Barcelona: Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo may not be the best-selling smartphone brand in the world, but it has released devices with unique features like rotating cameras and VOOC, a quick-charging technology.
VOOC, which stands for voltage open loop multi-step constant-current charging, is the technology developed by Oppo.
At the show, the company has taken the wireless charging technology, known as Super VOOC, to a new level, which is capable of charging a 2,500mAh battery in 15 minutes. It can achieve 45 per cent charge in just five minutes.
It works with both micro USB and USB Type-C ports, which are standard USB ports used in mobile phones, and requires the new Super VOOC Flash Charger plug, a new special cable, and a connector made from high-quality military-grade materials.
But right now, no devices are available with this feature but Sky Li, vice-president and managing director of international mobile business, said that the technology is ready for mass production.
“The charger adaptor has an intelligent micro controller unit [MCU] chip to achieve constant-current charging at 5 Volts without any energy loss. This way, we are able to achieve around 97 per cent of charging efficiency,” he said.
The temperature of the handset does not go up compared to other devices because of the difference in charging mechanism and efficiency.
He said that the Super VOOC Flash Charge-enabled devices will heat up by a maximum of only 3.3 degrees Celsius.
The company has sold 50 million units last year with 67 per cent year-on-year growth and ranks eighth in global smartphone ranking.
“We don’t really focus on market share. Our aim is to expand the customer base with exceptional products as our customers are young and trendy, then the customers will stay with our brand,” he said.
According to CounterPoint Research, China has nine of the world’s top 12 smartphone brands after Samsung and Apple.
Oppo is already available in 20 markets, including certain Asian and Middle East markets, and does not want to enter into new markets this year.
Li said that consumers value devices with good features rather than the price and the line between the high- and low-end devices is blurring.
Oppo believes there is potential in mid- to high-end handsets, even in emerging markets, despite phone makers flooding the market with cheap devices.
Going forward, Oppo, like other brands, is looking at developing markets such as Southeast Asia and India as the next battleground for growth.
“Our focus is only on smartphones and has no intention to diversify our business to other sectors like wearables and tablets,” Li said.
The company is going to set up a manufacturing plant in Delhi, India, this year.
