Chinese phone manufacturer Oppo has taken the top spot as China’s biggest smartphone manufacturer.
Overtaking previous leader Huawei, Oppo has taken advantage of their rival’s US trade ban to sneak a one percent market share lead in China. Closely followed by Huawei and Vivo, there’s a sense that the lead could be temporary.
Why is Huawei failing?
Oppo’s overtake of Chinese smartphone darling Huawei isn’t surprising. In recent years, Huawei has struggled to stay relevant following a US trade ban by Former US President Donald Trump. The trade ban has stopped the company from partnering with any American companies for hardware or software.
In addition, Huawei’s continued efforts have included self-made components and operating systems. Newer Huawei devices are powered by the in-house Mali SoCs, similar to Apple’s new Apple Silicon technology. For the OS, Huawei is shifting away from Android to their own proprietary Harmony OS.
Unlike Huawei, Oppo isn’t restricted in its use of hardware or software. With Oppo technology allowed to access the latest Qualcomm chips and Android OS builds, there’s a sense that the future of the company is more predictable than their primary competitor.
What is Oppo planning next?
Oppo is looking at a fairly standard future. Following huge sales growths on their Find X series of smartphones, the company is looking to continue with the upcoming Find X3 Pro. The Pro device will be accompanied by the launch of the Find X3 Neo and the Find X3 Lite.,
As foldable technology continues to evolve, Oppo is planning to capitalise on the trend with their own twist. Unlike the flip phones such as Samsung Galaxy Z Flip or Motorola RAZR 2, Oppo is banking on a rollable phone.
Dubbed the Oppo X, the concept phone looks to allow users to extend the primary display instead of unfolding it. Users will simply pull their smartphone display into a longer tablet-like form factor. The device is expected to release this year.
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