OriginOS 6 review: Refinement meets AI and modern design language

OriginOS 6

Vivo – as a brand– has been crafting some impressive hardware. Look at the likes of V series and X series and even the brand's entry-level offerings are well put together products when it comes to the hardware. However, the same is a little difficult to say for the software – the FunTouch OS. I agree that Vivo has fine-tuned it to feel more modern and robust, but let’s just agree that the FunTouch was showing its age. It lacked refinement and visual coherence and often felt sort of expectations for refinement and smoothness. All of these and then some more have now changed with OriginOS 6, or at least the company says so.

To test out company’s bold claims, I decided to put the OriginOS 6 to test as my daily driver and here’s what I think.

OriginOS 6 Design and interface

Now, it is pretty much clear that the OriginOS 6 isn’t an adaptation of the FunTouch OS. It is a brand new operating system based on Android 16 and brings all sorts of modern aesthetics – inspired from nature. Design consistency is the key here.

The first thing you notice about OriginOS 6 is its depth. vivo’s new Light & Shadow design language focuses on fluidity, translucency, and layered motion. Notification panels and quick toggles now float over subtle blurred backdrops, creating a striking sense of dimension. Users now also have the option to use the notification panel as a 2-panel setup or a combined setup – more control in users’ hands.

The Control Center is finally redesigned. You can now swipe down from the left for notifications and from the right for quick settings, or merge them if you prefer the old layout. It’s clean, smart, and long overdue.

Control Center

Every element feels deliberate — from the soft icons and rounded menus to the new vivo Sans font that unifies the interface. Animations are smoother, powered by vivo’s Elastic Motion and Frame Morphing systems. Apps glide into icons, menus expand with elasticity, and transitions feel alive. And, my personal favourite – the subtle flow where every you tap on an icon – feels fresh and modern and pleasing to eyes.

It’s cohesive, not derivative. While the frosted-glass aesthetic hints at iOS, the execution feels uniquely vivo. For me, there’s just a warmth in the entire design language which makes it feel more comfortable to use on a day-to-day basis.

Customisation and lock screen

Vivo has always allowed users to bring up the personal touch into the device and OriginOS 6 is no different. The personalization part takes center stage in OriginOS 6 as well. The new Flip Card lock screen lets you load multiple photos that subtly shift as you tilt your phone — a nostalgic nod that actually feels modern.

Lock screen

Customisation options go deeper than before:
• Mix and match clock styles
• Apply cinematic filters
• Create magazine-style lock screens
• Seamlessly transition from Always-On Display to lock screen

Small but meaningful touches stand out — dynamic folder resizing, redesigned volume controls, and the ability to hide previews in Recents. Widgets are now interactive; tap to expand, resize, or interact without opening apps.

Widget

Performance and battery life

OriginOS 6 doesn’t just look faster — it feels faster. Two new systems power this shift:
• Origin Smoothness Engine: keeps 120Hz animations consistent across all the parts of the operating system.
• Snap-Up Engine: allocates peak CPU/GPU power for instant app launches.

On the Dimensity 9400-powered X200 Pro, app openings were noticeably quicker — up to 25% faster than OriginOS 5. The Dual Rendering Architecture separates UI rendering from background processes, meaning no lag spikes during updates or downloads.

Battery optimisation has improved as well. There’s a new Battery Hub that gives a clean visualisation of power usage. More importantly, Bypass Charging now powers the device directly once the battery hits 20%, reducing heat by up to 7°C during charging.

Battery

Vivo AI is a core part of the OriginOS 6

Vivo’s approach to AI in OriginOS 6 feels practical rather than performative.
Origin Island sits atop the screen as a contextual hub. You can drag files, images, or text onto it and get instant actions like sharing, replying, or editing.
AI Global Search works across apps, files, and screenshots, bringing macOS-like instant results.
AI Creation Tools in Notes and Gallery can summarize text, translate documents, and edit photos with natural precision.

AI features

In the Gallery, the new AI Smart Album groups photos by people, pets, and events automatically, while the AI Scene Optimizer now detects over 30 new lighting scenarios. The built-in recorder even includes AI Transcription, which can summarize calls or interviews — a quietly powerful addition.

Privacy and security

Security has matured, too. Private Space lets users maintain two separate environments — personal and work — with independent app and data locks. Switching between them is seamless and encrypted.

vivo’s new V-Security Trust Mark consolidates security checks, ensuring firmware integrity and managing app permissions dynamically. Meanwhile, AI Anti-Fraud Detection identifies scam calls and phishing links before users interact with them.

There’s still minor bloatware like Facebook and vivo Store, but it’s less intrusive now. Notifications are more controlled, and unnecessary alerts can be silenced with one swipe.

Ecosystem and continuity

Vivo Office Kit is among OriginOS 6’s most promising features. It’s designed to link Vivo phones, tablets, and laptops under one ecosystem — offering task handoff, clipboard sync, and drag-and-drop file sharing. The best part of it is that it works with both Windows and Mac devices – something that not many operating systems offer.

Then there’s the update Vivo Share feature that allows users to share files between devices wireless and yet again, there’s an option for users to transfer files from a Vivo phone to and iPhone.

Now, these are a couple of small touches that adds to the user experience and makes the entire co-existence idea more feasible.

Office kit

Private Space integration

While OriginOS 6 comes bearing lots of new -- there's on feature that grabbed my attention and that's the Private Space. Now, most brands integrate it like an app or a toggle. Vivo has done a little different and most importantly, it feels like a part of the system. Activating is pretty easy too. All you have to do is swipe right to left on the home screen bottom bar to find the Private Space and open it. Now, I tried it and it feels simple to setup and offers a similar -- hidden and more secure way of keeping sensitive information like banking apps, photos and videos that you don't want to be available generally and so on.

Private Space

Verdict

OriginOS 6 is the breakthrough vivo users have been waiting for. It’s beautiful, functional, and intuitive in ways that Funtouch OS never managed to be.

From the moment you unlock the device, everything feels cohesive — from the way animations breathe to how AI quietly assists behind the scenes. The UI polish now matches vivo’s premium hardware, closing a long-standing gap in the company’s identity.

There’s still room to refine notification handling and reduce bloatware, but the foundation is solid. With OriginOS 6, vivo no longer trails behind — it’s finally setting its own pace and brings it up to the speed in comparison to the other custom user interfaces in the Android ecosystem. Not only that, Vivo’s OriginOS 6 also has its own tricks to get one up over the competition.