OnePlus 3 gets Oreo in closed beta, public beta could open this month

It looks like OnePlus is trying to be first out of the gate with an Oreo update.

According to Android Police, based on an anonymous tip from an alleged beta-tester, the Shenzhen-based company is currently testing Android 8.0 Oreo on the OnePlus 3. The test is part of a private, closed beta program, as opposed to the open beta program that OnePlus offers to everyone who’s interested.

Read: OnePlus 3/3T update tracker

As you would expect so soon after the official release of Android 8, this initial beta build is said to be unstable and incomplete. The communication stack is particularly buggy, with “nonfunctional NFC, buggy Wi-Fi, unstable hotspot, and wonky Bluetooth.”

OnePlus told testers that it hopes to have a stable beta by mid-September – in just one week! – followed by the opening of the public beta by the end of the month. That’s an extremely ambitious timeline and we wouldn’t be surprised if OnePlus failed to abide by it. Still, if the tip turns out to be accurate, OnePlus deserves a kudos for working hard to get Oreo out in record time.

For reference, the first Nougat open beta for the OnePlus 3 was launched on November 30, 2016. The stable update started rolling out on the last day of the year, according to our trusty Nougat update tracker.

It’s interesting that OnePlus appears to be working on the OnePlus 3’s Oreo update, and not the souped-up 3T or the new OnePlus 5. It’s possible that development is underway for all three devices, but only the OnePlus 3 has leaked out so far.

In the past, the company got heavy flak over the way it handled Android updates, mainly for ditching Nougat for the OnePlus 2 (and refusing to admit it for months) and the belated release of Marshmallow for the OnePlus X. Perhaps OnePlus is trying to clean up its image?

OnePlus previously said that Oreo would be the last major update for the OnePlus 3/3T.

We’ve reached out to OnePlus to confirm the leaked timeline and we’ll keep you posted.