After requests from OnePlus users, the handset maker is now offering: a software update to OnePlus' OxygenOS that will enable Always On Display functionality will be available later this year.

The announcement, made yesterday (May 1) at the OnePlus User Forum, is actually not that big of a surprise. Earlier this spring, the company confirmed via Twitter that it would fulfill a longstanding user request by offering an always-on display option via a software update.

What is new is that a target date for the feature has been set: in a post from the OnePlus community, the company said that development of the always-on display feature will be completed in June, with the finished version to be available in an OxygenOS update in August or September. OxygenOS is software that powers OnePlus phones and is built on top of the latest version of Android.

According to OnePlus, the always-on display is one of the most requested features by users of its phones. This feature displays the time and sometimes other at-a-glance information without having to pick up or wake the phone. Since the feature is provided in software, it will likely work on current OnePlus phones with OLED panels, such as the recently released OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. And if, as many observers expect, the unannounced OnePlus Z will have an OLED screen, it will also be included in future OnePlus releases like the OnePlus Z.

The always-on display feature is not the only feature that will be included in OnePlus' OxygenOS. The company is soliciting ideas from users as part of its IDEAS program to find out what features users want in a smartphone.

Other features planned for OxygenOS include the ability to enable fingerprint locking of hidden photos in the gallery; OnePlus phones will also be able to play alerts when fully charged and save folders in the app drawer OnePlus will also tweak Zen mode (a feature designed to reduce distractions by blocking some apps and notifications), which will include more apps such as calculator, calendar, and contacts when Zen mode is enabled. These other changes are now included in the OxygenOS roadmap, although OnePlus did not give a timeframe on when they will come to the phone.

If you're the kind of person who wonders what might have been, OnePlus' submission also includes user suggested features that didn't make the cut this time around. Suggestions that did not make the cut include Edge notification lights, call recording, and features like Samsung's Dex that would allow users to connect their OnePlus phone to a display and use it like a mobile PC.