How Vivo Redesigned the App Drawer and Home Experience in OriginOS 6
Vivo’s OriginOS 6 brings a refreshed approach to home screen management, combining smooth performance with deeper customization and a cleaner design. The update redefines how users organize and access their apps, balancing beauty with practicality. With an improved app drawer, dynamic home layouts, and interactive widgets, OriginOS 6 offers a more fluid and personalized navigation experience than any previous version.
The first major change in OriginOS 6 is the redesigned home layout system. Vivo has introduced a flexible grid structure that adapts to different user preferences and screen sizes. Users can now freely adjust icon grid density, choose between compact or spacious arrangements, and modify how much information is displayed on each page. This flexibility ensures that the interface can look either minimal or data-rich, depending on individual style. The refined grid also supports adaptive scaling, meaning icons and widgets automatically align perfectly when resized, maintaining a balanced and consistent look.
Another notable improvement is the way widgets interact with the home screen. The “Flip Cards” widget system, first introduced in previous versions, has been enhanced in OriginOS 6 with greater responsiveness and deeper customization. Flip Cards now respond to gestures, allowing users to expand, collapse, or flip through multiple widgets on the same space. For example, the weather widget can show current temperature at a glance and flip to display the forecast for the week. This modular design helps users maximize screen real estate while keeping key information easily accessible.
The app drawer has also been completely reworked to improve both function and aesthetics. Vivo has streamlined the drawer’s design with translucent backgrounds, rounded icons, and smart categorization options. Apps can now be sorted automatically by type—such as social, entertainment, or productivity—or manually rearranged for custom layouts. The search bar at the top has been made faster and more intuitive, allowing users to locate apps or perform system-level searches instantly. The smoother animation transitions between the home screen and drawer make navigation feel seamless.
A new addition to the app drawer is the “Smart Shelf,” a contextual section that recommends apps based on time of day, location, and usage patterns. For instance, work-related apps may appear during office hours, while fitness or entertainment apps surface in the evening. This intelligent feature reduces the need to scroll through long lists, adapting dynamically to user behavior. The Smart Shelf can be toggled off for those who prefer a cleaner look, maintaining OriginOS’s focus on user choice.
OriginOS 6 also brings enhanced folder functionality. Users can now open folders in two modes: compact or expanded. The compact mode shows grouped icons on the home screen without leaving the page, while expanded folders open in a larger pop-up window that displays more apps. These folders can be color-coded or themed, matching the wallpaper or icon pack. Vivo has paid attention to smooth animations here as well, making folder transitions natural and visually appealing.
For users who prefer not to use an app drawer, OriginOS 6 allows a full “Home-only” mode, which places all apps directly on the home screens—similar to iOS. This mode is ideal for users who like simplicity or want instant access to every app. Switching between Home-only and Drawer mode can be done easily through settings, offering flexibility for both minimalists and power users.
One of the biggest under-the-hood improvements lies in gesture navigation. Vivo has refined edge gestures, app-switch animations, and home transitions for smoother performance. Swiping up or sideways from the home screen now feels faster and more fluid, with frame rates consistently stable even under multitasking conditions. These motion refinements make using the app drawer and home screen feel cohesive and polished, rather than mechanical.
Customization remains at the heart of OriginOS 6’s design philosophy. Users can modify icon shapes, adjust label visibility, and choose between standard and immersive home layouts. Dynamic wallpapers and adaptive color schemes also integrate directly with the home interface, adjusting accent tones and icon highlights based on the chosen background. The result is a living interface that feels responsive and alive, adapting subtly to both user input and visual context.
Vivo has also worked on cross-device consistency, ensuring that home layouts and app arrangements can sync across supported devices through a Vivo account. For users who own multiple Vivo products like tablets or foldables, this means the same personalized setup can carry over seamlessly.
In essence, OriginOS 6’s updates to the app drawer and home layout transform everyday interaction into something more natural and expressive. It blends intelligent organization, visual sophistication, and performance efficiency into one cohesive system. With fluid gestures, dynamic widgets, and smart categorization, the new design gives users both control and comfort—making navigation faster, cleaner, and uniquely personal.
Also Read: OriginOS 6 design and UI changes first look
