Oppo ColorOS 11 review — faster, lighter, better, but is it enough?

• Oppo rolled out the ColorOS 11 update based on Android 11, featuring a major design overhaul.
  
• This new ColorOS update finally makes it look a lot more modern and simpler, with a major performance boost across the board.
  
• But has Oppo done enough in improving its design philosophy? Read our ColorOS 11 review to find out.
  
• Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.

Oppo has rolled out the ColorOS 11 update, based on Android 11. The new update is rolling out for eligible Oppo smartphones, featuring a major design overhaul, and comes with several new Android 11 features like one-time permissions, bubble notifications, and more.

One of the best things about the Android operating system is the freedom it offers to both companies as well as users to customize their phones. Almost every company has a custom skin – some of them offer a deeply customized experience while others stick to adding features without any major design changes.

With the ColorOS 11 update, Oppo has dialled back its design philosophy to look a lot closer to stock Android than ever before. But is it enough? Has Oppo addressed some of the issues plaguing its custom skin or do they still persist? Let’s find out in this ColorOS 11 review.


Major design overhaul with a simpler design philosophy

Oppo’s ColorOS skin is known for being starkly different from stock Android. Be it the notifications, status bar icons, or the overall design language, Oppo has offered a highly customized experience.

That has changed with ColorOS 11. While it still offers a high level of customization, the out-of-the-box experience is a lot simpler and easier on the eyes.

The Settings panel has been revamped, and the sections now make a lot more sense. The icons also look a lot more modern and simpler now, making it easy to recognize the menu option.

Personalize to your heart’s content

The new ColorOS 11 update includes a dedicated menu for customization, called “Personalization.” This includes various options like wallpaper, Always On Display (AOD), icon style, colors, edge lighting, and more. If you like to tweak your device to your liking, you’ll find almost everything here.

If you’re still not satisfied, you can use the Themes app to download new themes.

One of my personal favourites is the ability to customize the AOD design. Oppo has included 32 pre-set options, but if you want, you can customize your own too. You can include custom text or create a new AOD using a wide range of patterns.

Apart from this, the new update also includes a feature called Edge Lighting. Enabling this feature makes the edges of the phone glow whenever there is a new notification. Oppo offers additional customization options so you can fine-tune it based on your preferences.

Dark mode to save your eyes

The ColorOS 11 update also includes some interesting options for customizing dark mode. You can not only choose between dark or light modes, but you can even tweak how different aspects behave in either of these two modes.

For example, dark mode now has three different styles – enhanced, medium, and gentle. The enhanced mode offers pitch black background, while the other two offer varying degrees of grey shade.

You can also allow the wallpaper and icons to adjust to the dark mode.

Optimized charging, relax mode and more

The ColorOS 11 update also brings some other interesting new features like optimized night charging. This is useful when you tend to leave your phone overnight on the charger.

Once the phone’s battery charges up to 80%, this feature suspends charging until you lift your phone the next morning. However, given that many of Oppo’s flagship phones support up to 65W fast charging, you are better off charging the phone when you need to, instead of overnight.

Oppo has also updated its Relax app with improved design and more. This is a de-stressing app that helps you relax using a mix of calming sounds.

The Gaming Mode feature has been updated, too, with a new “Competition Mode” option. It lets you focus on the game and prevents phone calls and text messages from distracting you.

Verdict

The new ColorOS 11 update looks a lot professional and clean when compared to ColorOS 7. Oppo has done a great job in removing cartoonish elements in the design that were widespread in ColorOS 7. The performance is also smooth across the system, without any major bugs or slowdowns.

However, there is still scope for improvement, especially when it comes to letting apps run properly in the background. The stock ColorOS launcher shows ads in the form of app suggestions, which some users may not like.

Overall, though, the ColorOS 11 is a major step in the right direction.

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