OnePlus co-founder and CEO Pete Lau confirmed that OxygenOS and ColorOS will remain independent entities.
In an announcement on OnePlus Community Forums dated February 28, Lau explained their 2021 milestones and updates for 2022, including the OxygenOS retention, ditching the ‘unified OS’ plans with OnePlus’s mothership, Oppo.
“While OxygenOS and ColorOS will continue to be developed on the same codebase – to allow for faster updates and better build quality – OxygenOS and ColorOS will remain independent brand properties. This new course was taken in accordance with feedback from our Community – we understand users of OxygenOS and ColorOS want each operating system to remain separate from each other with their own distinct properties,” Lau said in his forums post.
Previously in September 2021, OnePlus announced shifting their phones to a new ‘unified OS’ that aimed to merge OxygenOS and ColorOS codebase for both OnePlus and Oppo devices globally.
OnePlus phones within China are already running Oppo’s ColorOS, while global models were supposed to get the new integrated OS, even older devices.
This move by OnePlus apparently drew flak among its community as OxygenOS established a near-stock experience that OnePlus smartphone users enjoyed.
Moreover, Lau also confirmed that OxygenOS 13 is their next major software upgrade. However, they have yet to elaborate OxygenOS 13’s details.
“With OxygenOS 13, we want to deliver an experience that long-time OnePlus users will be familiar with while ensuring it upholds hallmarks of OxygenOS, like a fast and smooth experience, burdenless design, and ease of use. OxygenOS 13 will retain its unique visual design and a range of exclusive customization features,” Lau added.
A tech vlogger from India, “Beebom”, has shown that OxygenOS is now very similar to ColorOS.