Dubai: Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo, a new entrant, is having high ambitions but with a difference.
When most of the Chinese brands are focusing on low-cost smartphones to grab market share, Oppo is following the opposite path. That is the high-end smartphone market.
In fact, six of the top 10 global smartphone vendors are based in China as of third quarter of this year. China alone accounted for 34 per cent of smartphone shipments during the quarter.
“Chinese manufacturers focus on cutting costs to win over market but not Oppo, We don’t go after market share but instead produce attractive phones that brings profit to the company and value to the consumers. Oppo has an advantage compared to competitors as we focus on mid- to high-end models,” Henry Tang, sales manager for Gulf region, told Gulf News.
Oppo is one of the few Chinese companies that have been able to grow outside the country’s border. It is present in China, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Australia, UAE and Mexico.
The brand has already surpassed Samsung as the largest 4G smartphone brand in China with a market share of more than 15 per cent. It aims to follow the footsteps of Huawei and Lenovo to become a major global player.
Tang said that high-end smartphone market may be getting saturated but it is dynamic. Some brands rise and some others drop. Oppo has a proven track record in China and in some other markets in South East Asia.
Oppo has already made waves in the local market by launching the first phone to take a 50MP photo on the recently launched Find 7 handset, which also has a 2K resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels). Nokia launched phones capable of taking 41MP in 2012.
He said that Oppo’s strategy will work well in this region as people in the Middle East are pursuing the true high-quality life and enjoy high-end products.
“We want to bring real technologies into the hands of the consumers. We will be launching the thinnest smartphone — R5 — which has a 4.85mm body and N3 — the first motorised rotating camera capable of rotating 206 degrees — by end of this year,” Tang said.
“Our focus is to spread wings into other Middle East countries. We have two offices in Dubai and it is the hub for the region. We will cater to other markets step by step and slowly,” he said.
The company, which also makes Blu-ray players and headphones, is integrating its audio (Maxx Audio) and video features into its high-end products to stay ahead of the crowd.
“Innovation is what is going to keep us forward and stay ahead in the smartphone market,” he said.
