A new report claims OxygenOS and Realme UI are being permanently discontinued, with every future OnePlus and Realme device set to run OPPO’s ColorOS globally. The Indian outlet Smartprix published the claim on July 3, 2026, citing what it described as a highly reliable and seasoned industry insider inside OPPO. The move would retire the software identity that defined OnePlus since 2014.
Smartprix Reports a Single Skin Across Three Brands
The Smartprix exclusive lays out a single sweeping consolidation. According to the outlet’s source, OPPO has decided to retire both OxygenOS and Realme UI in favor of ColorOS, the skin that ships on its own devices worldwide. The stated rationale is research and development cost. Maintaining three Android skins under the BBK Electronics umbrella burns engineering hours OPPO no longer wants to spend.
The source describes the move as part of an aggressive restructuring, one that also brings OnePlus and Realme more tightly under the OPPO umbrella than at any point since Realme split off from its parent in 2018. OnePlus is said to be narrowing its focus to India and China. Realme, by contrast, is winding down its China business to concentrate on markets outside it. Smartprix reports that OnePlus’s after-sales support network in India has already been folded into OPPO’s existing service center operation, ending the standalone OnePlus repair shop across the country.
OPPO has not publicly confirmed the report. OnePlus North America, asked for comment on the OxygenOS claim, did not respond by publication.
By combining our software resources to focus on one unified and upgraded operating system for both OnePlus and OPPO devices globally, we will combine the strengths from both into one even more powerful OS: the fast and smooth, burdenless experience of OxygenOS, and the stability and rich features of ColorOS.
Pete Lau, then OnePlus chief executive, made that case on the OnePlus Forums in September 2021, announcing the original codebase merger that the original OxygenOS and Realme UI discontinuation report would now complete. Five years later, the unified OS he described is the only option left on the table.
From Codebase Merger to Single Skin
The July 2026 report is the endpoint of a five-year arc that started with a different announcement. In September 2021, Lau confirmed that the OnePlus 10 Pro would ship with a unified operating system built on a merged codebase, combining the OxygenOS and ColorOS engineering teams. OnePlus had already shifted its China-only HydrogenOS to ColorOS with the OnePlus 9 launch in March 2021, ending a separate Chinese fork of its software.
Within months, OnePlus walked that unification back. In March 2022, Lau wrote that OxygenOS and ColorOS would remain independent brand properties despite continuing to share a single codebase. The company framed the reversal as a response to community feedback from users who wanted the lighter OxygenOS interface preserved.
What followed was a slow, quiet collapse of that boundary. The OnePlus Nord 2 in 2021 was the first device to ship with OxygenOS running as a skin atop ColorOS code, the visible signal of what the underlying code had already become. By the launch of the OnePlus 15 in late 2025, Android Central reported that OxygenOS 16 and ColorOS 16 were functionally identical on the OnePlus 15 and the OPPO Find X9 Pro. The remaining differences were naming and iconography. The April 2026 operational merger of OnePlus and Realme’s back-end operations under OPPO, first reported from an internal memo, brought the corporate structure into line with the software reality.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 2021 | OnePlus retires HydrogenOS in China; the OnePlus 9 series ships with ColorOS domestically. |
| September 2021 | Pete Lau confirms the OnePlus 10 Pro will run a merged OxygenOS-ColorOS codebase. |
| 2021 (Nord 2) | First OxygenOS device ships as a skin over ColorOS code. |
| March 2022 | Lau walks unification back, says OxygenOS and ColorOS will remain separate brands. |
| April 2026 | OnePlus and Realme back-end operations merged under OPPO per an internal memo reported by TechNode. |
| July 2026 | Smartprix reports OxygenOS and Realme UI to be retired globally in favor of ColorOS. |
India Gets the New Shape First
The geographic narrowing of OnePlus’s future shape can be seen most clearly in India. The Smartprix report describes OnePlus as refocusing on its two largest markets, India and China, with Realme set to leave China and concentrate on overseas markets including India and Southeast Asia.
The restructuring began in the field, not on the software side. Smartprix reports that OnePlus’s after-sales service network in India has already been merged into OPPO’s existing service center infrastructure. The standalone OnePlus repair shop is being absorbed. The same pattern has been visible in Europe. In July 2026, OnePlus products were listed as out of stock on the official UK storefront, and the brand’s online presence in parts of the EU has steered visitors toward OPPO products, consistent with the earlier report on OnePlus’s global market exit.
The economic case for the consolidation sits in OnePlus’s shipment numbers. Industry estimates cited by Gadget Hacks from the Economic Times put OnePlus’s 2025 India shipments down between 32% and 39% year-over-year, on top of a 20%-plus drop in global shipments in 2024. Business Standard, reported by Gadget Hacks, put OnePlus’s share of the global smartphone market at roughly ~1.1% in January 2026.
At that scale, the cost of maintaining three distinct Android skins becomes a line item the parent company can no longer defend. A secondary report on the same ColorOS consolidation framed the broader corporate move as OnePlus narrowing its operational focus strictly to India and China, with Realme winding down its Chinese business to focus on external markets. The two reports align on the geographic story even before the software question is settled.
The Software Was Already Mostly ColorOS
OxygenOS did not start as a marketing label. From the OnePlus One in 2014 through the OnePlus 7 series, OxygenOS was widely considered the closest thing Android had to a clean, near-stock experience on a phone you could actually buy. It was the reason enthusiast forums ranked OnePlus above cheaper Chinese rivals with comparable hardware, and the reason the Flagship Killer tagline landed at all.
The cost of the change lands harder on existing users than on prospective ones. Realme UI was already a close fork of ColorOS, so Realme owners face a smaller jump. OnePlus buyers who chose the brand specifically for OxygenOS’s lighter feel are the constituency the change affects most. What the change means for current OnePlus and Realme owners notes that the OnePlus 15 already borrows its design language closely from the OPPO Find X9 Pro, making a full software handoff a smaller leap than the brand-name change suggests.
Smartprix framed the stakes in those terms. Stripping OxygenOS away, the outlet wrote, is stripping OnePlus of the very soul that made it a household name. That framing depends on how much real separation was left to strip. By Android Central’s count, the OxygenOS 16 software on the OnePlus 15 is identical to ColorOS 16 on the OPPO Find X9 Pro, with the change in name as the only differentiator.
- OnePlus devices sold in mainland China have run ColorOS since March 2021, when the OnePlus 9 launched with that skin.
- The OnePlus Nord 2 in 2021 was the first global OnePlus device to ship OxygenOS on top of ColorOS code.
- Realme split off from OPPO as an independent brand in 2018, taking Realme UI with it.
- By late 2025, OxygenOS 16 and ColorOS 16 on the OnePlus 15 and OPPO Find X9 Pro shared identical underlying code, per Android Central.
What OnePlus Says Publicly
OnePlus has been on the defensive since January 2026, when reports first surfaced that the brand was being wound down in several global markets. The company’s response has been to deny shutdown claims while acknowledging a smaller footprint. The Smartprix OxygenOS report itself has not been addressed by OnePlus, Realme, or OPPO at the time of writing, and the unnamed source remains the only public attribution for the claim.
I wanted to address some misinformation that has been circulating about OnePlus India and its operations. We’re operating as usual and will continue to do so. Never Settle.
That statement came from OnePlus India chief executive Robin Liu in January 2026, posted to X and confirmed by the OnePlus India and North America operating statements Android Central reported. It addresses earlier shutdown reporting rather than the July 2026 OxygenOS report, but it sets the tone for how OnePlus has handled the broader consolidation story.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did OxygenOS first appear on OnePlus phones?
OxygenOS shipped on the OnePlus One in 2014, the brand’s first device. It became the Android skin OnePlus used on every phone it sold outside mainland China.
Will existing OnePlus phones stop receiving OxygenOS updates?
No source in the current reporting indicates existing devices will lose their current software. Update commitments for sold hardware are tied to OnePlus’s standard support terms, which OnePlus North America confirmed in January 2026 still apply.
When would new OnePlus phones stop shipping with OxygenOS?
The Smartprix report does not give a specific date. The outlet says the discontinuation is happening in the coming months and that the change applies to future devices globally.
Has OnePlus or OPPO confirmed the OxygenOS report?
No. As of writing, OnePlus, Realme, and OPPO have not publicly responded to the Smartprix exclusive. OnePlus India and OnePlus North America have separately confirmed that brand operations continue.
What is the difference between ColorOS, OxygenOS, and Realme UI today?
Functionally, very little. The Smartprix report, Android Central, and PhoneArena all describe OxygenOS 16 and Realme UI as visual skins on top of ColorOS code, with the main differences being branding, iconography, and a few pre-installed apps.
