Vivo recently announced its plans for launching a new major update for its proprietary mobile operating system Funtouch OS. The new version will be based on Android 7.1 Nougat and it will be identified as Funtouch OS 3.1. The Chinese company aims to start distributing the update in the next couple of months, and is currently preparing a beta release for three smartphones in its portfolio.
First smartphones that are scheduled to receive Funtouch OS 3.1 will be the Vivo X9 and the Vivo X9 Plus, which will reportedly make the jump to the new OS version on the 18th and 31st of July, respectively. However, before the final release, Vivo will reportedly launch beta versions of Funtouch OS 3.1 on both the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus, as well as a third smartphone model, specifically the Vivo Xplay6. All three of these smartphones have been released in the fourth quarter of 2016, and they all run Funtouch OS 3.0 out of the box, which is the company’s most modern custom OS version available to the public. Funtouch OS 3.0 is based on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and with that in mind the upcoming OS version based on Android Nougat should theoretically improve performance and stability, and will likely introduce new features specific to Google’s latest mobile OS version.
While the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus will be the first to receive Funtouch OS 3.1, they will not be the last or only smartphones to do so, as Vivo intends to release the update on a larger number of eligible devices including the Vivo X7 and X7 Plus, the aforementioned Vivo Xplay6 planned for an early beta update, as well as the Vivo Xplay5, Vivo Xplay5A, Xplay5s, Xplay5 Elite, and the Xplay5 Ultimate. However beyond the Vivo X9 and X9 Plus there doesn’t seem to be a concrete launch date for the other smartphone models, and it remains to be seen in what order they will make the jump to Funtouch OS 3.1 in the coming months. It’s also worth reminding that the Chinese tech company is going to officially unveil its latest flagship phones – the Vivo X9s and X9s Plus – on the 6th of July, both of which are expected to run Android 7.1.1 Nougat and thus Funtouch OS 3.1 out of the box.