At its annual Developer Conference in China today, Oppo made its latest mobile OS iteration, ColorOS 16, official. The new Android 16-based OS skin now features several AI improvements, visual overhauls and a comprehensive connected ecosystem.
ColorOS 16 is now faster, smoother and smarter
The new design aesthetics of ColorOS 16 is immediately noticeable. From the lockscreen to the homescreen, the visual overhaul is now cleaner, smoother and more transparent. Oppo is calling this the Light Field Design language, where there are new translucent UI textures and elements which helps the OS mimic the refraction of light on glass.
Moreover, Oppo is using a new Luminous Rendering Engine to create a seamless parallel rendering motion, which allows the OS to stay smooth even at the heaviest of workloads. This tech builds on ColorOS 15's Parallel Animation foundation to pair the new overhauled design with a cohesive visual flow.
Additionally, there are new transparent and lockscreen clocks available with ColorOS 16. These new clock styles are fully customisable and can be moved and placed anywhere on the screen. There are now drop shadow effects with bouncier animations.
The transition from the Always On Display (AOD) to the lockscreen and then to the homescreen is now even more seamless thanks to the new Luminous Rendering Engine and full-screen AOD support. There is also the option now to add widgets to the locksreen and new AI wallpapers, which can add Cinematic Depth effects to the UI.
Aside from the revamped lockscreen and an overhauled UI, ColorOS 16 also brings an updated iconography to the table. The core system apps like Gallery, Clock, Files, Calculator, Weather and more have been upgraded to match the translucent nature of the UI. There are also new icon shapes to choose from, which can intelligently adapt to ColorOS' Flux Themes to change colours, shapes and sizes.
Speaking of the Flux visual engine, the new OS update also brings an updated Flux Home Screen. Folders and app icons are now fully customisable with new shapes and size options. The surrounding homescreen layout will dynamically adapt based on the folder and app behaviour.
Under the hood, ColorOS 16 features include a new Trinity Engine, which combines chip-level enhancements with intelligent resource allocation. This means that ColorOS 16 is not only smoother, faster and powerful, but it is also now energy efficient. The Trinity Engine is also responsible for background app activity.
Moving on, Oppo has made its Dynamic Island "inspiration", Aqua Dynamics, much more useful and feature-rich. It now supports Cloud Live Activities with more than 110 live services. Moreover, it can now support up to three apps at the same time. Users will be able to switch between different activities with a simple tap on the island.
With ColorOS 16, Oppo's AI suite of intelligent services has also been upgraded. A new AI Portrait Glow feature will help users optimise skin tones and balance light with a single tap. It is part of the existing AI Photos editing suite of solutions.
The built-in video editor in ColorOS has also been upgraded with a new Master Cut feature, which unlocks several new options like trimming, speed controls, music integration, cropping, text, filters and manual adjustments for contrast, brightness and saturation.
Lastly, another area where ColorOS 16 has worked hard is in terms of cross-ecosystem connectivity. With the new update, Oppo O+ Connect has been updated to now support Windows PCs and Macs. It has also enabled remote desktop access and wireless file sharing between Oppo smartphones and tablets with MacBooks and Windows PCs.
Apart from this, there is also a new Screen Mirroring option which will let ColorOS 16 supported devices cast up to five apps. It even allows mouse and keyboard inputs, creating a true cohesive ecosystem of connected devices.
That said, ColorOS 16 will first ship with the Find X9 series in China, which will launch on October 16, 2025. Oppo has already started the internal beta testing recruitment for ColorOS 16 in China. Interested folks can visit the ColorOS China Community page to enrol their devices. As for India and the global markets, a dedicated announcement will follow soon.
