Pluxee is here, your new Global partner in employee benefits and engagement

Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services Philippines is now Pluxee, as in a strategic move to strengthen its commitment to elevating the overall experience of its clients, partner merchants, and consumers.

The spin-off from the Sodexo Group is a global initiative announced last year to give its gifting business a digital-first brand that reflects its ambition to offer personalized, sustainable solutions to the evolving market.

In the Philippines, Pluxee builds upon the strong foundation laid by Sodexo Philippines, a joint venture with SM Investment Corporation.

Launched in 2003, Pluxee became the pioneer and biggest issuer of gift certificates in the country. Over the years, it introduced industry firsts such as an e-commerce platform to make GCs instantly accessible to businesses and consumers, SMS and email based GCs, and a rewards app enabling partial redemption of GCs and acceptance in online stores. As a proud partner of SM, the country's retail giant, Pluxee also powers the SM Gift Pass and their latest digital rewards solution, the SM Gift Pass Choice. Pluxee ramped up its partnership with the country’s most preferred brands and now boasts of over 17,000 accredited merchants.

Pluxee Gift

A trusted brand in navigating the landscape of the 21st-century workplace, Pluxee addresses the unique needs of each client. At the forefront of Pluxee products is the Pluxee Philippines app, where clients can send Pluxee Gift credits to their recipients via web portal. The credits are partially redeemable in over 10,000 merchants and can also be used in app-exclusive brands such as Angkas, Grab, Klook, Lazada, Shopee, and more. Pluxee Gift also comes as codes that can be distributed via SMS or email. This is API-enabled and can seamlessly integrate with clients’ systems to fully automate incentive programs. Codes can also be customized and accepted at specific brands or for specific products to cater to clients’ preferences.

Pluxee introduces another innovation with the Pluxee Gift card, a physical card that comes with digitally powered codes and may be used instantly in stores. These codes can be converted to Pluxee Gift credits in the Pluxee Philippines app to enable partial redemption and access to app-exclusive brands.

"Being one of the leading global partners in employee benefits and engagement, we’re dedicated to unlocking opportunities to enhance people’s lives at work and beyond,” says Mert Cetin, CEO of Pluxee Philippines. 

“We cover areas such as food, recreational activities, gifts, wellness, mobility, and more. We harness the power of digital to help our Clients give meaningful, sustainable rewards that foster a motivated and satisfied workforce. We make it easy for Consumers to use their rewards and maximize their choice with the continued expansion of our merchant network. We support our Merchants by accelerating traffic and reach so they can thrive in a competitive market,” he adds.

Live Joyful with Pluxee

In line with the launch of Pluxee in the Philippines, the brand kicks off its “Live Joyful” digital campaign, which highlights the many ways that Pluxee Gifts enable memorable experiences.

“A Pluxee Gift is more than just a reward or benefit. It’s a personal, immersive experience from making the most of what you have and enjoying what really matters to you. The campaign is an ode to the vibrant and optimistic spirit of Filipinos who never run out of ways to create and spread happiness,” says Sharon K. Velasco, Marketing Director of Pluxee Philippines.

Pluxee invites clients, partners, and the public to explore its products and services, and the countless joyful moments that these can bring. Watch out for more exciting developments in store. For more information, visit bit.ly/PluxeePhilippines. For gifting needs, you can purchase Pluxee Gifts at shop.pluxee.ph, call the Customer Care Hotline at 8689 4700, or email support@care.pluxee.ph.

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About Pluxee

Pluxee is the global leading employee benefits and engagement partner that creates meaningful, engaging, and personalized experiences to contribute to the well-being of individuals at work and beyond. The company offers a full range of innovative and digital solutions deployed in 31 countries. From meal and food, culture, gifts to wellness and mobility, Pluxee’s products and services are designed to bring more value to people. Pluxee promotes the well-being of more than 36 million consumers. Pluxee accompanies 500,000 clients to develop more meaningful relationships with their employees and improve their engagement. Pluxee simplifies the life of 1.7 million merchants every day. Strengthened by its historical ties with Sodexo, Pluxee with its 5,000 employees is committed to increase its influence as a CSR leader by giving its clients, partners and consumers the means to make more sustainable choices every day.

For more information: www.pluxeegroup.com

Grab the Newest Portrait Experts! Capture standout portraits with the New OPPO Reno11 Series 5G

OPPO has long been at the forefront of innovation, pioneering revolutionary advancements in mobile photography. The brand's renowned OPPO Reno series, also known as the Portrait Expert in smartphone photography, is a testament to this commitment.

With new technological advancements in store, OPPO has released the newest addition to the OPPO Reno series, the OPPO Reno11 5G and the OPPO Reno11 Pro 5G - further proof of the brand taking another leap forward, particularly with its revolutionary telephoto lens, an all-in-one photography studio in a pocket,  which brings SLR-camera-like images to users' fingertips.

Telephoto Lens Redefined

The OPPO Reno11 Series 5G has the industry-leading Telephoto Portrait Camera with up to 2x Optical Zoom at its price point which has a show stopping optical focal length of 47mm camera. This focal length captures the classical point of view, which is quite close to the viewpoint of the human eye. Crisp and detailed photos are produced by this telephoto lens, which uses an RGBW pixel structure and is powered by the advanced Sony IMX709 sensor. With this setup, the photosensitivity is 60% higher, and the noise is 35% lower than conventional sensors. The telephoto lens maintains the creative trend with its cutting-edge in-sensor zoom technology that guarantees outstanding zoom performance up to 5x.

Improved Flagship-level Main Camera

The new addition to the OPPO Reno series promises to transform any lighting condition into an opportunity for an everyday masterpiece. The OPPO Reno11 5G main camera has the winning combination of 50MP, Sony LYT600 sensor, f/1.8 aperture lens, OIS, and a 26mm focal length, which allows it to capture moments with unparalleled clarity and stability. On the other hand, the OPPO Reno11 Pro 5G elevates photography with its swift f/1.8 aperture lens, boasting a wide 24mm equivalent focal length and optical image stabilization (OIS). The large 1/1.56" 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor captures detail-rich photos as light flows through effortlessly. It sets the stage for a seamless photography experience, delivering impressive results in various challenging scenarios.

Be Your Own Pro with the New Portrait Expert

Every moment becomes an unforgettable event with the OPPO Reno11 Series 5G with the help of the Portrait Expert Engine and the professional-grade Portrait Mode in just a single click.

With OPPO’s increasing powerful capabilities and continuous innovation in portrait technology, OPPO Reno11 Series 5G users are guaranteed to capture photographs with natural skin tones, soft-focus backgrounds that look realistic, and undistorted, recognizable faces thanks to the Portrait Expert Engine that returns from its predecessor.

With the help of professional portrait photographers from around the world, the improved Portrait Expert Engine is sure to provide a great portrait shooting experience as it allows Facial Recognition and Subject/Scene Separation, Skin Tone Protection, Clarity and Facial Enhancement and Portrait and Environment Merging.

Meanwhile, the phone's Portrait Mode is precise and customizable, letting users set an aperture between f/1.4 and f/16 for bokeh, flare patterns, and stacking. OPPO Reno11 Series 5G users have creative control over their photographs with this feature, benchmarked against pro-grade DSLR lenses. The 2x portrait look is fine-tuned to mimic the human eye's natural viewing angle to achieve the most lifelike soft-focus background and distortion-free, recognizable faces.

Stand Out Style and Functionality

Experience the epitome of smart and seamless interaction with ColorOS 14, which boasts a refreshing design and intuitive features to enhance productivity, all anchored on a reliable foundation.

The OPPO Reno11 Series 5G is available in two nature-inspired colors—Wave Green for OPPO Reno11 5G, reminiscent of glittering sea green tones and Pearl White for OPPO Reno11 Pro 5G that has a shimmering pearl design which incorporates millions of tiny reflectives surfaces to create its signature luster.

Both variants also come in Rock Grey design, evoking the warmth of sunlight on sea-drenched rocks—promises a visual feast.

Both devices have 3D curved glass and are adorned with a satin finish, ensure a smudge-free, box-fresh appearance and deliver a luxurious, rich-to-the-touch feel. The innovative Sunshine Ring camera system, rising elegantly from the sleek glass back, is framed by a captivating track, providing a sneak peek into the advanced portrait camera concealed within, elevating your smartphone experience.

Get Your Own OPPO Reno11 Series 5G Today!
The OPPO Reno11 Series 5G is now available in the Philippines. Get the OPPO Reno11 5G for its retail price of Php 24,999 and the OPPO Reno11 Pro 5G for Php 31,999. Pre-order is until February 8, available in all OPPO authorized offline stores nationwide. All preorders of the OPPO Reno11 Series 5G come with a free S39 Ambient Light Bluetooth Speaker.

My OPPO App User Benefits

More benefits await loyal My OPPO app users. Redeem these perks for OPPO Reno11 Series 5G users until stocks last:

●       4,500 Mabuhay Miles from Philippine Airlines

●       100 PICKUP Points from PICKUP COFFEE

●       Billow Minis from BASH

●       Php 200 voucher from Bistro Group

●       Php 100 gift code from Zalora

●       Php 100 gift code from Sodexo

●       Exclusive to new My OPPO users - Php 200 gift code from Zalora

●       Exclusive to old My OPPO users - Php 500 gift card from Sodexo

 

Official OPPO E-Commerce Stores

The OPPO Reno11 Series 5G is now available to purchase on OPPO’s official Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop channels. Buyers are entitled for the following pre-order benefits:

●       Free S39 Ambient Light Bluetooth Speaker for every purchase

●       100% Free Shipping

●       0% Interest Installment via SPayLater and LazPayLater

 

Operators

You can also pre-order via your preferred operators and get the following benefits:

Globe	●       OPPO Reno11 5G will be available via Plan 1799 with Php 1,000 cash-out ●       OPPO Reno11 Pro 5G will be available via Plan 1999 with Php 2,000 cash-out ●       Comes with free OPPO Enco Buds2
Smart	●       OPPO Reno11 Series 5G will be available via Plans+ 999 with 3 payment options(Straight Payment, DP + Monthly Amortization, 0% Credit Card installment for 12 months) ●       OPPO Reno11 Series 5G will also be available via Device Plans ●       Free OPPO Enco Buds2 for every purchase

Home Credit and Credit Cards

The OPPO Reno11 Series 5G will also be available in installment plans via Home Credit and Credit Card payment options. Home Credit offers installment plans of 6/9/12/15/18 months at 0% interest in all partnered OPPO stores nationwide. Or you may opt to purchase via credit card, available in 6- or 12-month installments at 0% interest for all credit cards.

Get excited to welcome the month of love with Portraits of Love. This Valentine's Season, OPPO encourages Reno11 users to participate in a heartwarming photo contest, celebrating the spirit of love through captivating portraits of their loved ones. Make sure to get your own OPPO Reno11 Series 5G as soon as possible to get a chance to win amazing travel prizes from OPPO. Stay tuned to its social media pages this week to learn more about the contest, event, and the prizes awaiting its winners!

Exciting collaborations and benefits await as OPPO joins forces with stand out industry experts: DJI, MAC Cosmetics, and Mabuhay miles to bring OPPO Reno11 users extraordinary technology, beauty, and travel experiences. Stay tuned to OPPO's social media pages for the grand collaboration between OPPO and these industry experts, and get a chance to win amazing prizes.

Stay tuned for more OPPO Reno11 Series 5G news by visiting OPPO’s official website at www.oppo.com.ph/ or OPPO Philippines’ official social media pages on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

 

Enjoy the long CNY weekend abroad with the whole family with Globe Roam Surf4All

 

Booked a trip abroad with family or friends this Chinese New Year weekend? With Globe Roam Surf4All, your data roaming GBs are now shareable! Enjoy a more rewarding travel experience, as each one in your group can stay online with just 1 shared connection.

 

You and your travel buddies can say goodbye to the limitations of bulky pocket WiFis because now, you can stay connected without the need to stick together. As long as you’re registered as a member under the same Roam Surf4All promo, you're sure to have data even when you explore on your own!

 

Globe Roam Surf4All is every travel group’s dream offer as it allows up to five users the ability to share the same data promo, with each getting reliable connectivity at up to 5G speeds that don’t slow down even as you add more members or use up more GBs.

 

Even better is that you can conveniently split the cost of the Roam Surf4All package, with rates as low as PHP73 per person per day for up to 15 days. No need for add-ons like security deposits, courier charges and insurance fees that come with renting pocket WiFis, and with availability in over 100 countries, you can count on Roam Surf4All to be there when you need it.

 

Here’s how to register:

 

●       Access GlobeOne

●       Click “Buy Promos”

●       Click “More Promos Abroad”

●       Look for the Roam Surf4All promo you prefer:

 

PROMO	ALLOCATION	VALIDITY	PRICE /PERSON/DAY (up to 5 users)	TOTAL PRICE
Roam Surf4All 2599	Shareable 5GB all-access data roaming	Valid for 5 days	PHP104	PHP2,599
Roam Surf4All 5499	Shareable 10GB all-access data roaming	Valid for 15 days	PHP73	PHP5,499

 

Promo members can be Globe Platinum, Globe Postpaid, Globe Prepaid or TM customers.

 

Here’s how to share your group data:

 

●       Click “Add Member” in the group data dashboard

●       Click the Phonebook icon to choose from the contact list or manually type in the number of the member

●       Once added, both owner and member will be notified

 

The Chinese New Year is a time for family, food, and connectivity. So be sure to kick off your long holiday with Globe Roam Surf4All, the first-ever shareable promo where your travel group can surf with no worries.

 

Globe Roaming x Samsung Raffle

 

As an added treat, Globe Roaming is giving travelers a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2, perfect for your next trip abroad. Raffle is open to all Globe Platinum and Postpaid customers who successfully register to a Globe Roam Surf4All promo (Roam Surf4All 2599 or Roam Surf4All 5499) via GlobeOne, from February 7, 2024 to March 15, 2024. Once successfully subscribed to the offer, customers must completely fill-out the form via glbe.co/rs4agiveaway in order to enter the raffle contest.
 

To learn more, visit glbe.co/roamsurf4all.

These Intriguing Movies and TV Series on Lionsgate Play are Inspired by Real Events

 Dive into dramatic retellings of historical thrills with exciting titles exclusively on Lionsgate Play.

Lionsgate Play’s best blasts from the past are sure to pique anyone’s interest. Get lost in stories about political intrigues, surviving a natural disaster, and the lives of extraordinary individuals you won’t soon forget. These shows and films let the past unfold on the screen in a captivating blend of entertainment and historical accuracy that will have you glued to your seats (and even falling into Internet rabbit holes afterward). So buckle up and prepare for an unforgettable journey through time!

Gaslit (2022)

Gaslit is a fresh look into the 1972 Watergate scandal, a major political scandal involving President Richard Nixon, which eventually led to his resignation. It focuses on the untold story of Martha Mitchell (Julia Roberts), the wife of John Mitchell (Sean Penn), Nixon’s Attorney General who played a role in the scandal. Robbie Pickering’s political thriller is also based on the podcast Slow Burn by Leon Neyfakh and is a gripping tale of a brave woman standing her ground amidst political lies. Roberts’ gripping performance got her nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards.

Watch Gaslit on Lionsgate Play.

The Impossible (2014)

An idyllic vacation takes a nightmarish turn in disaster-drama film The Impossible. Maria Bennett (Naomi Watts) and her husband Henry Bennett (Ewan McGregor) are enjoying a Christmas holiday at a Thai resort when a tsunami sweeps the peaceful resort and breaks their family apart. In the chaos that follows, Maria desperately finds a way to reunite her family. The film is based on the real-life story of the Belon-Alvarez family, miraculous survivors of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Watch The Impossible on Lionsgate Play.

Papillon (2017)

This 2017 drama tells the story of real-life French convict Henri Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), a Parisian safecracker known in the underworld as "Papillon" (butterfly). In 1933, he was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in the notorious Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. There, he forms an alliance with another convict, counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek) as they attempt daring escapes. Papillon is based Charrière's international best-selling autobiographical books Papillon and Banco.

Watch Papillon on Lionsgate Play.

 

Hotel Mumbai (2019)

Hotel Mumbai is an action-thriller film inspired by the 2008 Mumbai attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace in India. A storm of terror erupts after the Lashkar-e-Taiba organization launches coordinated attacks across the city, including the hotel. Meanwhile, a humble waiter,

Arjun (Dev Patel), rises above his duties and risks everything to guide terrified patrons to safety, especially a British heiress, her husband, and their infant.

Watch Hotel Mumbai on Lionsgate Play.

 

Green Book (2018)

In 1960s southern America, an Afrian-American pianist (Mahershala Ali) about to embark on a concert tour in the Deep South recruits an Italian American bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) to drive him through his venues. Throughout the journey, the pair develop an unlikely bond, confronting racism and prejudice while discovering the value of friendship beyond social barriers.

Watch Green Book on Lionsgate Play.

The Final Score (2022)

Pablo Gonzales’ The Final Score chronicles Colombian soccer defender Andres Esobar’s (Juan Pablo Urrego) illustrious life that tragically ended in 1994. The six-part layered mini-series delves into the complicated relationship of several Colombian national team players, mired with drug trafficking and culminating in the 1994 World Cup goal and Escobar’s murder.

Watch The Final Score on Lionsgate Play.

Immerse yourself in these captivating titles only on Lionsgate Play on PLDT Home

 

Anytime, Anywhere: HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 Takes Lightweight Productivity to New Heights

Huawei Philippines’ newest MateBook D 16 2024 sets new benchmarks with its ultimate high-performance lightweight laptop with 16-inch large screen, 13th Gen Intel^® Core™ i9 High Performance Processor with the Dual Shark Fin Fan technology and up to 70 Wh of battery life. These significant enhancements make it a reliable companion for productivity, entertainment, and education especially designed for the evolving demands faced by students and young professionals as they continue to shift to a work-from-anywhere lifestyle, and adapt to a fast-paced work environment.

16-inch HUAWEI FullView Display: Productivity Powerhouse

Finding the perfect laptop usually involves making compromises. Those seeking high performance often end up with a bulky and heavy device. And others who desire a lightweight laptop often have to make compromises on the size of their screens, ending up with a laptop with limited visual space. 

To tackle the user pain points of heavy devices and small viewing displays,  Huawei creates the optimal large-screen productivity laptop - the HUAWEI Matebook D 16 2024, equipped with a 16-inch FullView Display which makes work and play easier. Enjoy an immersive experience of your favorite shows and movies, create and illustrate designs, and enjoy online events. It has an expansive view with a screen-to-body ratio up to 90%, giving creators a larger canvas to work off, and multitasking office workers an enlarged workspace.

The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 also comes with a new 180° hinge. This gives the laptop flexibility to unfold fully and flatly onto the table, which could be conducive for collaborative sessions at work or school. For those who have a multi-device workspace, the laptop can also be unfolded on a stand for greater space efficiency. 

13th Gen Intel Core i9 Processor: Outstanding Performance

Under the hood, the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 has an upgraded 13th Gen Intel Core i9 Processor,  which ensures users the ability to handle heavy multitasking such as programming, illustrating, and video editing easily. It can also be further boosted with Performance Mode and Super Turbo, which can be activated during crunch time or when a deadline nears.

Trust that the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 can keep up with your day-to-day life with an improved 70 Wh of battery life, you can move with your work without worrying about battery life, especially when on-the-go, so whether you're at a co-working space or your favorite local spot, this versatile device is easy to carry anytime and anywhere with you.

And while most laptops cannot guarantee strong connectivity, the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 is equipped with HUAWEI Metalline Antenna, which ensures optimal Wi-Fi  connectivity even at a remarkable distance of up to 270m, increasing signal conversion efficiency by 70%, because of this feat it is the first laptop to pass the SGS 5-Star WiFi Signal Capability Certification, a guarantee to your smooth online experience.

Elevated User Experience: Smart Experience in Action

The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 also promotes smart user experience. It is equipped with the Super Device feature that provides a quicker, fuss-free way of pairing your laptop with other devices. With Super Device, users can simply drag and drop icons from one device to the other, be it on smartphone, tablet, or laptop such as the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024. Remote workers can also connect Huawei devices into an external storage and create seamless collaboration.

The HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 features Huawei's PC-grade WPS Office, a digital software similar to MS Office, Adobe Acrobat, and ChatGPT, all bundled into one robust application. With its PC-grade interface, WPS Office delivers comprehensive functions and a user-friendly layout, enhancing the efficiency of professional office setups. Integrating an AI camera and AI sound effects into the user experience. With the inclusion of Sound TrueVoice, an advanced technology software, users benefit from remote sound pick-up and AI noise cancellation, elevating the overall conference experience to new heights.

Adding to its exceptional features, the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024 introduces a 1.5mm key travel and a soft-landing design, an uncommon achievement for a lightweight laptop. This innovative design not only enhances user comfort but also facilitates efficient working. The inclusion of a new individual numeric keypad further streamlines tasks involving charts, data, and documents, ensuring users can work with increased efficiency. Additionally, the physical shortcut keys provide direct access to frequently used functions, elevating overall productivity.

Pricing and Availability

Upgrade your work game anytime and anywhere with the high-performing and lightweight HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024! Immerse yourself in the expansive display, experience unmatched portability, and unleash powerful performance for ultimate productivity in the Smart Office era.

Head to a store near you and make the HUAWEI MateBook D 16 2024, yours today for PHP 38,999 (i5-12450H processor) to PHP PHP 69,999 (i9-13900H processor). Your gateway to a smarter, more efficient work experience awaits.

To learn more about the products, visit Huawei Store, and official stores on Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok.

 

Celebrate the Year of the Wooden Dragon at Century Park Hotel

2024 is set to be an auspicious year as the Wooden Dragon brings with it power, vigor and charm. With this in mind, Century Park Hotel (CPH), one of the finest hotels in Manila, has prepared a lot of treats and surprises for its guests and regulars.

It is not a secret that Century Park Hotel is big on celebrating Chinese New Year and are known for their much-anticipated famous lion and dragon dance show as well as the eye-dotting ceremony which is said to bring about luck, prosperity and good health. 

This February 9, 2024 at 6:00PM, CPH will relive that tradition at the Atrium Lounge and will be headed by no less than LT Group Founder and Chairman Dr. Lucio Tan and family. Guests of the hotel can join in the revelry and marvel at the colorful festivities.

Any event that’s packed with energy and action should be followed by a good and sumptuous meal. Chinese New Year revelers can avail of Café in the Park’s Eat-All-You-Can Dinner on February 9 and Lunch & Dinner on February 10, 2024 for as low as P2,024 net per person. Indulge in Chinese favorites such as dimsum and other dishes made to perfection by the hotel’s chefs. Exquisite flavors await the discerning diner who is on the lookout for an authentic Chinese dining experience. The first 50 reservations can enjoy an early bird discount of 35% once they book at +632 8528 8888 or +63 917 528 5888. Full payment is required upon reservation,

Craving for just dimsum? The hotel offers a Dimsum Platter special from February 1-10, 2024 at P699net per head. Each order consists of two pieces each of hakaw, pork & Japanese siomai, shark’s fin and kutchay. Now that’s a deal you cannot resist!

The long weekend awaits for those who want or badly need a staycation. Avail of CPH’s Chinese New Year Package for as low as P5,199net/night for a Deluxe Room. Superior Rooms and Park Tower Suites are also available under the staycation package which includes buffet breakfast for two at Café in the Park and a Dimsum Platter at the Atrium Lounge. Stay dates are from February 8-12, 2024.

“As a hotel known for its Chinese roots, we at Century Park Hotel always aim to surpass our offers from the past years. It is truly a delight to see our regulars and even new guests anticipate the lion and dragon dance, the eye dotting ceremony and the sumptuous Chinese New Year’ feast. The excitement is very palpable at the hotel and this is something that the management and staff alike look forward to year after year,” said Anna Dimagiba, Century Park Hotel’s OIC for Hotel Operations.

To know more about the hotel’s Chinese New Year offers, visit www.centurypark.com.ph or check out their social media accounts at IG: @centuryparkhotelmanila or FB: Century Park Hotel Manila. You may also call 85288888.

OPPO's Journey to Ultimate Smoothness : The Tech Powering ColorOS 14's Trinity Engine, Smart Features, and the Future of AI Integration

 

As the landscape of computing evolves, so does the definition of performance. In recent years, there has been a shift in the way that people have come to perceive what truly defines top computing performance. Whereas speed was previously seen as the be-all and end-all of computing capabilities, the question of stability and smoothness has steadily moved into the spotlight too. Only by delivering consistent and fluid operations across all types of applications and scenarios is it possible for users to enjoy a real sense of fluency and efficiency. This is a principle that OPPO has embraced and exemplified through a decade of development with ColorOS.

Over the past ten years, OPPO has been working to perfect the balance between rapid responsiveness, rock-steady stability, and silky smoothness with each iteration of ColorOS. By constantly finding new ways to blend the best hardware with the most comprehensive and in-depth optimization of the underlying software, we have elevated the concept of smoothness, and even entire perceptions of performance on Android smartphones, to ensure seamless user experiences in any situation.

‘Visible’ and ‘invisible’ smoothness

One of OPPO’s first breakthroughs in delivering the ultimate smooth user experience came with the release of UI First in early 2020. By prioritizing active applications, UI First prevents background applications from over consuming system resources causing the drag down towards the overall performance. The result is a significant reduction in noticeable lag and the enhancement of what we call “visible smoothness.”

However, as computing resources were directed into supporting active applications, apps running in the background were being starved of resources and effectively killed. This in turn caused delays when switching between those apps. Meanwhile, The widespread adoption of 5G increased the consumption of high-data media, entering the so-called “rich media” era, has placed additional processing pressure on the system. To address this 'invisible’ smoothness issues, OPPO began optimizing ColorOS for better temperature control, stable battery life, and a more continuous and uninterrupted experience.

Our large team of chip engineers has conducted enormous volumes of in-depth analysis into the computing power distribution of each task on different processing units on the chip. We then established mathematical models to predict performance and power consumption and optimize the computing power distribution for each task to guarantee a better battery life without sacrificing performance capabilities.

At the same time, we utilized improved memory compression technology to save more memory space for users, and breakpoint reading technology to ensure a more continuous and uninterrupted experience. Now, on ColorOS 14, the system’s latest release, upgraded technologies in the OS’s Trinity Engine make it possible for the phone to run as many as 28 applications on the back end for up to 72 hours.

These innovations enable ColorOS to make the most of any given smartphone hardware and deliver the best results when it comes to traditional stats used for measuring smooth performance, such as app launch speeds, game frame rates, and more. Thanks to hardware scheduling capabilities like these, ColorOS now consistently ranks among the top performers in major industry benchmarks.

More human, more consistent

As OPPO’s engineers continued to push the boundaries of smoothness and ColorOS received increasing recognition from tech authorities with its top benchmark scores, the team gradually came to realize that high performance and ultimate speed do not necessarily translate into a more comfortable and “smoother” user experience in all scenarios.

“As a software developer, my instinct was to always make everything as fast as possible. It’s easy for us to fall into the habit of pushing to deliver the best results from a numbers perspective,” said Hansheng Hong, Director of Software Technology Planning, OPPO.

“For example, we are capable of doubling the current speed of our animations, but when the user actually sees them, they appear too abrupt. Realizing this has completely changed my point of view and taught me that it's pointless to compete on data alone.”

The brand-new Aquamorphic Effects in ColorOS 14 showcase how this insight has been put into practice. Contrary to what might be expected, the animations of these new effects have actually been optimized by reducing the speed from 380 milliseconds to a more user-friendly 750 milliseconds. By refining the dynamic effect logic in ColorOS 14, every interaction has been made more intuitive and fluid.

This is just one example of how OPPO has introduced Human Factors Analysis into the design of the OS. This is a discipline that specializes in the study of human interaction with machines and environments in order to make machines or systems more adaptable to human physiological and psychological characteristics. Through Human Factor Analysis, Hong learned that the human eye can only detect changes at intervals of about 100-150 milliseconds or more. If changes occur in less than 100 milliseconds, most people simply cannot tell the difference. This means that, even if the hardware is capable of doing so, there is no reason to engineer system response times as low as 50 milliseconds.

At the same time, Hong also became aware of a concept in psychology known as ‘negative bias’, in which people tend to remember only specific negative moments, even if the overall experience is positive. For example, if you only encounter a single delay once in every one hundred times you start an application, you are still more likely to remember this one negative moment and perceive the overall experience as being negative on the whole. The implications of this are that it is stability and consistency, rather than occasional bursts of speed, that determine how smooth the user experience is perceived.

In order to provide this level of consistently smooth experience throughout the operating life of our mobile devices, OPPO has introduced Human Factors Analysis into multiple aspects of ColorOS. One of the decisions that came from this was to set the response speed of application launches to 135 milliseconds. Through millions of repeated tests, we also identified and solved extremely low-likelihood consistency issues in areas like touch feedback, software concurrency, display delay, and more. The result is a consistent response time in the 100-150 millisecond range for all aspects of the UI with no perceivable fluctuations.

Embracing the possibilities of AI-generated content

Looking towards the future of smartphone and operating system experiences, the ColorOS team is mindful that the integration of AIGC (AI-generated content) is likely to place a high demand on mobile system resources, covering everything from memory and processing capabilities to battery life. Right now, OPPO is exploring and experimenting in related capabilities, for instance, on how to optimize memory use and power management techniques to cope with such high demands.

ColorOS 14's Trinity Engine exemplifies this forward-thinking approach with its advanced solutions for optimizing system smoothness and stability through fine-tuned management and scheduling of computing resources, memory, and storage at the microarchitecture instruction level.

The upgraded Trinity Engine contains three core technologies: ROM Vitalization, RAM Vitalization, and CPU Vitalization. ROM Vitalization frees up more memory space by compressing app data and merging duplicated files to address performance degradation issues caused by memory filling up over the long term. RAM Vitalization works by reconstructing Android's underlying RAM mechanism and employing specialized techniques to accelerate app launch speeds and improve the level of fluidity when switching between apps. Finally, CPU Vitalization uses a sophisticated computing power model that can precisely schedule power resources while determining the best balance between performance and power consumption.

In addition to the Trinity Engine, OPPO’s Instantaneous Bandwidth Technology set to be included in the forthcoming ColorOS 14 update is another example of how the memory management system has been rewritten to improve operating smoothness. OPPO developed the technology more than 18 months ahead of the release of the Google Linux open-source design by modifying more than 50 thousand lines of code in the original kernel. With Instantaneous Bandwidth Technology, memory access performance is dynamically adjusted according to smartphone usage, enabling up to 16-times faster speeds (i.e. from 4K to 64K during the transfer process from DDRAM to CPU). As the data transfer bandwidth increases, the loss of read data falls significantly, which in turn helps to improve memory utilization and reduce latency while using the phone.

By further deepening the synergy between hardware and software, ColorOS 14 brings users an ultra-smooth experience across all scenarios that’s guaranteed to stay smooth for up to 48 months. Drawing on the insights of over 600 million active monthly ColorOS users, OPPO continues to use its unique position to identify global user trends and unmet needs in order to further optimize the smooth and stable experience on OPPO devices.