OnePlus’s new compact flagship smartphone, 13s, makes one important change that distinguishes it from the rest of the series. The iconic Alert Slider has been replaced with a new Plus key on the smartphone. While this key can toggle the sound profile of your phone like the Alert Slider, it can also accomplish a range of other tasks. Let’s take a look at what the Plus key on the OnePlus 13s is, and how you can customise it.
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In This Article
What is the Plus key on OnePlus 13s?
The new Plus key on the OnePlus 13s is inspired by the iPhone’s Action button. The Plus key springs into action when you long-press it. A single press displays the programmed function as a Live Alert, but does not execute it. The only function that works upon single pressing the Plus key is the one that it is programmed to do out of the box – Mind Space. With a single press, the Mind Space reads the content on the screen and saves it as a Memory. The Plus key can be customised to execute seven other functions. However, compared to its Apple counterpart, these options are pretty limited. Here are all the functions that the Plus key can trigger.
Mind Space: Recognises the content on the screen and saves it as a Memory.
Sound & vibration: Switches the sound profile to ring, silent, or vibrate.
Do Not Disturb: Toggles DND on or off.
Camera: Can be customised to trigger one of the following functions of the Camera app – Photo, Portrait, Retouched selfie, Video, Pro mode.
Torch: Turns the LED flash on or off.
Recorder: Starts or ends an audio recording.
Translate: Can be customised to trigger one of the following functions of the Translate app – Text, Camera, Conversation, Live, Screen.
Screenshot: Captures the screen.
No action: Does nothing.
While this is a good set of programmable functions, the Plus key still has room for improvement. We’d love to see the option to trigger any third-party app on the phone added to Plus key’s arsenal. This would be all the more useful since OxygenOS does not let users customise the side button apart from the standard power menu/voice assistant controls.
Remap the Plus key on your OnePlus 13s
Step 1: Go to Settings.
Step 2: Tap on Plus key.
Step 3: Swipe left and right to go through the different functions.
Step 4: Hit Set under a function to assign it to the Plus key.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does the Plus key on the OnePlus 13s do?
By default, the Plus key is programmed to read the content on the screen and save it as a Memory in Mind Space. It can be customised to switch the sound profile, open the camera, enable DND, and more.
How do I customise the Plus key on my OnePlus phone?
Go to Settings>Plus key, swipe left until you land on the function you want to assign to the button, and hit ‘Set’.
Can I open a third-party app using the Plus key?
No, the Plus key does not let you launch third-party apps yet. Hopefully, this will be changed in a future update.
What does pressing the Plus key do?
Pressing the Plus key once displays the function assigned to it as a Live Alert. Long-pressing the key executes the function. However, if the key is customised to save the screen to Mind Space, a single press will do the job.
Can I use the Plus key as a shutter button?
The Plus key can act as the shutter button in the Camera app, as long as it has been customised to launch the Camera app. If you’ve assigned any other function to the key, it won’t act as a shutter button.
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Final Thoughts
The Plus key is a very good first attempt at a feature that will certainly improve with every iteration. It remains to be seen whether OnePlus will add it to its Nord Series as well. What do you think of this new addition? Let us know in the comments!
