Oppo debuts ColorOS 11 based on Android 11, heading to 28 devices starting today
by Ben SchoonGoogle just launched Android 11 on its own Pixel devices last week, and hours later a few OEMs had already kicked off beta and preview programs. Now, Oppo is revealing its new ColorOS 11 skin in full, and it might be one of the first big rollouts we see this year.
With ColorOS 11, Oppo is moving a bit further from the heavy skins you usually see on smartphones from China and just a little bit closer to a traditional Android experience. That’s not to say this is a clean, stock Android build, but it’s certainly better than you might expect. It has typical navigation and most of Android 11’s core features including bubbles and the conversation view for notifications.
On top of core Android, though, Oppo has plenty of its own features. Customization in ColorOS 11 allows Oppo users to adjust the shape of icons, create their own always-on display designs, and more. Perhaps one of my favorite neat touches is the ability to select from three different tones while in dark mode and have that tone change throughout the day.
Another neat trick is something that Oppo developed with Google. Oppo devices give users the ability to take a screenshot by holding and dragging three fingers on the display. In ColorOS 11, Oppo is adding the ability to translate the text in that screenshot with just one click. Google Lens powers that feature and, in the short time I’ve spent playing around with ColorOS 11, it’s one of the features I’ve found myself really liking. For users often needing to translate messages, this will be a very valuable add-on.
Oppo is also bringing new battery saving modes, performance optimizations, productivity features, and even some privacy enhancements in ColorOS 11. You can get a full picture of everything included in the press release below.
What’s perhaps most impressive about ColorOS 11 is just how quickly Oppo plans to roll it out. As broken down in the image below, this Android 11-based update starts arriving on the company’s smartphones as soon as today on Find X2 series devices. Then, at the end of September, Oppo Reno3 and R17 devices are added to the mix. What’s the catch? These are only beta versions, but the beta and final release will be available to a whopping 28 different Oppo devices over the next few months.
OPPO Launches ColorOS 11 Globally with Rich Customization in the Android 11 Rollout’s First Wave
September 14, 2020 – The world-leading smartphone brand OPPO held the global launch for its all-new ColorOS 11 today via an online press conference, making history as one of the first OEMs to bring the latest Android 11 update to global users. With its “Make Life Flow” concept, ColorOS 11 maintains the beloved stock Android features while also providing the rich UI customization sought by OPPO users. Its rapid launch, which follows on the heels of Google’s Android 11 announcement, is the result of a close collaboration between the two companies to realize the launch in record time.
New level of UI customization to unleash your personality
ColorOS 11 offers an unprecedented level of UI customization to help users unleash their imagination and personalize their experience. Users can essentially create their own Always-On Display, theme, and wallpaper, as well as fonts, icons, and ringtones. This latest upgrade also enhances stock Android’s Dark Mode with three color schemes and levels of contrast. Meanwhile, OPPO Relax 2.0 lets users create their own white noise mix while also offering an extensive and immersive collection of sounds from cities around the world.
“ColorOS 11’s focus on UI customization is rooted in the customer’s desire for a more personalized and unique phone experience,” says Lynn Ni, OPPO ColorOS Design Project Lead. “The ColorOS team has heeded the user feedback for greater UI customization, offering a more personalized UI that encompasses a wide range of features. In doing so, we are providing users with ample space to demonstrate their creativity and exercise control over their phones.”
Greater efficiency than ever before
ColorOS 11 is equipped with robust features that improve work and life efficiency. Among them is the Three-Finger Translate powered by Google Lens, the first feature co-created by OPPO and Google. It captures and translates text through a simple screenshot taken with a three-finger gesture.
Flexdrop, another new feature, provides a simple and intuitive solution for multi-tasking. Users can watch video and text at the same time, which is particularly useful for gamers and video-lovers. Users can even switch between and control different smart home devices through a new Device Control menu, without having to download new apps.
To maximize available battery, the new Super Power Saving Mode lets users select six apps to run in low-battery situations. Meanwhile, Battery Guard prevents damage from prolonged charging at unstable power voltages by learning user habits. It intelligently pauses charging once it reaches 80% at night, before resuming to achieve a full charge by the time users wake up.
Unparalleled smoothness to “Make Life Flow”
While high frame rates are a positive industry advancement, phones often experience lags and stutters as a result. To combat this, ColorOS 11 has introduced UI First 2.0, which combines OPPO’s proprietary lag-reducing engine with Quantum Animation. This boosts RAM utilization by 45%, improving the response rate by 32% and the frame rate by 17%.
Meanwhile, AI App Preloading learns user behavior to preload the most-used apps, reducing loading time. SuperTouch also intelligently identifies user scenarios and optimizes the touch response speed accordingly, improving system fluency.
A heightened focus on user security and privacy
ColorOS 11 incorporates stock Android 11’s newly added privacy options while creating a series of additional privacy protection and data security features. Private System creates a separate system where a second version of apps and data runs independent of the original and is accessible only via a separate fingerprint scan or password.
A new shortcut to App Lock enables users to lock apps through password, fingerprint, or facial verification. The permissions system has also been enhanced, with temporary permissions that reset camera, microphone, and location access when the app is closed. Meanwhile, auto-reset permissions return app permission settings to default if they haven’t been used in a long time. To prevent malicious apps from accessing other apps’ data, scoped storage restricts apps’ access to phone data, requesting user permission in order to do so.
The fastest and widest rollout in ColorOS history
The current beta launch of ColorOS 11 invites tech-savvy users to explore the new features and offer feedback, with an official version to follow in the coming weeks. ColorOS 11 will be released in a batch-by-batch approach, starting with the Find X2 Series and Reno3 Series. The complete rollout will cover 28-plus phone models, including the Find, Reno, F, K, and A series.
More on Oppo:
- Oppo Find X2 Pro review: Finding the X-factor [Video]
- Oppo Reno 4 Pro goes official w/ Snapdragon 720G, $470 price tag
- Oppo’s new 125W charging tech takes you from 0 to 100% in just 20 minutes
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