OPPO ColorOS 16 Introduces Several Excellent AI Features

Smartphones have dominated the digital ecosystem for the past dozen years. They are black holes of attention, our most private companion. But from the outset, smartphones were designed to be stared at by people—they operate entirely within their screens.

AI, on the other hand, has precisely the opposite requirement: it needs to continuously perceive the physical world—seeing what you see, hearing what you hear, always present, rather than waiting for you to unlock your screen before waking up.

When AI becomes a fundamental capability, it will inevitably break free from the screen and find its own form. This will be a long journey of exploration and evolution.

The "AI Device Chronicles" column thus comes into being. IFANR wants to continue observing with you how AI is changing hardware design, reshaping human-computer interaction, and more importantly, how AI will enter our daily lives in what form?

This is the 14th article in the "AI Device Chronicles."

Today, there is no denying that smartphones are becoming the most important AI hub in our lives.

Whether as a data hub for smartwatches or as an independent intelligent terminal, smartphones now bear more connection and processing tasks than ever before.

And the smartphone operating system serves as the foundation for these connections and processing, serving as the stage for all AI functions.

Image | OPPO

Admit it, whether you love your smartphone assistant or not, the AIification of the phone system is inevitable. Even Google says they want to evolve Android from an "operating system" to an "intelligent system."

Rather than blindly opposing the AIification of smartphones, the best way we can face this change is by adopting the principle of "taking things as they come":

Actively discover the best smartphone AI features and let them serve as lubricants in daily use.

And the slogan "Ultra Smooth More AI" of OPPO ColorOS 16 is such a rare AI feature that does not overshadow but instead makes the user experience smoother.

One-Tap Flash Memory: AI All-in-One

Although memory functions exist across various brands, Xiao Bu Memory remains the most comprehensive, intuitive, and ecologically sound so far.

After all, when developing this function, OPPO had a clear idea:

_I don't need the screenshot itself; I need the information on the screen... After extracting the essence, the dried-up entity photo is no longer important._

In the latest version of ColorOS 16, the "One-Tap Flash Memory" feature has been further enhanced, integrating with Xiao Bu Memory's multimodal functionality and Fluid Cloud, turning into a super memory tool that is even better than screenshots.

Video Flash Memory

The key to making an AI tool useful lies in "the tool taking one extra step to reduce the user's steps."

The "Video Flash Memory" feature exemplifies this by proactively taking one extra step based on recording and understanding screen information, allowing users to skip an additional operation.

This feature works well because it solves the previous problem of having to manually copy links to send to AI or repeatedly calling Xiao Bu during video playback.

Compared to manual operations, video flash memory only requires pressing a shortcut key while playing the video, and Xiao Bu automatically identifies the video and executes the summary, reducing 50% of manual work.

Especially with the surge in learning videos—online courses, life skills, product tutorials, etc.—OPPO's video flash memory can effectively organize content:

Entering Xiao Bu Memory also reserves timestamped hyperlinks, allowing skipped videos to jump directly without opening screen animations (and ads):

Moreover, Xiao Bu Memory automatically associates previously remembered videos based on the summarized content, forming an automatic collection folder effect.

However, it currently only supports domestic mainstream video platforms, does not support YouTube and WeChat Video, only supports Chinese and English, does not support minor languages, and cannot trigger summaries for some vertical videos.

Overall, "video memory" remains one of the best AI features in ColorOS due to its ability to integrate two common AI operations, creating an experience where 1+1>2.

Quick Bookkeeping

Another unexpectedly useful "flash memory" type function is Xiao Bu's automatic bookkeeping.

Of course, OPPO's automatic bookkeeping isn't fully automated; it integrates with the more commonly used "Xiao Bu Island," which is still essentially a manual process:

But "Xiao Bu Island" itself is excellent, almost the most adaptable "floating island" type function available.

Combining bookkeeping with this high-frequency function should be the most seamless solution.

Of course, there are many ways to do bookkeeping; both WeChat and Alipay have related intelligent functions. ColorOS' biggest advantage remains the previously mentioned "smooth flow and seamless experience."

Currently, Xiao Bu Memory only supports importing Excel/CSV statements from WeChat and Alipay. For other platforms like CloudPay, you need to export Excel and modify the layout before importing:

Besides simple bookkeeping, ColorOS' statement analysis function is also quite good.

On the Xiao Bu Memory homepage, you can see a bar chart of monthly expenses, and clicking in reveals transaction details and weekly/monthly averages:

With just these features, they basically meet the needs of 95% of daily bookkeeping, saving a lot of money compared to paid bookkeeping apps.

More importantly, on the "My Bills" page, you can discuss existing income and expenditure data with Xiao Bu—

However, LLM's mathematical reasoning abilities are generally average, so Xiao Bu's results are best used as references.

System Functions: The AI That Loves Detailing

Apart from the "heroic scenarios" mentioned above, many AI functions in ColorOS are integrated into system apps, often leading to exclamations of "I never knew I could use Xiao Bu here."

By integrating AI functions into system applications, they also indirectly increase their retention rates, giving many "one-time-use" apps new purposes.

Menu Translation

As one of the key promoted features of ColorOS 16, intelligent translation + AI menu is perhaps the most impressive example of excellent AI integration we've seen.

It provides a very down-to-earth solution to a challenging issue—

Transforming fancy foreign language menus into WeChat ordering mini-programs.

Unlike Xiao Bu Memory, the AI menu translation entry is relatively hidden, requiring activation in the pre-installed translation app's "photo translation":

During photo translation, whether shooting directly or importing photos from the album, once the translated content is identified as a menu, ColorOS prompts the new "AI图文菜单" entry.

In the AI图文菜单, the system converts all recognized dishes into the familiar order mini-program layout:

Additionally, the system provides an AI preview image, ingredients, and cooking methods for each dish, even including allergen alerts and price conversions.

We simply select as if ordering from a mini-program, then choose "Show to Waiter" in the bottom right corner, and it offers text and voice display options.

Even more detailed, ColorOS customizes different menu interfaces for popular foreign cuisines, such as Japanese food with a red background featuring Mount Fuji, Thai cuisine with a yellow background featuring an elephant, etc.—

Furthermore, beyond travel abroad, the AI menu function has a niche usage: when going to a bar, use it to translate and clearly know what you're drinking.

Many bars use bilingual menus. Using ColorOS' AI menu translation, you can not only see the general appearance but also the preparation method, with decent accuracy:

AI Help Write

ColorOS' "AI Help Write" is also a small feature that didn't feel necessary until it became a habit upon first use.

Unlike other manufacturers who bind AI writing functionality into pre-installed input methods, ColorOS' AI Help Write operates independently.

So regardless of using Sogou Input Method, WeChat Input Method, or Gboard, AI Help Write can still be used:

ColorOS implements AI Help Write in an interesting way:

Its trigger detection is based on application whitelists, but the prompt is read from the screen content.

In other words, AI Help Write only pops up in specific apps (Meituan Dianping, Taobao JD, Xiaohongshu Moments, etc.), and in unsupported software (like Coolapk), you can only manually call out Xiao Bu for help.

Weibo Moments (left) and Coolapk (right)

What exactly AI Help Write writes depends on the content it recognizes on the screen, sometimes causing bugs—

For example, in Xiaohongshu, as soon as there's a thumbnail on the screen, AI knows you want cat-related content:

But in Dianping, since the input box moves upward and obscures the photo, AI Help Write doesn't know what the content is.

If coincidentally no relevant topics are displayed, AI Help Write may write something incomprehensible:

But when it works without bugs, ColorOS' AI Help Write function is quite handy.

Although it generates content lacking personal style, it's perfect for handling scenarios like "write a 100-word review to get a discount coupon," essentially freeing up productivity.

Issues That Need Improvement

Apart from the interesting uses mentioned above, ColorOS' current AI functions also have some issues and shortcomings.

Firstly, there's the issue of普及性—the majority of the functions listed earlier rely heavily on cloud servers for computing power, with the phone itself handling only a small part of the algorithm load.

Given this premise, AI updates centered around cloud services should easily be rolled out to older models.

However, this is not the case.

Take our Find N3 and N5 for instance: even with the latest versions of the system and apps, the AI menu function mentioned earlier hasn't been updated—

Secondly, while using Xiao Bu Memory for bookkeeping is convenient, its operational method is somewhat crude. You always have to flash memory it in the order interface, and its automation level is still insufficient.

Worse yet, as a bookkeeping function, it does not support foreign currencies or currency conversion.

Even if AI recognizes the currency on the receipt as Thai baht (THB), the number will still be recorded in RMB:

In today's era where OPPO's international market is gradually expanding and overseas travel is becoming more common, the absence of basic features like this is hard to accept.

Moreover, compared to rival assistants, Xiao Bu's supported "delegate operations" function is still quite rudimentary—

You can give someone a red envelope via Alipay, but buying another batch of coffee beans from Taobao last time isn't possible.

The Operating System Should Be an Intelligent System

Ultimately, we must return to Google's new definition of the Android system from the Android Show:

_Android will transform from an operating system (operating system, OS) into an intelligent system (intelligence system, IS)._

Over the past few years, we've actually seen this trend with Huawei HarmonyOS, DouBan phones, and OPPO's Xiao Bu:

All mobile OSes are evolving into AI OS (or IS), a trend that cannot be reversed.

In contrast to Google promoting Gemini across the Android ecosystem, OPPO's approach to AI is distinct and unique—

OPPO AI isn't about selling models; it's about selling phones equipped with OPPO AI and a hardware product enhanced by software.

OPPO designs these features with the underlying logic of not hoping users will buy "Baidu Premium," but rather pursuing an advantage in many practical scenarios—making users' experiences seamless.

This is also what we feel most deeply when using ColorOS's AI functions:

Instead of aggressively promoting AI subscriptions, it's easier for people to accept AI that feels 'unnoticeable.'

After all, truly excellent AI technology should be like electricity or running water—users only realize its existence when it's not there.