Oppo is launching its ColorOS 13 update today and has detailed the features that are on the way for its devices. First, they’re upgraded to the flavor of Android 13. Oppo like Vivo, OnePlus, and other Chinese brand.
It is controlled by the tech giant BBK Electronics says the update will be arriving first on the Find X5 and Find X5 Pro this month. It is ahead of its release on around 33 additional models in the Find, Reno, A, F, and K ranges before the end of the year.
One of the more minor features worth calling out is a neat pixelation feature that’ll be available for screenshots in WhatsApp and Messenger chats. A new “Pixelate” option appears in the editing window, which can be tapped to automatically blur out the contact’s name and profile picture.
You can also use the tool to blur out the contents of messages manually. It could be helpful if you want to share a message exchange without revealing every detail quickly.
As you’d expect, ColorOS 13 includes many of the standard features that Google has built into this year’s Android update, such as enhanced privacy settings or the ability to mirror Google Messages on a paired Chromebook.
There are also some apparent similarities with Oppo sub-brand OnePlus’ recently announced OxygenOS 13 update, which runs on the same underlying codebase as ColorOS. The two updates share the same always-on display widget designs, including one for Spotify with built-in playback controls and similar design tweaks that include home screen widgets and resizable folders.
But there are also some new features for ColorOS 13 that have yet to be announced for OxygenOS. For example, Oppo has announced a new “Multi-Screen Connect” screen-mirroring feature, allowing up to three windows from a phone to be displayed on a connected Windows PC.
That includes two background apps alongside one direct mirror of a phone’s display. According to Oppo’s announcement, the connectivity also simplifies the transfer of files between a smartphone and Windows.
Multi-monitor, also called multi-display and multi-head, uses multiple physical display devices, such as televisions, monitors, and projectors, to increase the space available for computer programs running on a single computer system. Research studies show that multi-head may increase productivity by 5070%, depending on the type of work.
The Institute for Occupational Safety & Health of the German Social Accident Insurance revealed that the quality and quantity of worker performance alters according to the screen setup and type of task. Overall, physiological studies’ effects and the test persons’ importance favor a dual-monitor rather than a single-monitor structure.
Furthermore, physiologically limiting factors observed during work on dual monitors were minor and not generally significant. Therefore, no evidence exists that office work with dual-monitor arrangements presents a possible hazard to workers.
The Institute for Occupational Safety & Health of the German Social Accident Insurance is a German institute located in Sankt Augustin near Bonn. It is a central department of the German Social Accident Insurance. Belonging to the Statutory Accident Insurance indicates that IFA is a non-profit institution.
The IFA helps the German social accident insurance institutions and their organizations solve scientific and technical problems relating to occupational safety and health. The missions of IFA contain the following objectives:
- research, development, and investigations
- testing of products and material samples
- workplace measurements and advice
- participation in standardization and regulation setting bodies
- technical information and expertise
- testing and certification of products and quality management systems for producers and companies. The certified products and manufacturers can be found in the certificate database.
The IFA provides international proficiency testing (PT) schemes for laboratories and measuring stations. The IFA works closely with 23 international OSH institutes and is a member of PEROSH, a European research federation. In addition, the director of the IFA is a member of the Zero Accident Forum.
Another small-yet-potentially-handy feature is what Oppo calls “Meeting Assistant,” which is designed to improve the reliability of calls made via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet by prioritizing their traffic data over other apps. It also reduces the size of incoming notifications to make them less distracting while on a call.
Under the hood, upgrades claimed for ColorOS 13 include the debut of what Oppo calls the “Dynamic Computing Engine,” which it says will increase battery life and allow more apps to be kept open in the background.
The launch of ColorOS 13 comes just days after the official release of Android 13 for Pixel devices, making Oppo one of the first third-party Android manufacturers to start rolling out the latest version of Google’s operating system.
ColorOS is a mobile operating system designed by Oppo Electronics based on the Android Open Source Project. Initially, Realme phones used ColorOS until Realme UI replaced it in 2020. Starting from the OnePlus 9 series OnePlus will preinstall ColorOS on all smartphones sold in mainland China instead of HydrogenOS (the Chinese version of OxygenOS).
The first version of ColorOS was established in September 2013. Oppo had released a bunch of Android smartphones before then. It wasn’t stock Android, but Oppo didn’t tag it as ColorOS. Over the years, Oppo established new official interpretations of the operating system.
To make things less disconnected, in 2020, the company revealed that it would adopt the same numbering scheme as mainline Android, like ColorOS jumping from v7 to v11 with Android 11. In the future, ColorOS and OnePlus’ Oxygen OS will incorporate that will appear on all OnePlus and Oppo phones