ColorOS 15: Evolving from Usable to Usable and Intelligent, OPPO's System Evolution Journey

ColorOS 15: Evolving from Usable to Usable and Intelligent, OPPO's System Evolution JourneySmartphones have become ubiquitous in our daily lives, with their presence in homes widespread for over a decade since the launch of the first iPhone. While their form factors have converged, consumers in 2024 are no longer swayed solely by a phone's design

ColorOS 15: Evolving from Usable to Usable and Intelligent, OPPO's System Evolution Journey

Smartphones have become ubiquitous in our daily lives, with their presence in homes widespread for over a decade since the launch of the first iPhone. While their form factors have converged, consumers in 2024 are no longer swayed solely by a phone's design. Instead, "usability" has become an unspoken benchmark. OPPO's ColorOS, since its inception, has been defined by its commitment to "usability." Back in 2020, when full-screen phones were in their nascent stages, OPPO pioneered the "borderless" design, breaking down interactive barriers and crafting a personalized system for users. Later, with ColorOS 14, they introduced large language models to the mobile system, creating one of China's first AI-powered customized Android systems.

Recently, OPPO showcased the next generation ColorOS 15 at the ODC 2024 in Hangzhou. I had the opportunity to get my hands on an OPPO Find X8 flagship phone pre-loaded with ColorOS 15. Over the last few days of using it, I've uncovered OPPO's subtle innovations in this system, as well as their vision and exploration for the next generation of ColorOS.

When Light and Shadow Embrace System Design

Upon its initial release, ColorOS 14 landed at the bottom of the CoolAPK system rankings. Many users felt that OPPO's simplification had discarded interesting design features from previous iterations. Despite that, ColorOS 14 still harbored many bugs, causing frustration among users. I also had the chance to deeply experience the factory-installed ColorOS 14 on the OPPO Find X7 Ultra. While I didn't encounter glaring bugs during my experience, it lagged behind other system offerings.

OPPO quickly recognized the problem with ColorOS's long-standing, iterative approach to updates. From mid-year, they began a rapid patching effort to fix bugs and address shortcomings in ColorOS 14. Each update brought improvements, ultimately leading to a resurgence in user ratings, solidifying ColorOS's reputation as the "OTA God" among users.

After listening to user feedback, how did ColorOS evolve? My testing of the PKB110_15.0.0.113 version provided some answers.

First, let's talk about design. The most noticeable change in ColorOS 15 is its overall stylistic shift from the aquatic design of its predecessor to a more natural aesthetic. In simple terms, OPPO has incorporated more light and shadow effects, giving icons and animations a physical, real-life feel. Iconography has been redesigned, with system apps like "Settings" and "Photos" finding a balance between realism and flat design.

Folders containing large icons are also treated with a Gaussian blur effect, which may be familiar to ColorOS 14 users. This blur helps focus attention on the current app while subtly elevating the visual experience.

Opening a folder reveals another change in ColorOS 15's animations. The transition from linear scaling to a wave-like scaling showcases OPPO's expertise in creating smooth, jelly-like effects. The single-page control center that drew criticism in the previous generation now offers users two choices: the new two-page design, separating the Notification Center from the Control Center, or the old single-page style. Based on my own experience, there's no significant difference between the two in terms of functionality, only minor variations in efficiency.

Personalization takes a step forward in ColorOS 15, boasting new lock screen pages and themes both functional and visually appealing. The lock screen offers nine theme collections: ColorOS, Mountain Path, Soothing Factor, Dynamic Rhythm, Healing Moments, Light and Shadow Art, and more. Each collection typically includes at least three different styles. Once a theme style is selected, users can further customize font size, displayed information, background blur intensity, and more.

Overall, ColorOS 15 doesn't represent a complete overhaul. OPPO has primarily focused its efforts on improving the visual experience and streamlining interaction logic. Redesigned icons, personalized lock screens, global animations, and more precise vibration tuning all contribute to a fresh user experience.

Enhanced Interaction and the Dawn of AIOS

OPPO debuted a feature called "Fluid Cloud" in ColorOS 14, offering a dynamic display similar to iOS's Dynamic Island. This feature provided real-time notifications in a fixed window at the top of the screen, notifying users of ongoing actions. A year later, OPPO redesigned the Fluid Cloud's display, making it one of the most notable interactive highlights in ColorOS 15.

The Fluid Cloud has shifted from its previous left-side position to a central display. During music playback, the window at the top displays the album art of the currently playing song. A simple tap expands the window to reveal the full layout, and another tap takes the user to the corresponding app. Currently, Fluid Cloud supports music, navigation, timers, and other features; third-party integrations include NetEase Cloud Music, Baidu Maps, Meituan Delivery, and more.

Unlike Dynamic Island, you can directly swipe the Fluid Cloud's small window to choose the app dynamic you want to display. This feature is especially useful when you're juggling multiple dynamic elements. For example, if you're navigating home and have ordered a meal, you can quickly switch between the ongoing route and the delivery time by simply swiping the window.

Another updated interaction method is through Xiaobu Assistant. ColorOS 15 enables Xiaobu activation by long-pressing the navigation bar. This feature allows for image recognition and real-time question answering. For instance, if I encounter an unfamiliar plant while walking, I can quickly activate Xiaobu Assistant by long-pressing the navigation bar, capture a picture, and ask for relevant information.

Real-time AI question answering is a hot topic among smartphone manufacturers. Apple's dedicated camera control button on the iPhone 16 ultimately seeks to achieve similar functionality to OPPO's solution. ColorOS 15 presents a different approach.

However, after using the feature, I believe its activation method and extensibility require fine-tuning. First, the navigation bar's position is relatively low, making precise activation of Xiaobu Assistant a bit tricky. Second, this functionality lacks a toggle switch. Given that it already supports power button activation, some users may not need this additional option.

Beyond Xiaobu Assistant, ColorOS 15 retains popular features like File Transfer Station and Split-Screen Mode. The latter receives an update with a new dual floating window feature, allowing users to seamlessly switch between these floating windows for enhanced productivity.

ColorOS 15 also refines interaction details, such as interruption animation. OPPO leverages the Aurora Engine to create the first parallel rendering architecture, ensuring that all app openings and closures display as parallel animations. To illustrate, on iOS, when quickly switching from an active app back to the home screen and opening another app, Apple's logic favors immediate interruption of the animation. In contrast, OPPO opts for a full animation for both app openings and closures.

This approach naturally aims to please users. During my in-depth experience, the smooth transitions between various apps consistently impressed me.

Launching alongside ColorOS 15 is the new AirDrop-like cross-device transfer feature, bridging the gap between iOS devices. In practical use, transferring photos and videos from OPPO to iPhone requires downloading a dedicated app on the iOS end. Direct transfer using the system's AirDrop is not yet supported. However, it offers a notable speed advantage, and Dolby Vision videos retain their quality.

OPPO's focus on reimagining interaction in ColorOS primarily stems from its desire to enhance user experience, especially for individuals who use both iPhone and Android devices. During my usage, I felt OPPO's sincerity. The interactions are incredibly smooth, and file transfers between iPhone and OPPO are remarkably fast, sometimes even blurring the lines between the two operating systems. This significant leap in interactive experience underscores OPPO's commitment to understanding user needs.

When the Mobile System Encounters Multimodal AI

Earlier, we mentioned that Xiaobu Assistant can be activated by a new gesture, and ColorOS 15 introduces advancements in AI interaction. Like iOS 18, ColorOS 15 features system-level AI interactive innovations, such as Xiaobu Assistant's activation through long-pressing the navigation bar. Leveraging the Andes large language model's multimodal capabilities, Xiaobu Assistant supports multiple modes of input and output, including voice, image, and text.

Upon activating Xiaobu Assistant, you'll encounter a prominent feature in ColorOS 15: "One-Click Ask Screen." As the name suggests, Xiaobu Assistant can help find text and image information on the screen and provide answers. For example, with the upcoming shopping festival, the system has sent me numerous marketing plans, including promotional offers for buying full-price items and receiving gifts. Using Xiaobu Assistant to circle and search in this scenario allows me to identify the exact nature of the accompanying gifts.

Surprisingly, Xiaobu Assistant goes beyond simple "image recognition." It provides core information about the product. Additionally, when encountering unfamiliar plants, animals, or obscure words in real life, you can ...