Early last month, when we reported that Android 12 might see a full release on 4 October — according to XDA-Developers’ editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman — we didn’t expect Oppo of all companies to take that as a challenge. Rahman was right. Android 12 did indeed launch on Monday the 4th — to Pixel devices first.
We also said you’d have to wait for your device manufacturer to integrate Android 12 into their OS. That usually takes some time. Samsung, for example, took around three months to deliver OneUI 3.0 (in December 2020) to devices following the stable release of Android 11 in September 2020.
We’re sorry OPPO, we didn’t mean it like that
Well, it looks like Oppo took what we said personally. Today, on 11 October, the company released its first public beta of ColorOS 12. The new update will roll out to the Find X3 Pro in Southeast Asian countries first but Oppo plans to expand that to more devices and countries (including South Africa) “in the coming months,” according to a press release.
There are some minor tweaks to things like app icons and animations in the OS as well as a better ‘system aging rating’. You know how you find your device start slowing down after you’ve been using it for a few years? Well Oppo says ColorOS 12 helps to minimise that. That’s over and above the updates and new features Android 12 is bringing to the table.
Oppo also announced that it will provide up to three major Android upgrades for its flagship devices made from 2019 onwards and four years of security updates. That’s always good to see — it’s just a pity we don’t have the company’s flagship devices available in SA yet.
Read more: OnePlus and Oppo to fuse into one smartphone brand
Following OnePlus’ announcement in September, that it would not be making a T version of its flagship range and will instead shift from OxygenOS to a unified OS between OnePlus and Oppo, this might very well be the last version of ColorOS as we know it now.