OnePlus on Monday announced that it will launch the OnePlus 9 series with Oppo’s ColorOS software program in China. So far, all OnePlus phones sold in mainland China, have been based on HydrogenOS even though whether or not or not the new announcement indicates the finish of the road for the project is not clear quickly. OnePlus has confirmed that OnePlus 9 series phone sold outdoors of China will–still–be based on OxygenOS.
The details was shared by OnePlus CEO Pete Lau on China’s social media site Weibo, and separately in a forum post by OxygenOS solution lead Gary C.
“As a global technology company, we always look for ways to address the different usage habits and preferences among our users worldwide,” Gary adding, “our China market devices will now be using a customized version of ColorOS, tailored specifically for OnePlus smartphones, starting with the upcoming OnePlus 9 series.”
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For these unaware, each OnePlus and Oppo are owned by Chinese conglomerate BBK Electronics. So is Realme. Realme devices have been earlier based on ColorOS, but more than time, the brand switched to creating a custom OS (utilizing ColorOS as base) referred to as Realme UI, with the most current version becoming Realme UI 2. which is based on Android 11. Gary’s post appears to recommend that OnePlus will also be going down the exact same road with its phones in China, but the extent of “customization” it will supply at launch remains a mystery for now.
Those maintaining track would be conscious that OnePlus at one point of time, had distinct teams and sources working on HydrogenOS and OxygenOS, anything that was also hard to retain from a pure operational point of view when OnePlus was just having started–this was anything that OnePlus was also vocal about back in the day. Over the course of time, as OnePlus launched more phones and ventured into new markets, these conversations have been ultimately laid to rest.
OnePlus has so far steered clear of conversations about connections with its other sister brands, mainly Oppo, with which the brand is identified to share provide chain and at times, even technologies but the new announcement will certainly raise a couple of eyebrows in the sector.
In OnePlus’ defence, “for all of our users outside of mainland China, we will continue using OxygenOS for global devices in the future and remain committed to offering a fast and smooth experience with OxygenOS.
OnePlus is set to launch the OnePlus 9 series for global markets including India on March 23.
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