Oppo is a leading brand in the consumer technology landscape and especially in the world of smartphones where it is located between the fourth and fifth place of the best sellers. In 2023, the group, which is a global giant, has a few cards to play to weigh more in France. Here are a few things to think about.
Oppo is an essential brand in the world of smartphones – but not only. Number 4 on the world market as well as in France, the brand was able to seduce the editorial staff of Frandroid with its Find X5 Pro which quite simply won the title of smartphone of the year 2022 in our columns. Beyond that, the brand is not to be outdone in trying to bring interesting technological innovations here and there to stand out from the competition among which there are brands with a much better established reputation.
The year 2023 is still young and we therefore still have a lot to hope for from this manufacturer. What will Oppo’s year look like? We are not able to answer this question, but we can share with you our expectations for this brand.
Tease foldable smartphones
Foldable smartphone here, foldable smartphone there… We heard a lot about this new format throughout 2022. But where are they? In France, faced with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip, there are few alternatives apart from models from Huawei and Motorola which do not have the same strike force. The other brands preferred to focus first on the Chinese market before possibly trying their luck in this segment in Europe.
However, the Find N range from Oppo is very promising, again attesting to the recent Find N2 that we took in hand. Cute format, well camouflaged fold, this device really has its chances against the Galaxy Z Fold 4. However, it is not he who will land in France, but his brother, the Oppo Find N2 Flip. This clamshell model will be a tough opponent for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 instead. We know that a release is planned for quite early in 2023 in Europe, but we don’t yet know when exactly or at what price.
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There are nevertheless good reasons to hope for a quality similar to the other Find N and therefore a relevant competition against Samsung. There is no doubt that the challenge will be enticing.
Don’t settle for high end
At the house of Frandroid, we appreciate Oppo a lot for their premium smartphones, a little less on the lower price segments in the middle and entry level. The Oppo A57, for example, did not leave us with an unforgettable memory. This impression of Oppo’s disinterest in product families that do not belong to the top of the basket emerges.
The brand has also never hidden its strategy of highlighting their technological and material added value on flagship products rather than penetrating the market from below with lower-value products, but s flowing better. It’s a speech that can be heard, but for people potentially interested in the Oppo universe without being able to put a big budget, there is reason to be a little frustrated.
It would therefore be interesting to see Oppo beef up its game on these different segments under 500 euros in the manner of what we have already seen in the past with Samsung which has succeeded, on the whole, in solidifying its Galaxy A range. However, in the case of Oppo, we must remember the particular context: the brand belongs to the same group as Realme and OnePlus. The first settles well at the entry level while the second makes more and more effort on the mid-range. Oppo seems set to stay on this more elitist positioning to avoid stepping on the toes of its sister companies.
Take the place of Huawei and gain notoriety
Remember, a few years ago until May 2019, before the United States placed a heavy embargo on it, Huawei was an ogre that kept blowing the back of the neck of Samsung and Apple in terms of market share. market. The ambition of the Chinese giant was clear and not extravagant: to become world number 1. The rest of the story, we know it. The group is suffering a lot in the smartphone market because of US sanctions. However, since this decline, who can claim to have really succeeded in taking the place of Huawei?
Xiaomi is number 3 in France and enjoys strong popularity, but it would be difficult to say that it replaced Huawei since its identity is very much based on the entry and mid-range, while the ultra high-end smartphones of Huawei really had a knack for teasing big fish over 1000 euros. This is where Oppo has a card to play with its always successful Find X.
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However, Oppo still has work to do to be really known to the general public. With this in mind, the group sponsors a plethora of sporting events such as Roland-Garros and is actively working to develop this “high-end” image that Huawei could have – and still has to a certain extent. However, it takes time to achieve such a goal, progress is very gradual.
In 2023, Oppo will have several opportunities to meticulously take care of its brand image with a Find X6 Pro which already promises to take photos and, as we mentioned above, a foldable smartphone which should have relevant weapons to make noise. Moreover, speaking of the Oppo Find X6 Pro, let’s cross our fingers so that the latter finally integrates a telephoto lens a little more advanced than the x2 of last year. Going up to x3 or x5, Oppo, would be a great inspiration to be able to claim great versatility in this area.
Tick tock, the new Oppo Watch
Oppo makes smartphones, but also other products such as connected watches. Sector where France does not seem to be entitled to special attention from the brand since we were treated to a first Oppo Watch under Wear OS in 2021, an Oppo Watch Free with a proprietary OS in 2022… and that’s it.
The Oppo Watch 2 has never seen the light of day in France, while the Oppo Watch 3 launched in China already dates back to last August and does not seem to have decided to put its bags down here.
For Oppo’s next smartwatch, we would like to not be forgotten this year. Especially since the trend is to create coherent ecosystems between the different devices of the same brand. The watch can obviously play a strategic role here.
A Top 4 place threatened
As you will have understood, the year 2023 is full of challenges for the world and French number 4. Even maintaining this fourth place is not guaranteed. According to Canalys, Vivo and Oppo would be neck and neck at 9% market share worldwide, while in 2021 Oppo peaked at 11% and Vivo at 10%. The gap is narrowing and the group has therefore recorded a drop in sales of around 20%.
It’s still a little early to cry wolf, but the year is therefore pivotal in every sense of the word for the Chinese group.
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