OnePlus ditches alert slider as AI takes over its next phone

Summary

OnePlus has announced its new AI initiative called OnePlus AI, which will debut first on the OnePlus 13s, which is launching exclusively in India.
Part of the OnePlus AI initiative includes the Plus Key, which will be replacing the alert slider on the 13s and 13T, as well as future OnePlus devices coming later this year. The Plus Key is fully customizable, like the iPhone’s Action Button.
The major AI feature OnePlus is highlighting is Plus Mind, which can read and save important information on your phone’s screen. Deeper Google Gemini integration is also coming.

OnePlus recently introduced the

OnePlus 13T and OnePlus 13s
, which are smaller variants of the flagship

OnePlus 13
released earlier this year in the US. Although these new devices are exclusively available in China and India, respectively, the accompanying AI features aren’t.

OnePlus has shared its plans for the future of AI features on its devices, including the OnePlus 13s and OnePlus 13, calling its new initiative “OnePlus AI.” As part of this new AI push, OnePlus announced several features, including the Plus Key and Plus Mind.

The Plus Key is the new physical button that will replace the alert slider on the OnePlus 13s. Although the phone is exclusive to India, the Plus Key will be available on future OnePlus smartphones launching this year, which means it will eventually appear on a handset in the US (

the OnePlus 15?
). The Plus Key is very similar to the

iPhone’s Action Button
, as it’s fully customizable and can be used to launch various actions, such as opening the camera app or starting a live translation.

The company states that the Plus Key, along with its other new AI features, which I’ll detail shortly, are “designed to enhance productivity, creativity, and security.” In particular, OnePlus emphasized that its new Plus Key can launch its major new AI feature, Plus Mind.

Brand: OnePlus
SoC: Snapdragon 8 Elite
Display: 6.82-inch, 3168 × 1440 pixel resolution (510ppi) 120Hz adaptive refresh
RAM: 12GB, 16GB
Storage: 256GB, 512GB
Battery: 6,000mAh

The latest and greatest flagship handset from OnePlus, featuring the all-new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and IP69 water and dust resistance.

The compact OnePlus 13T won’t release in the US

OnePlus unfortunately has no plans to launch its new compact phone in the US, Canada, or Europe.

AI Plus Mind can read your screen

Plus Mind will be coming to the OnePlus 13 via a software update

OnePlus

OnePlus’ most remarkable AI feature it announced is Plus Mind, which is capable of saving and recalling essential information from your device’s screen, including images and text. This can encompass schedules, reservations, event details, and more.

The information gathered by Plus Mind is stored in what OnePlus refers to as “Mind Space,” where users can browse all the important information they’ve requested to be saved and organize it. Users can prompt Plus Mind to recall any saved information from the Mind Space using natural language commands.

“The foundation of OnePlus AI is built upon a deep understanding of its users, and they’ve told us they want AI to help them work smart, play hard, and be their authentic selves,” said Arthur Lam, OnePlus’ director of OxygenOS and AI strategy (via Android Headlines). “That’s why our mission for OnePlus AI is to help our users go All In On Life, creating personalized AI solutions based around our users’ unique wants and needs.”

OnePlus

Plus Mind will be available first on the OnePlus 13s and will also be introduced to the OnePlus 13 in a future software update. Since those two phones lack the Plus Key, Plus Mind will be activated by swiping three fingers upward on the screen.

In addition to Plus Mind, OnePlus has other AI features coming soon, including AI Translation, AI Search, AI Reframe, and AI Best Face 2.0. Two other AI features will initially be launched exclusively in India: AI VoiceScribe, which can “record, summarize, and translate calls and meetings,” and AI Call Assist, which can generate summaries and real-time translations of phone calls. OnePlus hasn’t confirmed whether these two features will eventually be launched globally.

Finally, OnePlus teased it is working on a deeper integration with

Google Gemini
that will work with OxygenOS apps, which is “coming soon.” OnePlus’ next major hardware announcement in the US is the

OnePlus Pad 3
, which is set to be fully revealed by the company on June 5, 2025.