What you need to know
- A report claims the OnePlus 13 could receive Google's offline rediscovery feature, which the Pixel 9 and 8 series have.
- The OnePlus 12 reportedly lacks such "hardware capabilities" to support it; however, the OnePlus 13's Snapdragon 8 Elite is capable.
- Google detailed the function shortly after Find My Device hit more devices, stating (at the time) the Pixel 8 could report its location for "several hours" after turning off.
The latest OnePlus flagship phone is here, but a recent discovery could indicate more to come.
According to Mishaal Rahman (Android Authority), a previous beta for OxygenOS 15 might've teased an upcoming Pixel-exclusive feature for the OnePlus 13. Rahman states that he downloaded the beta on a OnePlus 12 and discovered an Android-provided message when looking at its power options.
Attempting to shut down the phone displayed, "you can locate this phone with 'Find My Device' even when powered off."
Curiously, last year's flagship phone isn't receiving such support. The Chinese OEM reportedly confirmed as much to the publication. According to OnePlus' statement, the OnePlus 12 contains an "8650 platform" via the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. This limits its capability to support offline rediscovery through the Find My Device network.
Confirmation of the OnePlus 12's lack of the offline discovery feature pushed Rahman toward the 2024 flagship. The post adds that the recent Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC contains a FastConnect 7900 connectivity subsystem. Rahman states that Qualcomm confirmed that this subsystem features all the necessities behind the appropriate connection for the Find My Device network's "Power Off Finding."
The OnePlus 13 debuted on October 31 on home soil in China. Qualcomm's latest flagship SoC grants the device a massive power boost in efficiency and performance. What's more, consumers in China can experience its 6.8-inch 2K Oriental display with a 120Hz refresh rate alongside its large 6,000mAh battery.
The inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Elite makes it possible for OnePlus to bring offline discovery to its latest smartphone. However, Qualcomm informed Rahman that this feature is "up to OEMs to implement and use it." OnePlus did not announce "Power Off Finding" for the 13 series in October, meaning it's likely still developing it.
It's speculation, but this function could arrive with a future OxygenOS 15 (Android 15) update.
Shortly after the revamped Find My Device network hit more devices, Google detailed how its unique Pixel-exclusive feature works. Per its document, the Pixel 8 and 9's offline discovery can function "for several hours" after the phone turns off. Google's recent two flagships were the only ones to have such functionality due to some "specialized Pixel hardware." With Qualcomm's latest SoC including such hardware, we may see more OEMs adopt this useful rediscovery feature.
In other news, OxygenOS 15 (Android 15) started hitting the OnePlus 12 and is on tap to continue to more of its past-gen devices throughout the year.
