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I’ve been testing OnePlus phones since the OnePlus 3 came out, and OxygenOS has always been the reason for my keen interest in them. Now, a new report says that reason is going away.
According to Indian outlet Smartprix, an OPPO insider says the company has been planning to merge OxygenOS and Realme UI into ColorOS globally, not just in China. However, none at OPPO, OnePlus, or Realme have confirmed a word of this yet.
Why this isn’t really a surprise
Here’s the uncomfortable part that adds a bit of genuineness to this report.
OxygenOS and ColorOS have shared a codebase since 2021, when OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau announced the merger himself. What started as “same engine, different paint job” slowly became just paint.
OxygenOS 12 already caught heat for feeling like a ColorOS reskin, and it never fully shook that reputation. Realme UI never had a separate identity to lose. It’s been built on ColorOS since 2020.
So the software convergence had already happened. What the report claims is the discontinuation of the branding, and OnePlus and Realme as standalone product lines.
What OPPO is reportedly getting for it
Maintaining three Android skins costs money. Three QA teams, three regional rollout schedules, three sets of bugs to chase down. One codebase means OPPO’s engineers stop duplicating the same work three times over.
The report also says OnePlus is narrowing its global ambitions down to India and China, while Realme is doing the opposite, stepping back from China to focus outside of it. In India, OnePlus repair centers are already merging into OPPO’s service network. And yes, that part isn’t a rumor. It’s already happening.
What this means if you own a OnePlus phone right now
Nothing changes for your current device. The report is about future hardware, not the phone in your pocket. Your phone’s software and its update schedule should continue to work as is.
The part that actually worries me is what happens to the upcoming phones. ColorOS on Oppo’s budget lineup in India has a well-documented habit of preinstalled apps and promotional notifications. However, OxygenOS on flagships mostly avoided that.
If everything runs on one ColorOS build going forward, I don’t know which version of ColorOS we will get. The clean one, or the one with ads baked into the settings app. OnePlus spent years telling loyal buyers that OxygenOS would stay “light” and “burdenless” after the 2021 merger.
Only time will tell what’s in it for OnePlus, Oppo, and Realme.
