A smartphone can have the best processor, endless amounts of RAM, incredible cameras, and giant batteries. Yet, it’s often the software that truly shapes your overall experience because it’s what we use every day. You probably notice when an app takes a little longer to open, a transition stutters, or a game lags. Bad software can really spoil the experience, which is what vivo is addressing with the latest version of its smartphone OS – OriginOS 6. By harnessing three innovative technologies, vivo is not just making devices run smoothly—they’re redefining what ‘smooth’ really means on smartphones. We spoke with Shi Yujian, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at vivo, to learn more about how the brand has achieved this remarkable level of fluidity. Here’s what you need to know! Smoothness is a core pillar of OriginOS 6 Hadlee Simons / Android Authority After conducting several rounds of market research and talking directly with users, vivo discovered that having a smooth system experience is extremely important to people. With these user insights, vivo has poured its efforts into making technology even better, ensuring that OriginOS offers a reliably smooth and responsive experience for users worldwide. 'We rebuilt key parts of the underlying architecture and, with our independently developed Origin Smooth Engine, resolved long-standing bottlenecks to deliver that level of fluidity' — Shi Yujian The new Origin Smooth Engine makes it easier for the system’s core modules — computing, storage, and display — to work together seamlessly and efficiently. This creates a more enjoyable and consistent experience that looks, feels, and stays smooth. “We can confidently say that with OriginOS 6, we have reached a whole new level of smoothness,” adds Yujian. How vivo achieves this level of smoothness mastery Hadlee Simons / Android Authority vivo leverages three breakthrough technologies to provide the level of smoothness that we’ve never seen before. Ultra-core computing Traditional CPU scheduling can sometimes cause delays for important tasks, potentially leading to frame drops and lag. That’s why vivo introduced Ultra-core Computing, featuring a smart global scheduler, to better allocate resources for critical tasks. This system-level compute schedule monitors the overall system load in real-time and ensures that higher-priority tasks receive the necessary attention first, even when the system is under a full load. Hadlee Simons / Android Authority By making better use of computing resources, you get an experience that feels like an “ultra-core” setup, essentially turning an 8-core chip into an “8+1” core experience. According to vivo’s real-world tests, apps start up 18.5% faster from a cold start, and the frame rate stability during scrolling improves by 10.5%, even under extreme loads. Memory fusion To improve read/write speeds and make data handling more efficient, which can sometimes affect performance, vivo has created a special transmission path designed for high-frequency data. This helps speed up loading times, especially when everything is running at full capacity. Together with a self-developed transfer framework and a high-performance database, you’ll enjoy smooth loading, easy scrolling, and seamless data transfers across the board. “We made major advances in storage. We’ve achieved major breakthroughs in data structures, data transmission, and data relocation — essentially a database-level overhaul,” explains Yujian. The result? Loading extensive galleries instantly. Even when you open an album with 5000 photos, it loads in seconds. It’s a 106% speed boost, so “you can scroll freely — even through thousands of photos — and images still load instantly and smoothly.” And you certainly won’t have to worry about continuously closing background apps or concern yourself with them slowing down your device. With the new architecture, the system is capable of keeping up to 47 apps alive in the background. Dual rendering architecture Finally, vivo introduced the first unified rendering framework on Android. OriginOS 6 features an industry-first dual rendering architecture that combines this unified rendering framework with separated rendering frameworks. “When there are multiple layers of graphics to composite, each layer requires separate computation — for example, five layers would mean roughly five times the workload. Our unified rendering approach processes all the data in a single render pass, greatly reducing computation and power consumption while improving responsiveness,” explains Yujian. With this upgrade, you’ll enjoy industry-leading smoothness in transitions, stunning blur effects, and enhanced gaming performance. Animation rendering becomes 35% more efficient, and the stability of frame rates under heavy loads improves by 11%, resulting in a more seamless overall experience. In gaming, dual rendering takes things to the next level by upgrading both touch and display, offering a more stable and fluid experience. Thanks to v-Sync, touch responses are sharper and more responsive than ever before. In FPS games, you’ll enjoy faster scope-in times and quicker skill releases, with vivo’s testing showing touch latency as low as 25ms, making your gameplay smoother and more responsive. Looks smooth, feels smooth, stays smooth Hadlee Simons / Android Authority So, what does all this mean in everyday use? You’ll notice the smoothness right away through the Origin Smoothness Engine, which makes everything look and feel more natural and engaging. It brings your interactions to life with effects like Spring Animation, Blur Transition, Morphing Animation, and One-shot Animation, creating a rhythm that’s pleasing to the eye. Transitions between animations are seamless, running smoothly without any awkward pauses, and UI changes occur smoothly and almost effortlessly. Whether you’re scrolling, swiping, or tapping, the experience feels fluid and responsive, making everything more enjoyable. And it’s not just about looking sleek, it’s also about speed. App response times have improved by 41%, outpacing competitors by 26%, and launching apps is 16% faster, even when opening 50 apps consecutively. No matter what kind of apps you’re using, whether heavy-duty video editors or simple tools like the calculator or calendar, the system stays quick and reliable, with consistent performance and no noticeable lag. Everything looks and feels smooth on a new smartphone, though. Where OriginOS stands out is with its promise of longevity. Hadlee Simons / Android Authority “In the past, the reason phones got slower over time was mainly storage fragmentation—the data becomes scattered, and the system spends more time looking for it. Now, with our new architecture, storage management is more systematic and efficient. It continuously organizes data in the background, so the phone doesn’t slow down over time,” explains Yujian. And vivo has the certification to support its claim. The vivo X300 Pro, featuring OriginOS 6, has received the Swiss SGS “Sustained Smoothness” certification, demonstrating its exceptional ability to remain smooth even after five years of intensive use. vivo An intuitive user interface, inspired by nature “In daily life, what people interact with most is nature, so our instinctive understanding often comes from how things move or change in the natural world,” says Yujian, and that was the inspiration behind the complete user interface overhaul we see with OriginOS 6. The Origin Design system beautifully unifies visual elements like color, shape, icon, font, layout, and more. There’s a brand-new font, vivo Sans, that now supports over 40 languages, making it more accessible worldwide. With features like Dynamic Glow and Translucent Color, light gracefully flows across materials, adding depth and an immersive vibrancy to every user interaction. Vivo’s creative spirit shines through as it re-imagines app design as well. Whether checking device status in iManager or monitoring well-being in Origin Health, users can effortlessly focus on their ongoing tasks and accomplish their goals with ease. The new Immersive Weather app is an excellent example of bringing nature to a digital form. “When you open it at different times of the day, you can actually see sunlight streaming in from changing angles, and the scene visually responds to real weather conditions,” says Yujian, adding that this “kind of design makes people feel that the digital world and the natural world are seamlessly connected.” OriginOS 6 truly encourages your personal style. The new Lock Screen Grid makes it fun and easy to arrange and resize your widgets, customize fonts, and blend photos for quick updates. The redesigned Home Screen Grid offers a stylish 4×7 layout and adaptable folders, while the Flip Cards add a lively touch to your daily photos with a dynamic display that shifts smoothly as you tilt your device. And finally, when asked about what stood out to him the most about OriginOS 6, SHI Yujian had good things to say about the Origin Island. “Personally, I really like the Origin Island design. It’s actually an AI-powered interaction scenario. For example, when you finish editing a photo or a message and want to share it, you can just drag it to the Origin Island and quickly share it on social media. It reduces the need to switch between apps and makes the whole process feel effortless and intelligent.” Which devices will get OriginOS 6? Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The new vivo X300 series, launching globally on October 30, will feature OriginOS 6 and all the hardware to support all that buttery smoothness. However, anyone with older vivo phones will also enjoy a smoothness and performance boost. “We tested the upgrade on older models such as the X200, and after updating to OriginOS 6, they clearly became smoother. We’ll continue adapting these capabilities for more models, so users of earlier devices can also enjoy the same level of smoothness,” says Yujian, which is fantastic. OriginOS 6 will begin rolling out globally in phases starting from November 2025. The upgrade plan may vary by market.