Hello.
The Russian operating system “Aurora” for most people is an unknown quantity, and most importantly, incomprehensible. There is no point in approaching it from the point of view of a product aimed at the mass buyer, it is intended for the B2G / B2B segment, where data security comes to the fore, plus the absence of even the potential opportunity to influence it from the outside, turn off devices running under the control of this system. We talked a little about this in a separate article, I will not repeat here.
One of the new models of smartphones that came out under the control of Aurora is the Aquarius M11, I have had this device in my hands for several weeks.
In this text, I will not dwell on the technical capabilities of the smartphone itself, but I want to describe the process of setting up the system for a beginner, a person who first encounters the logic of the Aurora. Without such a basic understanding, we will not be able to go further and look at other features of the system.
The system version is 4.0.2.209 (“Balakovo”), the name of the settlement is associated with one of the developers. Within the company, the “Joint Mobile Platform” (UMP) is commonly referred to as builds by localities with which developers are associated. As for me, this is a good tone and a kind of tradition for this kind of products. Apple for MacOS uses toponyms of the area where the company’s headquarters is located, Motorola used to create phones with the names of islands in the Indian Ocean. There are many examples of this approach.
In the near future, it is planned to update the system interface, a number of improvements. Communicating with developers and asking questions about the shortcomings that undoubtedly exist in the system, I came across a very lively response, the guys are trying to develop the system quickly and efficiently, while you need to realize that thousands of people are not working on it, the development team is relatively small. I will try to invite myself to visit the WMD and ask about this and about many other things. In the meantime, I want to note that Aurora is on the wing, there are shortcomings that you should not turn a blind eye to, as the team is trying to remove them, feedback is important here.
Looking ahead, I’ll say that Aurora somehow reminds me of the first versions of Android: minimalism in the built-in software, but adjusted for the current state of affairs in interfaces. The hardware in the Aquarius M11 is quite simple, hence the speed of the system – smoothly, pleasantly, but not instantly, as we are used to on Android. I would not pay attention to this, since it is omnivorous, but several people, turning the device, talked about it, for them the phone does not work as responsively as the models they use. As a rule, these are flagships from Apple or Android. But no one can say that Aurora slows down, it doesn’t exist – it doesn’t work as fast as modern Android, but this is a matter of choosing hardware, RAM, and system optimization in the future. To make the system look smooth, they made delays in the transition from one screen to another, the animation is very simple, but it does the job.
Screenshots can be taken by simultaneously pressing the volume keys, this is different from the usual Android. Unusual? Yes. But this is a matter of taste, which can not be discussed.
How the Aurora interface works – learning gestures
For a beginner, one of the most useful apps is Help. There are small lessons that describe how to work with the system, what useful features it offers. Each topic has short videos that let you see exactly what needs to be done. A nice hint that makes it easier to work on the Aurora.
Management is organized using gestures, you can open the application screen by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. You can hide apps in reverse.
The system has an “Event Screen”, it plays the role of a notification center, it shows information about calls, calendar entries, mail and more. You can access it by swiping left or right on the main screen.
On the home screen, we see the covers of running applications, these are the rectangles of their pages. Click on such a “page”, and the application opens.
If you drag the screen from top to bottom, you will see quick switches for different modes, icons for calling applications or functions. All this can be configured independently.
Some applications have controls in the cover, for example, in a music player, these are buttons for changing the composition. The application does not need to be opened, just press the keys. The same story for controlling a voice recorder or a stopwatch.
You can close the application from the same screen, hold the cover, and a cross appears, which allows you to close it.
But to close all applications, you need to get acquainted with the “Action Menu”. There is a bar at the top of the screen, if you pull the screen down, you will see a context menu, it changes depending on the application.
Now we need to know that the actions in the interface are highlighted by a small circle that glows at the top of the screen. It’s a hint that you can swipe and go back.
We see exactly the same element in the lists when you need to select several elements, for example, in the list of files. Unusually, but I like this design element.
By default, the application menu looks like this.
First Device Setup – Accounts, Contacts, Atmospheres
What Android calls “themes” is called “Atmospheres” here. You choose the color of the menu design, the screensaver, the volume of the call, as well as all the sounds for different applications. Selected topics can be added to favorites in order to change them in a couple of clicks.
You can put your applications on the lock screen, for example, a voice recorder, music or a file manager, then you can get quick access to them.
In the settings, you can enable quick access to the camera from the lock screen (works by default), set up a gesture to access events (left to right will always open this menu). You can also set all sounds to turn off when you turn your phone face down.
If for some reason you want to share your phone with someone, you can create another user, give him your username and password (you remain an administrator). However, you can limit the amount of phone memory that this user has access to.
Unfortunately, at the moment there is no cloud where you can save your data, such as contacts. Therefore, the only way to get contacts is to download them from Android/iOS as a single exported file. There is no problem in this, everything reads perfectly.
If we are talking about accounts, then everything is ascetic – MS Exchange, Web Calendar. The orientation of the system to enterprises implies that the latter already have their own infrastructure, hence the lack of a cloud for the end consumer. But I really hope that this issue will be resolved in future updates, the cloud is necessary for a modern system, we are used to it and simply cannot live without it.
I noticed that the same behavior of applications is not always inherited in the system, for example, in the file manager you can select several files and send them via Bluetooth to another device, but this is not possible in the Gallery application. Uncomfortable? Definitely. But in the list of improvements / changes in future versions of the system, this item is, so here I am not original, there is an understanding of what needs to be done.
First impressions and conclusions
It took several hours to master the controls on the Aurora, a habit arose. If we take the average user, then perhaps it will take him a day, two at most. The logic here is clear and understandable, there are no problems. In direct comparison with Android, the current version of Aurora looks very simple and ascetic, which is understandable from different points of view. But the important thing here is that you can work with this system. Yes, there are limitations, but there is also progressive development. It is impossible to argue that this is a terrible horror.
Allow me a lyrical digression. Any person who has dealt with government IT systems, for example, issued an electronic signature, handed over documents to the tax office, has clearly come across interfaces from the past MS-DOS and Norton Commander (as an option, you can recall Volkov Commander). Nostalgia, which has no place in the modern world, and it should not be here. So, “Aurora” has all the makings of a modern system, they are trying to make it convenient. And this is not an attempt to create the same Android, but simply to change it so that no one says that it is a copy. It is a meaningful desire to find your way. This approach is close to me, it has a rational grain.
I use Aquarius M11 in everyday life, an opinion has formed about certain points. But we will talk about this in separate materials, in order not to crumple everything into one heap, you need to approach the analysis of the Aurora carefully and carefully. In the meantime, I will say that Aurora can be mastered in a short time by any person – an official or an inhabitant, it does not matter. The experience will not be drastically different from modern smartphones, but it is still different, and this must be kept in mind.
PS Ask questions, I’ll try to answer them in the following materials about the Russian system, it’s interesting to delve into its giblets.