the camera UI and optimized some of the function paths to offer more convenient operation
    • Newly added HEVC codec to reduce video storage size seamlessly, capture and shoot more without compromising on quality
    • Newly added access to a third-party app to share the picture by pressing and holding it in preview
    • Newly added the quick access to recording mode by pressing and holding the shutter button and by sliding the button, you can easily zoom in or zoom out
    • Newly added the playback display in Time-lapse mode to show the actual filming time
  • Ambient Display
    • Newly added Insight clock style, a joint creation with Parsons School of Design. It will change according to the phone usage data (To set: Settings > Customization > Clock on ambient display)
    • Newly added Canvas feature that can automatically draw a wireframe picture based on a lock screen photo on your phone(Path: Settings - Customization - Wallpaper - Canvas - Choose photo preview and it can be generated automatically)
  • Dark Mode
    • Added the shortcut key for Dark Mode, pull down the quick setting to enable
    • Supporting automatically turn on feature & customize time range (path: Settings - Display - Dark Mode - Turn on automatically - Automatically enable from sunset to sunrise/Custom time range)
  • Game Space
    • Newly added gaming tools box for convenient switches of Fnatic mode. You can now choose three ways of notifications: text-only, heads up and block, just for your immersive gaming experience
    • Newly added quick reply feature in a small window for Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram (Enable it by swiping down from upper right/left corners of the screen in gaming mode)
    • Newly added mis-touch prevention feature. Enable it, swipe down from the top of the screen, click and the notification bar will pop out
  • Shelf
    • Newly shelf interface design, the interface is clearer
    • Added weather widget, animation effect smarter
  • Gallery
    • Supporting Story function, automatically form weekly videos with photos and video in storage
    • Optimize the loading speed of the gallery, and the image preview is faster

T-Mobile doesn't say which security update is included here, but the unlocked models were stuck with the outdated February patch. T-Mobile calls it the "Android 11" update, so I imagine this is also using February as well. The OnePlus 7 Pro might be two years old, but having security two months out of date is still unacceptable.

Samsung's Galaxy S9, released over a year before the 7 Pro, has received every patch within a few weeks of release. For a company that tells its customers to "never settle" and uses fast software updates as a main selling point, it seems like OnePlus 7 users are having to do plenty of settling in the security department. If OnePlus wants to charge more money for its devices, it needs to improve support for its older phones.

The update was released on April 9th, so it should be available for you now if you're on T-Mobile.

UPDATE: 2021/04/16 7:04am PDT BY ZACHARY KEW-DENNISS

T-Mobile has released the update for the OnePlus 7T today and includes a security patch as well as the bump to Android 11. The phone had been stuck on the January patch since February 1st, but now users can enjoy the only slightly newer February patch instead.

UPDATE: 2021/05/10 2:33pm PDT BY MICHAEL CRIDER

Now with more McLaren

T-Mobile has posted the Android 11 update for the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G. Since the company's support page is in fact showing the McLaren special edition of that phone, which includes an extra 4GB of RAM (12 total) but is otherwise internally identical to the standard 7T Pro 5G, we're going to assume that both of them are getting the same update.

The irony of a phone branded with a world-famous race car getting its vital software updated months after other major phones is, we trust, not lost on any of its owners. Despite being released a month into May, it's still using the April security update.