• Smartphone manufacturer vivo has launched a new OS for its devices based on Android 13.
• Called “Funtouch OS 13,” the new OS comes with new and improved personalisation, security, and camera features among others.
• It is available on select vivo devices worldwide but South African users will still have to wait.

China’s Vivo Communication Technology (stylised as “vivo”) has officially launched its new “Funtouch OS 13,” a new operating system for vivo smartphones based on Android 13.

The new OS comes with new and improved personalisation options, upgraded privacy and security features, and more controls for a “smoother, uninterrupted experience.”

More personalisation comes to vivo

vivo’s new Funtouch OS 13 allows users more visual control of their home screen.

The new OS comes with a monochrome icon feature where users can now change the colour of their home screen icons to match their wallpaper, system, and app interfaces, similar to what is available on Samsung smartphones running the latest Android OS.

On top of that, the new system allows users to customize the colours of their system’s UI and built-in apps, including their notification panels, volume control, calculator, and clock.

The feature uses the colour of the user’s set wallpaper and preferred theme to determine the most appropriate colour tint. That particular tint will then be applied to app interfaces, giving your device a more uniform look.

New privacy and security features

Funtouch OS 13 comes with a new app pinning feature that helps users keep sensitive data secure, for greater peace of mind when it comes to privacy.

vivo explains, “when another person uses the device, the two-level pinning function keeps the chosen app in view and prevents access to other apps on the device. This feature enables greater flexibility, allowing the owner to set parameters and control the allowed actions within the pinned app when other people are using the device.”

This OS update also allows users to hide photos and videos. vivo adds that users can now also selectively choose various applications’ access to specific photos, thereby preventing unwanted viewing on their devices and further enhancing privacy protection.

We’re not sure how new this feature is exactly, however, as it sounds like an Android standard.

Enhanced control on vivo smartphones

For more streamlining, the Funtouch OS 13 also features an improved application management platform, called iManager.

This platform can specifically help monitor app usage time and other metrics. If the CPU usage is too high, users can shut particular applications that use too much memory down with one tap.

iManager can also prevent overheating by reducing the number of active applications and adjusting CPU frequency based on your particular smartphone’s cooling feature.

Quality of life changes and camera software updates

In addition to being able to show weather updates now, the dashboard also features an AQI card for health-conscious users who wish to instantly check the latest information concerning air quality of their cities and regions with a detailed PM2.5 index.

The upcoming vivo OS also comes with “professional viewfinder,” a new camera software that makes photography easier with a new stabilization ring that helps mitigate the effects of shaky hands.

The video editing process has also been updated. Funtouch OS 13 enables users to mute the sound of the video while editing the footage and make precise volume adjustments on whichever particular segment of video the user desires.

Accessibility has also been improved with software enhancements made to vivo colour correcting and inversion settings, as well as the option to remove certain animations for users with specific needs, such as visual impairments.

Availability

According to vivo, the Funtouch OS 13 is currently available right now in all overseas markets besides China from 24th October 2022. We reached out to vivo to find out when it would launch for vivo users in South Africa and the company said, “the launch in South Africa is not far off.”

“It is dependent on the final launch plan set by the local vivo office like other regional markets,” vivo said to us. This means it is up to vivo South Africa when the OS will be rolled out locally.

South Africa is an active market for vivo with new devices released often. Last month, vivo launched its vivo Y22 device locally.

Currently, the new OS is only available on vivo X80 Pro devices, one of the company’s flagship devices. vivo says it will “gradually bring Funtouch OS 13 to more users around the world with the most innovative experiences yet seen.”

“The upgrades will come to the respective market’s device portfolio. As not all markets have the same product range, we are unable to specify which specific models,” it added.