On November 19th, Beijing time, vivo held a special event in Shenzhen, officially bringing us the long-awaited new system-OriginOS. Software, hardware and services are the three pillars that mobile phone manufacturers must grasp firmly today. Hardware is performance, service is ecology, and software is an important bridge between people and ecology, and people and hardware. The importance of OriginOS can be imagined. According to vivo, OriginOS has been polished for more than a year. It is a brand new thing and an important part of the vivo ecosystem.
After the press conference, we had the honor of interviewing Ge Yanan, vivo’s director of user experience design, and Li Wanjing, vivo’s director of user experience art and creativity. They helped us deeply analyze OriginOS from many aspects, including design concepts, product ideas, interaction logic, and future planning. In just one hour at the press conference, we actually only had a “glimpse” of OriginOS and did not see its full picture. Ge Yanan also admitted that from a long-term perspective, the current degree of completion of OriginOS is not their ideal ultimate state. From the perspective of the entire OriginOS future idea, about 1/3 of the vision has been completed. But in terms of usability, it is enough for now.
With the continuous iteration of the Android system, the customization of each manufacturer’s own system has become more and more in-depth and distinctive. Judging from the display at the press conference, OriginOS is a combination of “simulacrum + flat” from desktop design to icon style, and there is no unified standard. This is very different from other systems on the market. Ge Yanan explained that in fact, vivo did not deliberately flatten or simulate it, but hoped to restore the user’s mind as much as possible. “Inclusion” is another important principle of OriginOS this time. It hopes to follow the user’s heart and fit the user’s cognition. This is a good design.
Speaking of inclusiveness, we have to mention another advantage of OriginOS-freedom. OriginOS provides users with a higher degree of freedom for personalized design at the system level. From the shape and size of the icon to the interaction of the system, you can set it freely. Seeing this, some people may think that too many choices will make the learning cost higher? In fact, vivo has also considered this issue. He believes that interactive behavior will eventually become a habit, and different manufacturers have different ways. This is an inevitable stage in the continuous evolution of the digital world and mobile phone systems.
What OriginOS has to do is not to simply provide users with a certain type of interaction or force them to choose a certain type of interaction. Users can use OriginOS in the simplest way. And when users have the desire to explore, they don’t have to spend too much learning cost. vivo hopes to leave time and space for users to slowly adapt, and perhaps in the future the digital world may eventually form a relatively unified way of interaction. Judging from the current interaction logic of OriginOS, the “balance” between practicality and learning cost is still very balanced.
Due to the limited length of the press conference, the main focus was on the design. But this does not mean that OriginOS is just a good-looking “skin”. Ge Yanan said that in essence, OriginOS integrates design, fluency and convenience, as well as some other functions, and all elements are key factors in forming a complete system. Design is only the driving force. Design is not just something visual on the surface, but more about bringing perception to users, and this perception cannot be solved by simply changing a skin. At a deeper level, such as fluency and other functions, internal drivers are required, and hardware and software must be synchronized to achieve a smooth and beautiful experience. Therefore, OriginOS is not a set of skins or a theme, but a system-level product with complete interaction.
Next, let’s talk about interaction. Atomic components are an important component and feature of OriginOS. Its appearance allows us to see new ways and possibilities of human-computer interaction. Nowadays, other manufacturers are focusing on system design. How did vivo come up with atomic components? “Natural language is very important,” said Li Wanjing. Vivo has always wanted to create new things for users. It does not want to increase the burden, but hopes to make familiar things in daily life more attractive through other forms. Good design will allow users to return to artistic life without increasing the burden, and discover that there is beauty in the physical world.
Before the birth of OriginOS, FuntouchOS had been with users for many years. The new system has undergone earth-shaking changes, and its launch is an opportunity and challenge for both users and brands. The Chinese name of OriginOS is “Original OS”, which represents a return to the origin of things, including the origin of the physical world and the origin of human needs.
As a large manufacturer, vivo has a huge number of fans and users both online and offline. The launch of the new system is bound to spark discussions among users. From the user’s perspective, different voices will appear online and offline. Faced with such problems, Ge Yanan believes that vivo created OriginOS more to return all voices to their original intentions, to what people really want, which is the most critical, that is, “design from the origin, design as the origin”. OriginOS contains the thinking of the vivo integration team. It is a system made by returning to the origin of demand. We also believe that good products will speak for themselves. After the official version of the system is pushed on a large scale, this issue will be self-evident.
Launching a new system is a huge undertaking. According to Ge Yanan, vivo actually spent many years building this system and content, and made a new interpretation and presentation. Taking atomic components as an example, vivo began to build its physical atoms in 2016, embracing AI and digital capabilities. To date, OriginOS was made at this point in time only under the premise that these points can be jointly promoted. Therefore, it is a very long process that requires a lot of capabilities and foundations to accumulate, and finally form such an explosive power.
Such a highly customized system naturally requires the support of a third party. Ge Yanan said that they never thought about grabbing the market or space of a third party. An excellent system first brings users an excellent framework, a good experience, and a beautiful visual experience. On this basis, vivo will take out some content that is more suitable for display in the system, as well as content that can bring users a better experience and perception after display, and then cooperate with excellent suppliers. Atomic components do more to find a more suitable way to restore user needs. Presenting content and content integration in an original way is vivo’s logic.
The birth of OriginOS is an important starting point for vivo’s three strategic goals: creating products and services that impress consumers, building a mutually beneficial ecological cooperation platform, and building a bridge connecting people and the digital world. Taking consumer needs as the basis and serving partners as the basis, building a bridge connecting people and the digital world, OriginOS is also vivo’s understanding and new interpretation of consumer needs.
As Shi Yujian, senior vice president of vivo, said: “The construction of the ecosystem is inseparable from the integration and co-creation with developers and partners. vivo will continue to explore the openness and integration of the ecosystem, and work with developers and partners to provide high-quality services to the majority of users.” “This year’s developer conference demonstrated vivo’s original intention to satisfy consumers with products and services, its confidence in supporting ecosystem partners with openness and empowerment, and its determination to accelerate the embrace of the future digital world of the Internet of Everything.”
