The Recent Tasks Manager interface received an unfortunate iOS makeover without justification. Here’s the secret method to revert back.
I recently got my OnePlus 15 back from a colleague who was testing it out, and after the setup, I was shocked by the new Recents multitasking interface. It wasn’t just an obvious imitation of iOS, but it represented a poorer design than what OnePlus has utilized for many years. I yearned for the previous aesthetic, but I couldn’t locate it anywhere within the settings menu, even after searching for various terms I thought might apply.
It turns out that the option to revert to the “flat” appearance still exists, but for some inexplicable reason, it’s concealed. Many companies adopted the stacked tile design for Recents last year, which is a significant improvement over the dreadful stock Android Recents interface, but far inferior to OnePlus’s design, which I’ve consistently regarded as the finest multitasking UI available on any smartphone.
Restore the effective task switcher on any OnePlus device operating OxygenOS 16:
1. Access the Recents UI by tapping the Recents icon on your navigation bar or by swiping up on the home bar without lifting your finger from the display for a moment.
2. Press and hold the Close button.
3. Choose Flat from the options displayed at the top.
After some additional exploration, I discovered that this same settings menu can be accessed by pinching the home screen, selecting home screen settings, and then opting for Manage Apps at the bottom.
Regardless of the method, you accomplish the task; this setting restores the classic, lightning-fast OnePlus multitasking UI. If you wish to “lock” an application in memory, you can also achieve that from this interface. This will keep apps readily accessible in memory even if you’re multitasking heavily.
OnePlus’s traditional UI is superior
For some odd reason, 2025 was the year when most Android device manufacturers opted to implement a divided notification shade and abandon Google’s dreadful multitasking UI in favor of Apple’s better design. Yet, as is nearly always the case, a third alternative would have been a smarter choice to keep as the standard.
Indeed, the existing default classic OnePlus multitasking UI was the optimal decision, but OnePlus believed that mimicking Apple would be more appealing to those transitioning from an iPhone. If I were to give OnePlus any credit in this situation, it would be that Apple users are not typically recognized for altering <
