No more gatekeeping
Right after announcing its Vivo X300 series of 2026 flagship phones, Vivo has shared another piece of good news. No longer will international Vivo fans have to suffer through its previous Funtouch OS, as Vivo is now rolling out the international version of OriginOS 6.
For non-followers of Vivo, you can see its previous Funtouch OS in action in our many past pieces of Vivo coverage, where we reviewed or experienced the old UI in hands-on experiences (Vivo X Fold 5, Vivo V60, Vivo V50, Vivo 40).
Vivo did share quite a bit about OriginOS 6 during the X300 series keynote, but it was addressing the Mainland Chinese market since its users are much more familiar with the operating system. But, for international users like ourselves, the difference feels much bigger because OriginOS 6 is the better-equipped OS of the two.
Our OriginOS 6 preview is based on a beta version provided to us by Vivo before the official OriginOS 6 announcement. Your user experience may vary from our testing experience.
Are there any differences between this international OriginOS 6 and the old Funtouch OS?
OriginOS 6, left is international version, right is Chinese version.
Photo: HWZ
If you are a stickler for intuitive UI, good design and colours, and sensible menu flows, then Vivo’s global version of OriginOS 6 matters. If you’re familiar with Funtouch OS, you will recall how some of the menus and settings feel a little bare, because it doesn’t offer deeply granular controls like most Android handsets and their respective UIs.
OriginOS 6 has none of those problems: it’s a very mature UI, and you can immediately tell them apart once you comb through its pull-down menu and Settings app.
The biggest visual difference is the mature design language of OriginOS 6, which eschewed the juvenile theme of Funtouch OS.
Why don’t you just use a Chinese OriginOS 6 then?
That’s because the global version of OriginOS 6 has important preloaded and optimised software components that make the phone work better in an international context.
As mentioned, our hands-on experience with the Vivo X300 Pro was on the Mainland Chinese version of OriginOS 6. It is notably not the same global OriginOS 6 preview we were testing on our loaned Vivo X200 FE.
Google apps are all preinstalled on the international variant.
Photo: HWZ
Notably, our international OriginOS 6 has Google Play app store and the full suite of Google Workspace app preinstalled, which means it’s already configured to work with Gmail, Google Docs, and even the Chrome browser.
In the Chinese version of OriginOS 6, you’ll likely need to sideload them, as the default app store is Vivo’s V-Appstore.
International OriginOS 6 gets Google Gemini.
Photo: HWZ
Another important difference is the built-in agentic AI assistant: naturally, the Chinese version has “Blue Little Heart V” (transliterated name), while the international version comes with Google Gemini right out of the box, replete with visual search and Gemini Live for screen sharing help, as well as Circle To Search.
Other differences are quite minor, but still crucial to the overall experience we’re used to.
Photo: HWZ
Beyond these seemingly minor yet crucial changes, the design language of OriginOS 6 is otherwise consistent across both Chinese and international versions.
What’s new to OriginOS 6?
OriginOS 6, same same but different.
Photo: HWZ
So it’s clear that OriginOS feels more comfortable to use, especially when it already has the needed optimisations for an international market. What, then, is new to OriginOS 6?
According to Vivo, OriginOS 6 has a suite of all-around improvements to its app cold-start speed (18.5% faster), its framerate stability (10.5% smoother), and a 35% boost to animation performance. Even when it’s under heavy workloads, framerate still holds up to 11% steadier than before. These improvements are collectively referred to as 8+1 Ultra-Core Computing.
App and gesture animations are also rejigged to enhance visual experience and natural motion, with added effects like Spring Animation, Blur Transition, Morphing Animation, and One Shot Animation. These new looks offer a more natural browsing rhythm.
Vivo also made OriginOS 6’s computing power prioritise high-demand actions: the example given is that opening apps consecutively is now 16% faster (even when opening up to 50 of them) and the touch response is 41% faster than before.
On the aesthetics front, the brand’s font (Vivo Sans) now supports more than 40 languages.
It also added aesthetic depth via Dynamic glow and Translucent Colour, informing OriginOS 6’s design language through light and flow.
At the top of the display is Origin Island, which hosts real-time statuses and remains visible even when you exit apps.
Adding to its contextual smarts is Copy & Go when the OS detects phone numbers, and Drag & Go that lets you drop images into the Origin Island while you switch to another image editing app.
Like most leading phone OSes, it also has a full suite of AI-powered photo editing tools like AI Retouch, AI Erase, AI Image Expander, and AI Photo Enhance.
OriginOS 6 availability
According to Vivo, OriginOS 6 will begin its global rollout in “phases”. Further clarification with the local Vivo spokespeople revealed that OriginOS 6 is coming to “both X and V series products”, but the exact rollout dates are dependent on device model (to be shared later).
