OPPO grows 133% YoY boosted by premium, camera-centric core lineup

OPPO had a strong finish to a momentous 2016 which saw 133% year-on-year growth for the global smartphone brand, according to the latest results from independent research firm IDC. 

A core product range which paired premium design with excellent photography helped OPPO maintain its position as the No. 4 smartphone brand globally by market share, and earn it the  No. 1 spot in China for the two most recent quarters.

IDC’s preliminary data showed that OPPO accounted for 6.8% of the global smartphone market in 2016, and had four straight quarters of greater than 100% year-on-year growth. 

“In 2016, our strategy was to stay simple and focused – putting out premium-quality products with phenomenal cameras,” said OPPO VP and Managing Director of International Mobile Business, Sky Li.

“The success we saw is because of our commitment to listening to our users and bringing them devices tailor-made for their lifestyles. We’ll redouble that commitment as we continue our global expansion this year.” 

OPPO focused on two main product lines last year - its ‘Selfie Expert’ F series and the stylish R series, whose industry-leading front and rear cameras embodied the OPPO camera phone brand concept. 

The F1s, sporting a 16 MP front camera, was a resounding success in South and Southeast Asia, two key regions for OPPO. It connected with a growing market of selfie-fanatic millenials, helping OPPO to hit a 10.9% sales unit share in India’s offline market in December, up from 1.2% at the same time in 2015, according to data from research firm Gfk.  

2016 also saw continued expansion for OPPO around the globe, as it extended its business to 26 countries, including new markets in New Zealand, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the company will leverage a recently established marketing center in Egypt to support accelerated expansion in the Middle East and North Africa regions.  

Selfie- Expert F1s now with faster user experience and greater storage

Meanwhile, OPPO stepped up the selfie experience in Sri Lanka and India by launching the upgraded Selfie Expert flagship model F1s, which is now available in a new variant, the Gold version. It cruises on an Octa-core processor with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB ROM. 

The 4GB RAM will make users experience an advanced user interface than its predecessor and will be faster, smoother and steadier. The 64GB ROM gives extra space to store more than 10,000 selfies. There is also the triple-slot card tray which gives space for two Nano 4G SIM cards and an SD card to expand the storage space by up to 128 GB. 

Together with the 16 MP front camera and a 1/3.1-inch customised sensor which arranges pixels in a unique pattern designed to maximise image detail, resulting in clearer, brighter and images rich in colour, the sophisticated beautification feature in F1s provides perfect selfies. 

The current version of Beautify 4.0 has been upgraded based on the study of hundreds of user scenarios.  With seven beautify levels, two skins tone modes and upgraded photo-processing algorithms, Beautify 4.0 is optimised to capture selfies with bright, clear skin, vivid eyes and striking features.

The upgraded F1s is also packed with a 3075 mAh battery and an industry-leading 0.22s fingerprint unlock and competitively priced at Rs. 43,990. The fingerprint recognition can assign up to five different fingerprints to different apps and contacts. Then, with one touch of the home button, you can launch an app or start a phone call to a pre-assigned contact directly without further operation. 

OPPO’s premium, camera-centric 2016 lineup helped it achieve four straight quarters of greater than 100% year-on-year growth