OnePlus removed Always-On Display from OnePlus 6 at last minute

If you bought a OnePlus 6 on launch day and happened to scroll through the settings a bit, you would have seen an Always-On Display option. However, the feature was greyed out so you couldn’t actually activate (or deactivate) it.

One would have then assumed that OnePlus would turn the feature on with the first update to the device’s software. Instead, OnePlus removed the feature entirely in its launch day update to the OnePlus 6.

While the lack of an Always-On Display feature isn’t likely to make-or-break your decision to buy a OnePlus 6, it is interesting that the company clearly planned on having the function but then changed its mind at the last minute.

According to a thread on Reddit, a OnePlus customer support representative stated that the reason the feature was removed was “due to a battery-saving concern.”

While there’s no doubt that an Always-On Display feature would drain the battery faster, it’s not entirely clear why OnePlus would remove the choice entirely from the device. All it would take is a warning notification to pop up when you toggle the feature on stating that doing so will likely drain your battery faster. Then the user could choose whether or not that’s worth it to them.

Also, other companies like LG, Samsung, and Google have Always-On Display features built-in to their devices, and battery drain doesn’t appear to be an issue. Could it be that OnePlus’ feature was actually causing some sort of bug, and the company decided to remove the feature entirely for now until it could get a grip on the situation?

Either way, if you’re buying a OnePlus 6 and hoping to have an Always-On Display feature, it won’t be there when you unbox the phone. It might come at some point in the future, though.

NEXT: What does the HONOR 10 have that the OnePlus 6 doesn’t?