OnePlus 5T’s Face Unlock Feature Reportedly coming to the OnePlus 5

Last week, OnePlus officially unveiled the OnePlus 5T. The device isn’t all that different from its predecessor, the OnePlus 5, but it does offer a few notable improvements and features. One of those features is called Face Unlock and it lets you quickly unlock the OnePlus 5T via facial recognition. While it’s been compared to Google’s face unlocking feature found in Smart Lock, it has been shown to be far more accurate. Many people were wondering if this feature would make its way over to the OnePlus 5, but in a recent AMA over on the OnePlus forums the company stated that it won’t. However, another leaked build of Android Oreo for the OnePlus 5 was posted today and it reveals that OnePlus may be bringing the Face Unlock feature to its previous flagship.

Credits: XDA Senior Member bugra333

The Face Unlock feature is a nifty way to unlock your phone, and unlike Google’s implementation, it bypasses the need to manually dismiss the lock screen. Early reviews of the OnePlus 5T have shown that Face Unlock is generally accurate and isn’t easily fooled by photographs. OnePlus says they are working on improving the facial recognition algorithm such as by detecting whether or not the light emitted from the subject is coming from another smartphone.

This seems like great news for any existing OnePlus 5 owner. The official beta of Android Oreo for the OnePlus 5 is slated to launch in the next week, so we’ll find out then if this feature makes its way into any official releases. But given that the feature is confirmed working on the OnePlus 5, even if it’s only on a leaked build so far, suggests that the feature can be ported to existing OxygenOS builds given the right framework modifications, system apps, and vendor libraries are installed. Be sure to follow the OnePlus 5 and newly opened OnePlus 5T forums for more details on the upcoming OxygenOS 5.0 update for both devices.