Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

OnePlus One to use one of Android’s coolest, most underrated features

Published Mar 12th, 2014 3:17PM EDT
OnePlus One Features Always-On Voice Commands
Image: OnePlus

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Even though many Android flagship devices pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor that comes with built-in support for always-on voice-based features, they don’t actually take advantage of the feature to offer customers some Moto X-like features. But the upcoming OnePlus One smartphone will apparently come with always-on listening capabilities out of the box, the company revealed on its forums.

OnePlus is apparently letting forum users choose the voice-based hotword that will wake up the phone – the available choices include “OK, OnePlus!,” “Wake up, OnePlus!,” and “Alakazam.” As for the software side, the CyanogenMod team will include voice-based features that take advantage of the Snapdragon 800’s voice functionality.

“Tired of unlocking your phone before interacting with it? Pins and fingerprints are a thing of the past! Ever wondered how would it be if you could command your phone to set up an alarm or do a search on Google without having to use your fingertips? The future is now!” the company wrote. “We’ve developed a new voice recognition/command feature based on Qualcomm’s technology which the Cyanogen team has implemented into our customized version of CyanogenMod OS. Now, you can train your OnePlus One to recognize your voice and perform different tasks even when the phone is locked!”

The OnePlus is slowly taking the wraps of what could be one of the most exciting top Android devices of the year. The company has unveiled so far CPU choice and memory options, as well as battery and screen size details.

The Moto X does not have a Snapdragon 800 CPU, but has a dedicated CPU component for always listening for the user’s commands. A proof of concept showing Moto X-like features on the Nexus 5 (which does pack the same processor as the OnePlus One) has been recently demoed by a developer, although always-on features are not supported by Google.

The Nexus 5 always-on listening proof of concept was shown in a brief video that follows below.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.