Alongside Android 17, Oppo has been working on a mid-cycle upgrade, ColorOS 16.1, which has just started rolling out to initial devices. It’s still based on Android 16, but there are a host of visual changes, AI upgrades, and enhancements that make it feel like more than an incremental upgrade.
ColorOS 16.1 rollout progress and timeline
The ColorOS 16.1 update is currently rolling out to Oppo Find X9 series phones, with expansion to the Reno 15 series and the Find X8 series expected to follow soon. The upcoming Oppo Find X9s and Find X9 Ultra will boot the latest software out of the box.
Oppo has yet to announce a global rollout schedule for ColorOS 16.1. The rollout schedule for China has already been released, which suggests the update will only be released for a limited set of devices, mainly recent flagship phones and select mid-range phones. We’ll update you on the website when the global rollout schedule is announced.
ColorOS 16.1 update: New features and major upgrades
1. Live Space
It’s one of the biggest additions to ColorOS 16.1, which looks and functions similar to the Now Bar on Samsung phones. It’s a capsule-shaped UI element that sits at the bottom of the screen and displays ongoing activities, such as timers, music playback, food delivery tracking, and notifications.
You can tap a capsule to expand it for more controls, and swipe between multiple live activities to see updates without unlocking your phone or opening apps.
Live Space also works with Google Maps. You can tap the album art to expand it to full-screen mode, which offers more controls and real-time scrolling lyrics on the lock screen.
2. Contour Glow effect
ColorOS 16.1 brings the Contour Glow effect to Settings, adding a subtle shimmer animation around UI elements like Control Center toggles, lock screen widgets, and the search bar. You can enable or disable this feature anytime.
3. Redesigned Camera app
The Camera app receives several big upgrades with the ColorOS 16.1 update. It now features translucent layers, glossy blur effects, floating cards, and smoother transitions throughout the interface.
As Smartprix noted, the controls have been moved as well. EV and exposure controls now don’t sit together, and the swipe-up function from the viewfinder opens quick controls like aspect ratio, macro mode, action mode, and soft light. The Settings section now opens in pop-up cards instead of full-screen. Modes like Portrait and Text now use popup-style menus.
4. MindPilot AI
ColorOS 16.1 introduces MindPilot AI to Mindspace, a deeply integrated AI assistant to manage everyday contextual requests. It supports ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity models to ask questions and suggestions, with Mindspace content and integrations as context, for a more personalized response.
5. AI Bill Manager
The update also introduces a new AI Bill Manager to help you track your expenses. It can track expenses, income, daily averages, and monthly spending patterns.
You can manually add expense records and import older data from supported apps or use Excel and CSV files. Further, users can also set spending limits and ask the AI to get spending data.
6. AI Menu Translation
Those who frequently travel abroad would find this feature very helpful, as it instantly translates foreign languages through the camera. So, you don’t need to take the image and paste it into a translator app. The AI Menu Translation feature can also identify prices and convert currencies.
You can download the language packs, totaling about 518MB, for offline translation support. This new feature can also generate AI summaries during real-time conversations.
7. AI Home Screen Organization
The AI can also handle home screen organization, grouping apps by category (such as games, social media, music) or by icon color. The feature also saves layout history, so you can restore it later.
8. AI Document Scanning
The upgraded AI Document Scanning feature now filters out shadows, glare, blur, and distortion, resulting in better output. With upgraded capabilities, it can now recognize handwriting, long paragraphs, and tables more accurately.
Scanned docs are automatically saved in the Documents app and can be exported to Word or copied instantly.
9. Audio Sharing
ColorOS 16.1 adds support for Audio Sharing, allowing users to connect two audio devices at the same time. You can play the audio through both connected audio devices simultaneously. This feature works with earbuds and supported Audio devices.
All you need to do is connect the second audio device through the Audio Sharing menu.
10. Smoother animations
Oppo continues to refine animations to make it feel smoother and more polished, with ColorOS 16.1 taking it a step further. You’ll experience better animations with floating windows, app closing, and app opening. Scrolling inside apps also feels more refined with reduced jitters.
11. Quick Share with AirDrop support
Oppo has added AirDrop support to Quick Share on several devices running ColorOS 16.1. It allows users to share files with Apple devices without third-party apps. This feature is currently available on the Oppo Find X9 and Find X9 Pro.
Remember to visit the Oppo section regularly to get the latest updates. Alternatively, you can join our Telegram channel to get instant notifications when we post new stories.
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