OnePlus 15 Plus Key Explained: Alert Slider Replacement & AI Features

Introducing the OnePlus 15 Plus Key

• 💡 The Plus Key on the OnePlus 15 is a new physical button that replaces the traditional alert slider.
• 🎯 It offers more flexibility than just switching sound profiles, allowing for configurable actions on single and long presses.

Customizable Actions and AI Integration

• ⚡ Example actions include taking screenshots, turning on the flashlight, recording audio, and changing sound profiles.
• 🧠 The Plus Key is closely tied to OnePlus's AI ambitions, featuring Plus Mind, which captures on-screen content (text, images, info) and saves it to a Mindspace.
• 🗂️ Mindspace is an automatically organized repository that can extract dates, places, and events from captured content.
• 👆 This AI capture function can also be accessed via a three-finger swipe-up gesture.

Comparison and Versatility

• 🎭 Subjectively, the Plus Key is described as a more modern action button, similar to Apple's iPhone action button, offering greater customizability.
• 🚀 Unlike the slider, which was limited to profiles, the Plus Key supports a wider range of system-level and AI-assisted actions.

Drawbacks and Criticisms

• ⚠️ A significant drawback is the loss of tactile feedback, which long-time OnePlus users may miss.
• 🔧 Customization limits exist, with third-party remapping tools like Tasker or Button Mapper reportedly having issues detecting Plus Key presses.
• 🚫 The button lacks shortcuts similar to iPhones, which is considered a shame.
• 🤏 There's a risk of accidental presses due to its physical nature.