When OPPO’s new OS ColorOS 12 was first introduced in China on September 16,
I was so excited because I was “part” of it.
Prior to the launch event, OPPO had asked me to submit one of my most handsome selfies.
Later I knew they were for Omojis… along with another 428 tech influencers.
From the Omoji list, I found my Omoji down at the bottom here… after hours of searching.
Anyway, I’ve been with the ColorOS 12 for some time and here is my review.
The ColorOS 12 I’m reviewing is the global version based on Android 12,
which as far as I know is the first OEM operating system based on that.
So there are lots of features they have included to the stock Android experience including
Google feed and Google assistant for its global users.
Also, they have kept those favored stock Android features including talk back, select to speak
and more.
Yes, that’s more about the Android 12, how about the ColorOS 12?
Let’s dive into it.
So, the first difference I noticed is the design.
As OPPO says, they adopt an all-new acrylic design style for their icons,
with which they aim to empower users with the “real world” experience.
If you look closer, the icons do give you this kind of cleaner and translucent feeling
compared to the ColorOS 11.
OPPO also talks about the de-noising design, this is not the earphone de-noising
we normally talk about though.
Simply put, OPPO has created a simplified layout that allows key information to stand out
by using different colors and adjusting the density of information.
That’s true!
We can see more white spaces, more contrast of text and different color shades.
It’s easier to find the information I want.
One good thing I really love is the Flexdrop.
FlexDrop was first introduced on ColorOS 11.
On the ColorOS 12 it’s even better to use, you just slide up from the bottom of the screen
to activate FlexDrop.
The app windows can be resized and dragged to wherever you want or closed
if you don’t need them.
They have done a lot of improvements to the Personalizations too.
On the ColorOS11, each function has one picture, but as we can see the information is cluttered here.
On the 12 version, they use a secondary tab to store most of the features, and only left
those highly used ones like Wallpapers, Always-On Display, themes etc,
which looks much cleaner and simplistic.
The ColorOS 12 has introduced the Quantum Animation Engine 3.0.
What that means is it gives your gesture controls a lifelike animated effect.
The animation just moves like how they would do in the real world.
Items on the screen have inertia as if they belonged in the real world.
You see when I move a floating window on the screen, the window will keep moving
even after my finger leaves the screen.
One interesting thing I found is the bigger the floating window, the more difficulty you
have to slide it, which mimics real life physics.
Also it has a lifelike spring effect everywhere, like in the camera app, pull the zoom slider
to the end and then release.
OPPO also claims they have added an anti-stuttering AI engine.
Basically, it analyzes user habits to accurately identify the processes needed to ensure apps
in the foreground run smoothly.
It reduces RAM use and prolongs battery life.
As for privacy, the ColorOS 12 also comes packed with improved security and privacy features.
In the privacy dashboard, you can see exactly which app used what permissions.
You can even provide apps with only your approximate location to protect your privacy
while still enabling core functionality.
You can also lock apps and hide apps etc.
I like that!
Now my wife would never know what I was doing with Tinder.
When you share a photo, you can decide to erase personal info like location and phone data.
Alright! if those features I refer to above sounds not that obvious to you, after all,
the ColorOS11 has upgraded a lot from its predecessor, it’s already superb.
The next two I think are pretty fun.
One is the Omoji.
You can customize everything about your own Omoji.
Your skin, your head, your hair,
even if you don’t have hair you can find one that fits you.
You can also apply your Omoji on AOD etc.
Secondly is the PC connect.
By casting my phone screen to my PC, I now can transfer super large files in seconds
and improve work efficiency greatly.
I can watch TikTok from the PC while working instead of picking up the phone each time.
Now my boss praised me for my hard working.
In my time using the Find X3 Pro running ColorOS 12,
I've been very impressed with the user interface.
Not only is it the most refined and feature-rich mobile operating system from OPPO to date,
but it is also right there on top with some of the best custom takes
on Android 12 available right now.
I actually also tried other languages.
It seems ColorOS 12 has done great localized UI text for each language
as OPPO told me that they have a linguistic expert team
to support on localization to provide the most optimal UX
for their more than 400 million global users in more than 70 languages.
Great job on that.
From its revamped animations to privacy and data security,
there's a lot to get excited about the ColorOS 12.
Compared to its predecessor, it refined many details
and made it even more intuitive to use.
With ColorOS 12, OPPO managed to convince and seduce me, a long-time MIUI OS fan.
Without being obsessed with stock Android, I found the ColorOS 12 overlay to be very
capable but also very fluid and visually pleasing.
So what do you think of the ColorOS 12, which feature is your favorite?
Let me know in the comments section, I’m Sami and I will see you in the next one.
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