ColorOS 14 is Finally Out: Here’s What You Need to Know

OPPO has finally taken the wraps off its newest custom Android UI with ColorOS 14, which brings a ton of new features, customization options, and visual enhancements for OPPO device users, as well as some features brought over from Android 14. OPPO says that ColorOS 14 is designed to be “intelligent, more intuitive, and more secure.”

For those not familiar with it, ColorOS 14 functions similarly to Samsung’s One UI 6 platform and Xiaomi’s new HyperOS interface, which comes with custom functions exclusive to each brand, while retaining full Android functionality and compatibility. So what can we expect with ColorOS 14? Let’s take a look!

Aquamorphic Design

With ColorOS 14, OPPO has developed an “Aquamorphic Design” template that all works together to provide a cohesive user experience, meaning that all UI elements within a user’s phone will feel consistent with ColorOS 14’s theme settings.

In terms of visuals, ColorOS 14 features an “Aquamorphic Coloring system” that automatically adapts to different onscreen elements including the status bar, onscreen clock, and other screen content, and displays a consistent color theme for users. ColorOS 14 also comes with Aquamorphic Sound Style, which includes ten sets of Aquamorphic-themed ringtones and system sound effects, which OPPO says was developed with professional music academies and top sound design teams.

ColorOS 14 also packs Aqua Dynamics, which integrates bubbles, capsules and panels into user-device interactions, in a way that allows input to naturally flow from a user to their device.

New Productivity Features

In addition to the new UI elements, OPPO has also included a healthy number of features with ColorOS 14. One is the “Go Green” AOD screen, which builds on the “Homeland” AOD style that was previously featured in ColorOS 13.

This time around, the AOD screen will display three sets of “Environment Vision” pages, with different environment-related animations that change based on how many steps a user takes – it’s supposed to give an idea as to how much CO2 emission is reduced by walking instead of taking transport, for example.

ColorOS 14 comes with Smart Touch, which lets users select content such as text, images, videos from compatible system and third-party apps, and collect them on the File Dock, or even consolidate them into a single note via drag and drop gestures.

Meanwhile, the File Dock function on the Smart Sidebar allows for content to be shared across applications through split-screen, floating windows, or on the Dock itself. Users can store content automatically in the File Dock, and it can even be synced across different devices like smartphones and tablets for easier content access.

Additionally, ColorOS 14 comes with support for Smart Image Matting, which works similarly to photo cutouts on iOS. Users can open a photo or pause a video, tap and hold on a subject such as a person or animal, copy the highlighted image cutout and paste it over a different app to be used as a standalone sticker, or to be placed on top of other compatible media files.

Performance Enhancements

OPPO has included its Trinity Engine with ColorOS 14, which is a system-level solution that the company claims can improve overall smoothness and stability through improved management of a device’s resources, memory, and storage. This includes “ROM Vitalization,” which can save up to 20GB of a device’s storage by tidying up app and file data through compression, file defragmentation, and memory acceleration techniques, which helps with long-term smartphone use.

Interestingly, ColorOS 14 also features “RAM Vitalization,” which can supposedly keep apps running in the background for up to 72 hours. This works by revamping Android’s underlying RAM mechanism and utilizing OPPO’s proprietary technologies, helping improve app launch speeds and fluidity when multitasking, for example.

Up next is “CPU Vitalization,” another feature of the Trinity Engine that allocates battery resources by maintaining the optimal balance between performance and power efficiency. OPPO adds that built-in AI algorithms will be able to adjust charging sessions based on a device’s current usage status to reduce battery degradation.

There’s also “Arctic Mode” that adjusts a battery’s thermals for use in cold environments, and a new charging management system that can automatically stop your device’s charging session once the battery hits 80%, a feature that we’ve also seen on third-party apps and OEMs.

Additional Features

With ColorOS 14, OPPO has also added some improvements to privacy, such as the “Auto Pixelate”, which visually distorts sensitive information such as user avatars, nicknames and other details from screenshots with a simple tap. There’s also “Picture Keeper,” which adopts Android 14’s privacy measures for apps that need access to photos and videos saved on a device. Privacy Keeper lets users set individual permissions per app, for better control on how media files are accessed.

One impressive feature is the ability to select individual refresh rates for certain apps on select devices, allowing users to set either 60, 90, or 120Hz refresh rates for different apps.

Compatible Devices

ColorOS 14 is definitely shaping up to be an interesting take on Android, as well as a much-improved evolution of OPPO’s own custom Android skin. With that in mind, the company is planning a roll-out of the global beta version, which will be available for different devices on different dates:

• October 2023: OPPO Find X5 Pro, OPPO Find X5, OPPO Reno10 Pro+ 5G, OPPO Reno8 Pro 5G, OPPO A77
• November 2023: OPPO Find X3 Pro 5G, OPPO Reno 10 Pro 5G, OPPO Reno10 5G, OPPO Reno8 5G, OPPO Reno8 T 5G, OPPO Reno8, OPPO Reno8 T, OPPO Reno7, OPPO F23 5G, OPPO F21s Pro 5G, OPPO F21 Pro, OPPO A98 5G, OPPO A78 5G, OPPO A77s
• December 2023: OPPO K10 5G, OPPO A77 5G
• January 2024: OPPO A78, OPPO A58
• April 2024: OPPO Reno8 Z 5G, OPPO F21s Pro 5G, OPPO A96 5G

Are you looking forward to getting ColorOS 14 on your OPPO device? Let us know in the comments below!

More OPPO Content:

• OPPO Find N2 Flip Review: Changing the Heirarchy
• OPPO Teams up with Hasselblad for Next-gen HyperTone Camera Systems; 2024 Launch Expected