Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Ltd, commonly referred to as OPPO, is a Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communications company headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong. It is a subsidiary of BBK Electronics Corporation along with OnePlus, Vivo, and Realme. Its major product lines include smartphones, audio devices, Blu-ray players, and other electronic products.
History
The brand name OPPO was registered in China in 2001 and launched in 2004. Since then, they have expanded to all parts of the world. In June 2016, OPPO became the biggest smartphone manufacturer in China, selling its phones at more than 200,000 retail outlets. OPPO was the top smartphone brand in China in 2019 and was ranked No. 5, in market share, worldwide.
Branding
Korean boy band2PM prepared a song known as "Follow Your Soul" in a promotional deal with OPPO for launching its brand in Thailand in 2010. In June 2015, the company signed an agreement with FC Barcelona to sponsor the Spanish football club. In 2016, the Philippine Basketball Association tied up with this company as its official smartphone partner, beginning with the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup which began on 10 February. OPPO also hires celebrity endorsers in Vietnam, especially Sơn Tùng M-TP who endorses three smartphone units like Neo 5, Neo 7 and F1s. OPPO made a sponsorship to one of Vietnam's top-rated reality shows, The Face Vietnam. In October 2017, OPPO Thailand launched a new ad of OPPO F5 smartphone with a new ad presenter: famous Thai actor, Nadech Kugimiya. OPPO Malaysia also launched a new OPPO F5 smartphone with Fattah Amin and Ayda Jebat as their brand ambassadors. In 2017, OPPO won the bid to sponsor the Indian national cricket team and has achieved the rights to display their logo on the team's kits from 2017 to 2022. Within this period the Indian national cricket team will play 259 International matches consisting of 62 Tests, 152 ODIs, and 45 T20 Internationals. This number also includes the 2019 World Cup in England and 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia. The current base price for bilateral matches involving India has been set at Rs 4.1 crore and for Asian Cricket Council and International Cricket Council matches, it is Rs 1.56 crore - almost a four-fold increase from its earlier rate. In 2019, OPPO became a sponsoring partner of the French OpenGrand Slam tennis tournament that is held in Roland-Garros, Paris. The same year, they also became a sponsoring partner of The Wimbledon Championships for 5 years as the first official smartphone partner. In 2019, according to a survey conducted by Numr Research, a market research company in India, OPPO emerged as the brand with highest Net Promoter Score in India
Products
Phones
Headphones and amplifiers
In 2014, OPPO released a number of high end headphones and amplifiers. The flagship PM-1 and PM-2 headphones along with the HA-1 desktop amplifier have been heavily promoted in the audio community. One blogger declares the PM-1 is "near to perfect". Released in 2015, the HA-2, was a portable version of the HA-1 amp/DAC which featured a battery pack option as well as a stitched leather casing. The phone played music in real-time to the HA-2. It also can be charged using an included "rapid charger" charging kit. The battery pack feature can only be used simultaneously while the HA-2 is used to play music if the playing device is an Apple iOS device. In October 2016 an updated version was released with a new DAC chip and now named HA-2SE. Otherwise, it was the same as the HA-2.
Smartwatches
Oppo launched its first smartwatch Oppo Watch in 2020 in its home market in China.
Controversies
In March 2017, the company saw a protest over an insult to the Indian national flag: while on an inspection of the unit, Suhahu, a Chinese and senior official of the company, allegedly tore apart posters of the flag and put them in the dustbin. It was followed by a mass resignation of the Punjab service unit.
