Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has now initiated a closed beta testing of Android 9.0 Pie for four of its devices. This beta testing is a closed one, which means only certain users with the X21, X21 UD, NEX S, and NEX A smartphones can test the new FunTouch OS 4.5 layered over Android 9.0 Pie. This piece of news was reported by GSMArena who referred to a post on the Vivo Chinese website. And the testing is being done on the Chinese versions of the phones.
People are being recruited for testing the beta versions in two waves the first of which has already started on December 24 and will continue till January 2. The second wave starts on January 2 and will go on till January 6. Previously Vivo had promised its users that the Android 9.0 Pie update will hit the smartphones by the end of 2018 and even though its not too far off, it seems it won’t be until early 2019 that the users will see the final version of the update.
Vivo’s new FunTouch 4.5 is all set to introduce a new look and feel for the UI along with more colorful menus and simpler UI elements. Here’s a translated list of all the elements that users can expect to see in the new update.
– Jovi Smart Voice Assistant: The new assistant is set to help users perform local commands, kind of like Bixby.
– Jovi Wisdom Scene: This will provide contextual actions and reminders
– Jovi Wisdom Map: This will help identify objects with the phone’s camera. User can use this to translate text, identify objects, or research topics.
– Smart Desktop: This will be a feed of cards for weather, shortcuts, Jovi smart scenes, taxis, and more.
– iHousekeeper: This will be a memory cleaning app with improved cleaning
– iTheme: A points system earns points on your vivo account to earn themes.
The full list of the changes can be viewed on the Vivo China website, and interested users can register for the beta as well.
