We have reported that Oppo will scrap sister companies Oneplus Oxygen OS and Realme’s Realme UI to instead use Color OS in all three brands’ phones. It’s not surprising, but it updates the manufacturer-specific features of Android.
I still hold Samsung’s introduction of One UI as the most successful manufacturer-specific interface. Before that, there was a lot of focus on what new features each Android version contributes, but after that the focus has shifted to what each manufacturer adds. The news is increasingly sparse in Android, while the most exciting additions are found in, for example, One UI.
From the beginning, Google’s very cleanest version was often what we all aspired to, because far from all manufacturer-specific extensions contribute something, but then something happened. Now it is often the individual manufacturers who introduce an exclusive function that only later comes to the phones of more manufacturers by being integrated into general Android updates. After all, Android works so that manufacturers can contribute to the common good.
We have reported that Oppo will scrap sister companies Oneplus Oxygen OS and Realme’s Realme UI to instead use Color OS in all three brands’ phones. It’s not surprising, but it updates the manufacturer-specific features of Android.
I still hold Samsung’s introduction of One UI as the most successful manufacturer-specific interface. Before that, there was a lot of focus on what new features each Android version contributes, but after that the focus has shifted to what each manufacturer adds. The news is increasingly sparse in Android, while the most exciting additions are found in, for example, One UI.
From the beginning, Google’s very cleanest version was often what we all aspired to, because far from all manufacturer-specific extensions contribute something, but then something happened. Now it is often the individual manufacturers who introduce an exclusive function that only later comes to the phones of more manufacturers by being integrated into general Android updates. After all, Android works so that manufacturers can contribute to the common good.
When we test phones, the interface is an important part of what we judge. After all, it is central to much of your experience with the phone. Samsung and their One UI is not as superior as it once was. Xiaomi and their Hyper OS we repeatedly complain about, because it is messy, lacks significant updates for years and adds annoying advertising notices bordering on fraud. Motorola is a manufacturer that only recently even gave its interface a name and is still close to a pure Google interface. At the same time that Google is increasingly moving away from it and releasing Pixel-specific features that make one wonder what a pure Google interface really is.
Nothing and their Nothing OS are of course an example of how you can create your own profile as a mobile manufacturer. Their selectable monochrome interface both benefits from the Android commonality and creates something genuinely own, just as the idea is.
Then I am much more curious about how Wear OS is handled and how the different manufacturers have their own health apps so that the whole benefit of belonging to the same system from the user’s perspective disappears.