2024 Domestic Flagship Phone System Showdown: OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor Battle for Supremacy

2024 Domestic Flagship Phone System Showdown: OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor Battle for SupremacyWith the conclusion of the Honor Magic7 series launch event, the 2024 updates for domestic flagship phone systems are finalized. Looking back at this year's launches from major manufacturers, besides breakthroughs in chip technology, imaging, and battery technology, underlying system optimization and the reshaping of AIOS have become major highlights

2024 Domestic Flagship Phone System Showdown: OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor Battle for Supremacy

With the conclusion of the Honor Magic7 series launch event, the 2024 updates for domestic flagship phone systems are finalized. Looking back at this year's launches from major manufacturers, besides breakthroughs in chip technology, imaging, and battery technology, underlying system optimization and the reshaping of AIOS have become major highlights. vivo's OriginOS 5, OPPO's ColorOS 15, Honor's MagicOS 9.0, and Xiaomi's Pengpai OS 2 have all deeply integrated "smoothness" and AI elements into their system DNA. So, how do these flagship phone systems actually perform? This article will conduct a comparative review of the systems of four flagship models, striving for an objective presentation of their respective strengths and weaknesses. (This article contains no commercial collaborations.)

I. Style and Substance: A Comparison of UI Design Styles

When it comes to phone systems, the most intuitive experience for users is the UI interface design. This year, each system has made certain adjustments in its latest version, some pursuing fashionable trends, while others maintaining a stable and reliable style. This review selects four representative Pro models: OPPO Find X8 Pro, vivo X200 Pro, Xiaomi 15 Pro, and Honor Magic7 Pro. The first two are equipped with the Dimensity 9400 mobile platform, while the latter two use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, from left to right: Xiaomi 15 Pro, OPPO Find X8 Pro, vivo X200 Pro, Honor Magic7 Pro)

OPPO Find X8 Pro's ColorOS 15 is the most significantly improved among the four manufacturers. Compared to its predecessor, it has shifted from the "water-based design" to a more realistic "natural style," significantly enhancing the visual experience and optimizing physical interaction.

vivo X200 Pro's OriginOS 5 uses brighter colors, but the changes in icons and system interface are not significant, with major improvements focusing on animations. (Image caption: Lei Technology illustration, left: vivo OriginOS 5; right: OPPO ColorOS 15)

Xiaomi's Pengpai OS 2 can be considered an "upgraded version" of the original Pengpai OS. The system framework is more complete, and minor interaction issues have been resolved. However, similar to vivo, Xiaomi has not undertaken a global redesign, so Pengpai OS 2 visually differs little from its predecessor. Considering that the original Pengpai OS was only officially released last year, making drastic changes in just one year would not be conducive to users establishing new understanding.

Honor's MagicOS 9.0, similar to Xiaomi's, does not have a global overhaul, mainly focusing on adding interactive animations and AI-related interaction modes. (Image caption: Lei Technology illustration, left: Honor MagicOS 9.0; right: Xiaomi Pengpai OS 2)

Although manufacturers have different focuses on UI design, they surprisingly show consistency in the fun factor of the lock screen interface. This year, each customized system has redesigned its lock screen interface. vivo OriginOS 5 offers six new styles, including colorful photos and film filters; OPPO ColorOS 15 includes nine styles such as Healing Moments and Light and Shadow Art; Honor MagicOS 9.0, in addition to new styles, also adds a digital human style generated based on large models, making it more interactive. (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, from left to right: vivo X200 Pro, Honor Magic7 Pro, OPPO Find X8 Pro, Xiaomi 15 Pro)

It's worth noting that Xiaomi and Honor have both introduced an always-on display style similar to Apple's, maintaining the continuity of animation effects during unlocking and providing more timely and intuitive display of notifications. (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, left: Xiaomi 15 Pro; right: Honor Magic7 Pro)

In addition to new lock screen styles, Pengpai OS 2 also adds an AI wallpaper function. Users can choose their favorite photos, and use large model algorithms to make them move or add depth information, etc. Overall, the four systems have shown significant improvements in smoothness, such as the detail processing of interrupted and continuous animations, with minimal differences between manufacturers. Xiaomi and Honor belong to the conservative faction, with less noticeable changes, but smoother interactive animations than their predecessors, especially Xiaomi's richest global vibration feedback; vivo and OPPO focus on fashion trends, using vibrant colors and rich lock screens and widgets to attract younger user groups.

II. "Dynamic Island" and Cross-Ecosystem Interconnection: System Interaction Innovation

Since Honor released MagicOS 8.0 based on its magic large model, domestic customized systems have collectively entered the AI era. In the flagship models released at the end of the year, each system is more aggressive in AI applications and adds some fun features, such as Live Photo shooting, "Dynamic Island," and cross-ecosystem file transfer.

1. Collective "Islanding," Xiaomi Missing

The "Dynamic Island" concept originated from Apple's iPhone 14 Pro, but a similar design already appeared on the Honor V20 in 2018. Its core is to display real-time running applications as small windows in a specific area of the screen and trigger different mapping actions through tapping and swiping. The iPhone combines this interaction method with a pill-shaped cutout, balancing practicality and aesthetics.

Honor Magic7 Pro's "Dynamic Capsule" hasn't changed much from its predecessor, but it supports more applications, and the triggering conditions are clearer. For example, receiving a notification about a delivered online purchase will be directly displayed in the "Dynamic Capsule" and will not stay for a long time to affect the viewing experience. Tests show the Honor Magic7 Pro can simultaneously display up to 6 "Dynamic Capsules". (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, from left to right: vivo X200 Pro, Honor Magic7 Pro, OPPO Find X8 Pro, Apple iPhone 14 Pro)

OPPO Find X8 Pro's "Dynamic Island" is similar to Honor's but with a different design; when expanded, it does not cover the punch-hole area. While this brings the interactive controls closer to the center of the screen, making operation more convenient, it is less aesthetically pleasing than vivo and Honor. However, OPPO Find X8 Pro's "Dynamic Island" can also be swiped to operate controls when not expanded.

vivo integrates "Dynamic Island" with AI interaction in OriginOS 5, calling it "Atomic Island". Users can long-press an image, drag it to the "Atomic Island", and the system will pop up options such as saving and forwarding, and support cross-app operations. In fact, "Atomic Island" combines the functions of Honor's "Any Door" and "Dynamic Island".

In short, the "Dynamic Island" features of the three manufacturers each have their own strengths: vivo has the strongest interactivity, Honor displays the most detailed information, and OPPO offers the most convenient operation. Regrettably, Xiaomi's Pengpai OS 2 currently does not offer a similar function.

2. Live Photo: Inconsistent Experience

Another popular feature this year is Live Photo, which can record vivid and interesting moments and their synchronous sound. All four flagship models support Live Photo shooting, providing an on/off option in the default shooting interface, and also supporting full-focal-length dynamic photo shooting. However, the dynamic photo recording time for the vivo X200 Pro is 3 seconds, while the Honor Magic7 Pro, OPPO Find X8 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Pro are all 2 seconds. The vivo X200 Pro can retain watermark effects in dynamic photo animations, while the other three models do not support this. In addition, none of the four models can retain the HDR information of photos after modifying the cover.

3. Cross-Ecosystem Interconnection: Honor Stands Alone

After OPPO put forward a slogan with a strong "Apple-like" flavor, various manufacturers have sought interconnection with the Apple ecosystem, attempting to break through the iPhone's moat.

vivo launched a cross-device file transfer app as early as 2015 and launched the vivo office suite in OriginOS 4, supporting interoperability with macOS. vivo's file transfer is stable and efficient, but the logic is relatively traditional.

After the release of ColorOS 15, OPPO launched the O+ Interconnection complete version app, supporting file transfer with iPhones via NFC. (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, iPhone and OPPO file transfer)

Xiaomi's "Xiaomi Interconnection Service" requires the same account and connection to the same Wi-Fi for file transfer, making it more suitable for users who use both Xiaomi and iPhones. (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, Xiaomi and iPhone file transfer)

Honor still only supports file transfer within the Honor and Huawei HarmonyOS ecosystem. (Image caption: Lei Technology filming, Honor and Huawei file transfer)

vivo and OPPO's file transfer both support dynamic photo transfer, and OPPO's transferred photos and videos retain complete HDR information; Xiaomi does not support dynamic photo transfer. Honor's file transfer solution still only supports its own brand and the Huawei HarmonyOS ecosystem.

III. The Evolution of AIOS: Advances in AI Removal and AI Writing

AIOS is a key focus of system promotion by major manufacturers this year. Honor MagicOS 9.0 demonstrated the function