There are new updates that have been added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (from July 23) follows:

If you closely monitor OPPO’s product portfolio, there are significant chances that you will stumble on a doppelganger of your OnePlus phone. The former often produce phones that are later being used as the foundation of designing OnePlus flagships (not killer anymore!).

oneplus_6_back_front_back
OnePlus 6: Do you think you can find the closest cousin of it?

While the OPPO R15 series is considered as the ‘inspiration’ of OnePlus 6, OPPO F7 is not falling behind. Announced around the same time as OPPO R15 and R15 Pro, the budget friendly F7 comes with a virtually identical screen with a surprisingly similar notch.

To cut the corners, OPPO shipped a LCD screen instead of AMOLED on F7. You can find a Mediatek Helio P60 SoC inside, while the phone ditched the secondary rear camera in favor of a 25 MP selfie shooter.

oppo_f7_red_front_back
OPPO F7: Notice the similarities with OnePlus 6 from the front

In terms of software updates, well, OPPO F7 is lagging a bit. The factory installed ColorOS 5.2, based on Android 8.1, continues to receive irregular updates. A bump in the base Android version is the desire of many F7 owners, as the Pie update was hinted a few days ago.

Well well well, today is the day! The company has announced a ‘trial’ initiative (more of a soak testing before wider rollout) to provide Android Pie based ColorOS 6 to early adopters.

oppo_f7_india_coloros_6_trial

The India specific trial requires OPPO F7 users to install the latest ColorOS 5.2 firmware, which should be A.32 (A.30 works as well). Similar to other OPPO phones with ongoing ColorOS 6 updates, the soak test build might be considered stable as daily driver.

The changelog is quite large as a whole. Apart from regular Pie specific features, ColorOS 6 also adds Game Boost, Game Space, new System UI and more!

「Visuals」
•Redesigned the UI to suit the bezel-less screen. Blank spaces and color gradients are carefully harnessed to interpret aesthetics, grace, and youth.

「Hyper Boost」
•Added Game Boost 2.0 (which integrates Frame Boost and Touch Boost), reducing game lags.
•Added System Boost: Optimized the whole system through improved compatibility between bottom-layer hardware platforms.
•Added App Boost: Optimized platform-level heavy-weight apps.

「System」
•Added a button to hide unimportant notifications with just a tap.
•Added swipe gestures on both sides to go back, allowing for easier navigation.
•Added custom “Do not Disturb” scenarios. Different time ranges can be set according to the scenario.

「Game Space」
•Game Space: New visuals, avatar game console, landscape, and portrait screen orientations.
•Added System Boost: Optimized the whole system through improved compatibility between bottom-layer hardware platforms.
•You can reduce image quality to save power in Low Power Mode.

coloros_6_music_player
Music player app in ColorOS 6

「Home Screen」
•Added default wallpapers with young aesthetics and modern feeling.
•Added drawer mode on Home screen.
•Added live wallpapers to satisfy different users.
•Added batch icon management on Home screen.

「Tools」
•Calculator: Result in each step is immediately displayed.

「Camera」
•Optimized Portrait mode.
•Optimized UI.

「Photos」
•Optimized UI.
•Added Shared Albums.
•Added Favorites function: Photos and albums can be added to Favorites.

「Communication」
•Added block rule: Block calls and messages from numbers that start with certain prefixes.
•Added Flash on Call: The flash blinks if there is an incoming call when the screen is locked or off.

「Settings」
•Added Riding Mode (applies to partial regions).

If you are interested to get the sweet taste of Pie, feel free to apply by clicking here. For further information, take a look at the official update announcement thread.

Update 1 (July 29)

Some of those who applied for this trial version update have started receiving (CPH1819EX_11_C.04) it. Here’s an example.

Update 2 (August 21)

A new update (CPH1819EX_11_C.06) is now rolling out to those who applied for the trial version of ColorOS 6/Android Pie.

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Kingshuk De
896 Posts

I came from a mixed background of Statistics and Computer Science. My research domains included embedded computer systems, mobile computing and delay tolerant networks in post-disaster scenarios. Apart from tinkering with gadgets or building hackintosh, I like to hop on various subreddits and forums like MyDigitalLife and XDA.

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