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OPPO launched its first global foldable smartphone yesterday, the OPPO Find N2 Flip. For that occasion, OPPo’s President of Overseas Sales and Service, Billy Zhang, discussed foldable phones with Forbes. He basically revealed that OPPO has big plans for foldable smartphones moving forward.
OPPO has big plans for foldable smartphones, and sees them as a pathway for growth
The main takeaway from that interview is that OPPO is investing big into foldables in order to grow. He said that the overall smartphone market decreased in terms of sales last year, but the same cannot be said for foldables.
The foldable smartphone market has seen considerable growth. That goes for both the global market, and OPPO’s home market. OPPO sees a great opportunity in foldable phones, which is why it has been focusing on them for a long time now.
Billy Zhang said the following: “We are confident about the evolution of this product, and the technologies related to foldable phones. That is why, in the future, we will be setting foldable phones as our first priority in product strategy, product investment, sales, and marketing”.
OPPO has been working on foldable smartphones for a long time now
He said that the company worked through six prototype devices, and published over 1,600 patents as part of its 5-year investment plan. He did note that OPPO did most of this behind closed doors.
Many people have the wrong perception. OPPO has been working on foldables as long as Samsung, or close to it, it would seem, but it did not publicize it as much as Samsung did. That’s something Billy Zhang wanted to point out.
The company is taking a different approach than Samsung
OPPO is taking a different approach than Samsung entirely. Not only did it not publicize every step of the way, but it’s also going to market with a clamshell foldable, not a tablet-like foldable.
Why is that? Well, Zhang says that a flip phone “offers a familiar experience to the traditional bar-type phones, while providing the great compactness of a pocket-sized and attractive design. That means there is no learning cost for users to enjoy a brand new experience”.
It seems like OPPO believes this will be an easier transition for people. Still, it’s a shame that OPPO didn’t deliver the Find N2 as well, as we found out it’s a truly great smartphone. Some users in markets outside of China would likely enjoy it quite a bit.
OPPO will have to compete with Apple as well, at one point
In the interview, Forbes did bring up Apple, as the Cupertino giant will, sooner or later, release a foldable as well. Zhang was asked how OPPO plans to deal aka compete with Apple. He said the following: “That’s why all manufacturers should try to innovate. We need to compete against Apple, and Apple holds the majority of the market share in the premium segment. It’s necessary for Android manufacturers to find some differentiation”.
OPPO has already invested big in foldables, and it seems like the company doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Their foldable devices ended up being quite popular in China, so it remains to be seen if OPPO can get some traction in other markets.