Oppo has been working hard on re-imagining its operating system. Work on ColorOS has been on in earnest for several years now. Keeping pace with Android 12, Oppo is now rolling out ColorOS 12 to no less than 110 smartphone models. The interface is also of great interest to OnePlus users because its phones will also be using it. I have been acquainting myself with the new version of the OS on an Oppo demo phone.
ColorOS 12 has an umbrella idea that ties together how the interface is put together, and that’s ‘inclusive’. This could mean many things including the fact that 67 languages (13 of them Indian) are supported, but other than that it certainly is a more intuitive and natural interface, easier to use for more people. It’s also very ‘neat and clean’ to use a term my school teacher was fond of. It has a good go at retaining stock Android elements while still offering a lot of customisations that an interested user just has to notice and tap into. Visually, it looks more sophisticated and finished and it’s surprising how much this can make whatever smartphone it’s on feel more premium. The way things are organised just makes everything more navigable and easier to find. It’s quite a far cry from the typical over-the-top skins Chinese phones used to come with.
ColorOS 12 includes new icon packs and animations that are interesting. There’s a neat trick with choosing colours that match with a selected wallpaper being used. It’s one of the many customisations that can be used to make a device really feel more personal.
Privacy Dashboard
One of the main features, in keeping with Android 12 really, is the Privacy Dashboard. Using this, the user can see which of the apps on the phone are using the camera, microphone or other sensors. This will give the chance to take whatever action they want including withdrawing permission. The dashboard gives the user fairly granular control over what information apps try to sneak out.
Granular control extends also to battery usage, though in this day of really fast charging it may just be easier to recharge. But for those who are interested in lengthening the life of their phone’s battery and keeping it healthy, there’s a way to see what is using the battery over the past 24 hours. Users even have control over some aspects of RAM usage.
Oppo has worked on making sure lag and stutter and glitches are addressed, specially seeing as how smartphones are used for productivity. It uses a ‘Quantum Animation Engine ‘ to improve animations to make functioning smoother.
There are many more features and customisations and rollout has already begun. If you use an Oppo phone, be sure to update when prompted.
