What you need to know
- OnePlus is rolling out a new OxygenOS update to disable the color filter camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro.
- The company had previously claimed that the camera would be disabled only on HydrogenOS.
- OnePlus is expected to re-enable the color filter camera within the next few weeks.
Update: OnePlus has now halted the rollout of the OxygenOS 10.5.9 update. It has sent a statement to Android Police saying the update was inadvertently sent out to a small number of devices and that the filter will be re-enabled in the next OTA.
OnePlus disabled the color filter camera on the OnePlus 8 Pro on HydrogenOS for users in China earlier this month, after it was discovered that the camera could "see through" thin layers of plastic and clothing. The company recently clarified that it had no plans of disabling the camera on OxygenOS and that it would instead roll out an update for the global versions of the OnePlus 8 Pro to "offer the Photochrome filter while limiting other functionality that may be of concern."
Surprisingly, however, the company has now started pushing a new OxygenOS 10.5.9 update (via 9to5Google) for the OnePlus 8 Pro to disable the Photochrome filter. As per the official changelog for the update, the feature will be making a return sometime in June.
If you do not wish to lose access to the color filter camera on your OnePlus 8 Pro, you can avoid this update and wait for the next stable OxygenOS release. The next stable OxygenOS update for the phone will likely come with several tweaks to the Photochrome filter to address all the "privacy concerns."
Even though the 5MP color filter camera doesn't take great photos, OnePlus claims it allows OnePlus 8 Pro users to "get more creative with smartphone photography."
