ColorOS 14 feature upgrades and global roadmap make debut

OPPO has formally unveiled ColorOS 14 (COS 14) for the global market. It upgrades to Android 14, yet retains its Aquamorphic Design skin over that. The second-gen UI contains new ringtones, not to mention a new Coloring System of accents that can change automatically based on the time of day.

COS 14 has the usual increasingly predictable overlap with OxygenOS 14, which includes the implementation of the Trinity Engine. Then again, it powers the new Go Green AOD, which keeps a planet- or ecosystem-themed animation going at all times on the lockscreen.

The COS 14 lockscreen also upgrades to its own Snapchat shortcut. OPPO asserts that the new UI is geared towards productivity as much as fun with the new Smart Touch AI-powered OCR function, rated to isolate and cut "pieces of content – text, images, and even videos" out of "the system and third-party apps".

They can then be placed in the same notes file, or sent to the new File Dock cross-app sharing hub. COS 14 also supports Smart Image Matting for photos that allows for individual subjects to be isolated from photos and used for a variety of purposes such as message content or system accents.

On that note, Aqua Dynamics may be OPPO's take on the Dynamic Island, although its animated bubbles and cards emanate from the status bar rather than a display punch-hole for access to "important information...with minimal distractions".

COS 14 is also backed to become even more privacy-focused than its forebear with Picture Keeper, a new feature rated to prevent apps from circumventing permissions restrictions with specific images.

Finally, Smart Charging is a new AI-enhanced tool for developing typical routine-based charging patterns: potentially good for a smartphone battery, if less fun for those who enjoy the fast wired speeds they paid for.

COS 14 is currently still in beta, although that status has allowed it to arrive on Find X5-series devices already. Its eligibility list also contains some more older flagships and mid-rangers from the Reno, A and F lines (albeit not the new A79 5G, oddly enough).

This preview process is projected to continue in November 2023, starting with the Find X3 and X3 Pro.

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