OPPO: Creating art out of technology

The global smartphone innovations company is cementing its reputation as a brand dedicated to providing products infused with art and innovative technology

Digital transformation is playing a fundamental role in shaping the way governments across the world are adapting to new opportunities and challenges. Competition, cost and budget pressures, shifting citizen demands, among other changes are sparking governments all around the world to implement innovative ICT capabilities to drive their transformation to digital.

The UAE government is certainly leading the way as it makes real progress with digital transformation online and a digital-ready future. There are two things that are helping with this. Firstly, that there are clear visions and goals including Expo, UAE Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. Secondly, that there is a large population of "millennials", the generation born around 2000, who are really driving digital growth through smartphones.
The largest benefactor has been OPPO, Middle East's fifth largest smartphone vendor, who recently announced that it has scored the highest YoY growth (214 per cent), compared to all other smartphone brands in the MENA region.

There is no doubt that smartphones are now contributing the biggest profits in this market. However, OPPO has been expanding its products range from smartphones for IoT products. The Global company also launched its first wireless earphones and smartwatch earlier this year, and they will hit the local markets very soon.

Ethan Xue, President - Middle East and Africa, OPPO, said: "And that is not the end of the story. As the world's leading smart device manufacturer and innovator, we'd like our users to see technology as an art form and provide them with products that can truly affect the way they live."

"I am of the idea that business leaders can innovate and we should broaden the scale of innovation and entrepreneurship, a good leader should always push the boundaries and break rules, you can't imagine how many times I tried to upgrade the meeting agenda with different departments, I believe that there is always something we can do to lift efficiency of the team, and the idea from lunch discussion could sparkle the innovation of next generation of product, who knows."

And Xue saw great opportunities in the MENA region after spending some time in this region. "The demand for technology that could switch lifestyle from offline to online (or enrich life) is roaming, and it applies to software developments, smart devices, etc. Covid-19 has accelerated the trend, and it's for sure a good time to make maximum use of it, and you may also deem that as the reason why we start bringing more IoT products to the region recently."

With this idea, OPPO entered Egypt market in 2015, and established the MENA regional marketing hub in Cairo in 2016, then moving the hub to Dubai last year, considering that UAE and Saudi Arabia are its key countries to focus on this year.

Covid-19 has certainly transformed the way companies are conducting businesses now, even in the UAE. The pandemic has prompted digital transformation and this has worked well for OPPO.

Xue said: "We've witnessed the massive potential of e-commerce because of the widespread Covid-19 situation, and it is quite impressive to me that so many brands and platforms are switching the way they do business with such remarkable speed. OPPO is one of them. Apart from the CSR campaigns we did with media and third party organisations, we've achieved satisfactory results in the past quarter, and I'm looking forward to the performance of e-commerce department.

"In addition, Covid-19 has reshaped consumers' purchase behaviour - they tend to spend more time browsing online content and start paying attention to physical and mental health. I think this is a sign for us to invest even more on social platforms and enhance offline experience to attract consumers who evaluate shopping experience with a higher standard."

An industry pioneer in technological advancement, OPPO was one also of the first in the industry to develop fast charging technology. In 2014, it developed VOOC flash charging technology, designed to ensure you're never without power. Since then, OPPO has been continuously committed to leading the development of fast charge technologies to bring users a more ideal charging experience. In the last six years, it has become a market leader in creating cutting edge technology in flash charging, driving a new era of charging technology and most recently launching the world's fastest charging technology 65W SuperVOOC Fast Charge 2.0, which can charge a 4000mAh battery in 30 minutes.

As of April 2020, OPPO has filed for more than 2,700 global patents for flash charging. The brand's 30-plus smartphone models featuring VOOC Flash Charge technology have delivered the ultra-fast charging experience to over 157 million users globally.

As the UAE launches into the space today with Hope Probe, OPPO also recently announced an innovative line-up of charging technology. Recently, OPPO successfully revealed the 125W flash charge, 65W AirVOOC wireless flash charge, ultra-small portable 50W mini SuperVOOC charger, and 110W mini flash charger. Jeff Zhang, Chief Charging Technology Scientist at OPPO, said: "The accelerated 5G rollout worldwide as well as the increasing diversification of high-power-consumption applications including gaming and video viewing represent new challenges for the battery life of mobile phones and user charging experience. OPPO has been leading the development of fast charging ever since VOOC flash charge was launched in 2014. Now, we are committed to continuing to build on our expertise and advantages."

• Supplements