Oppo’s Find X3 Pro is its latest flagship smartphone aimed to gain market share amid international expansion.
Oppo
GUANGZHOU, China – Chinese smartphone maker Oppo launched a new flagship on Thursday as it strives to advance in the high-end market to challenge global giants such as Apple and Samsung.
The Find X3 will be sold in China, while the Find X3 Pro will launch in international markets as Oppo tries to expand its global presence.
Oppo, owned by BBK Electronics, has made a name for itself by selling cheap smartphones with attractive features. That helped it grow into the world’s fourth largest smartphone player in the fourth quarter. According to Counterpoint Research, Oppo first became the number one smartphone supplier in China in January.
The Chinese company has managed to capture the demand for 5G devices in China with its low-cost A-series and Reno brands. It has taken advantage of Huawei’s smartphone problems as a result of US sanctions against the company.
Oppo now hopes that the Find X3 Pro will give the Chinese telco a way to increase its market share abroad and compete with the likes of Xiaomi, Apple and Samsung.
Oppo Find X3 Pro features
Here are some details about the Find X3 Pro:
- 6.7-inch so-called AMOLED display (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode)
- Suitable for 5G
- Runs on Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 888 processor
- A camera with 4 sensors that provides ultra-wide angle shots
- Uses Google’s Android operating system
The Oppo Find X3 Pro has a 6.7-inch AMOLED curved display.
Oppo
Oppo also talked about features for a good mobile gaming experience, which is a major concern for smartphone makers these days.
The phone will ship in Western Europe from March 30.
International push
Oppo’s international push has been going on for years since its first overseas launch in Thailand in 2009, followed by India in 2014. The focus has been on countries where Oppo’s cheap phones would thrive.
But the expansion recently ramped up with the launch of Oppo in Europe in 2018 and covers major mobile networks for distribution, a critical part of the growth for smartphone makers in many markets.
Along with Android rivals such as Xiaomi, Samsung and Vivo, Oppo will try to take advantage of the problems Huawei is facing abroad.
In 2019, Huawei was placed on a US blacklist known as the Entity List, which prevented US companies from exporting technology to the Chinese company. One of the biggest consequences of that was that Huawei was cut off from using Google’s Android operating system. That’s not a problem in China, where Google services like Gmail and search are blocked. But abroad, consumers are used to Android.
The rise of OPPO can be attributed to the fact that Huawei took advantage of a great void. And OPPO has taken advantage of this opportunity.
research director, Counterpoint Research
And last year, Washington decided to cut off Huawei from the chips it needed for its smartphones. These two actions negatively impacted Huawei’s sales. According to Counterpoint Research, the Chinese company’s global smartphone shipments fell 41% year on year in the fourth quarter. In Europe it saw a decline of 62%.
“OPPO’s rise can be attributed to the fact that it took advantage of a great void left by Huawei. And OPPO took advantage of this opportunity,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Research.
“With X3 Pro, OPPO will keep an eye on the tens of millions of Huawei Mate and P series users in China and worldwide,” he said referring to Huawei’s flagship smartphone. The X3 Pro will compete directly with these devices.
But in more mature markets like Europe, Oppo will have to build a “high-end image” like Apple and Samsung, said Will Wong, research manager at International Data Corporation, which could be challenging for Oppo.
“Oppo needs to target higher-income consumers who want those high-quality products. The launch of the Find X3 series is important to build this high-quality image,” said Wong.