I've spent the better part of a decade defending a piece of software that, if I'm honest, stopped being defensible around 2021. That's the year OnePlus quietly merged the OxygenOS codebase with Oppo's ColorOS. It's taken five years for that merger to reach its obvious conclusion, that OxygenOS is being retired for ColorOS.
In the same week, OnePlus officially wound down its US and European operations as part of the same overhaul. Both announcements signalled one thing – the OnePlus we fell for a decade ago doesn't exist anymore and hasn't for a while.
Trust me, I've tried to write the eulogy, but it comes as a bit of a relief instead.
Why "Never Settle" Was on Borrowed Time
There was a time when OxygenOS genuinely set OnePlus apart. It was fast when TouchWiz was sluggish, clean when MIUI was cluttered, and respected the user instead of constantly trying to sell them something. That software identity helped OnePlus punch far above its weight.
But after the Oppo merger, OxygenOS slowly stopped feeling like its own operating system. Every major release made it look a little more like ColorOS.
Today, they share the same core design language, privacy features, AI tools, battery optimisations, and animations. Features like Private Safe, O+ Connect and Mind Space already existed across both platforms.
Even OxygenOS' three-level Dark Mode came straight from ColorOS. The overall aesthetics, from the Control Centre to the app drawer, animations, lock screen customisation options and beyond, are all identical.
At some point, calling them different operating systems became harder than admitting they were essentially the same software wearing different logos. That's exactly why this announcement feels more overdue than shocking to me.
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The Real Trade-off
OnePlus says moving everyone to a single platform will make updates faster and software development more efficient. If you ask me, that makes a lot of sense.
Maintaining two nearly identical operating systems is expensive, and a shared codebase should mean fewer duplicated engineering efforts and quicker rollouts.
My concern isn't the shared backend. It's everything that tends to come with ColorOS. Historically, Oppo's software has leaned far more heavily into pre-installed apps, promotional content, and push notifications that feel more like bloatware. Those are compromises OxygenOS largely avoided during its best years.
If ColorOS 17 inherits that approach, OnePlus phone users will lose something that mattered far more than a boot animation or icon pack.
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Why I'm Not Upset About OxygenOS
OnePlus has spent years becoming more closely integrated with Oppo. Now that OnePlus is officially shutting down in North America and Europe, the brand is also stepping away from the markets where OxygenOS built most of its reputation.
Once OnePlus stopped operating as a largely independent brand, maintaining a separate software identity became harder to justify. Retiring the OxygenOS name is just the final step in a process that has been underway for years at this point.
Ironically, this change may actually benefit plenty of users. In markets like India, where OnePlus continues to grow alongside Oppo, sharing engineering resources could genuinely improve software support and update speed.
If you're already using OxygenOS 16, chances are your daily experience won't suddenly feel unfamiliar after the switch to ColorOS 17. Because, for the most part, you've already been using ColorOS.
I won't miss OxygenOS as it exists today but will rather miss what it represented. Back then, "clean Android" wasn't just a marketing phrase but a genuine element that proved that software could be a reason to buy a phone.
It's also becoming increasingly clear that this isn't just about OnePlus. The endgame appears to be a single ColorOS platform across Oppo, OnePlus and Realme, with Realme UI joining OxygenOS in fading away as the group consolidates its software efforts. In a market plagued by the RAM crisis, this just simplifies business majorly.
Moreover, although the brand has officially refuted rumours of OnePlus shutting down in India by 2027, if true, then this software transition starts looking like something much bigger than a simple rebrand.
Whether or not that happens is a question for another day. But it's clear that OxygenOS didn't disappear because OnePlus made a bad software decision but because the brand that once needed OxygenOS to stand out no longer exists in the same form. And once you accept that, the logo in the Settings app matters a lot less than you might think.
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