Smartphone Market: OPPO looks to Dubai as international Launchpad

World
Europe

02:52

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO has unveiled its RENO line of devices. And the company chose the UAE as the stage for the international launch. Jacob Greaves reports from the event in Dubai.

Enter OPPO's latest bid to bolster its place in the global smartphone market. In the final quarter of 2018, the Chinese firm ranked 4th in worldwide sales. Now it's targeting the Middle East, and in particular the Gulf.

ANDY SHI, PRESIDENT OPPO MEA "This is one of the fastest growing across the whole world, and this is a very important market for OPPO business we can see the business growth and at the same time we can see the average selling price is especially high."

Those deeper pockets might explain why earlier this year OPPO moved their Middle East and Africa base from Cairo to Dubai.

JACOB GREAVES DUBAI "Compared to the likes of South-East Asia this isn't OPPO's biggest market, but they are hoping to try and double sales here in the next year, driven by the likes of this new smartphone offering, but the real change could come when 5G is readily available."

The UAE is attempting to become one of the first countries to make 5G commonplace. And here OPPO announced a so called 5G landing project aimed at intensifying development with local telecoms providers.

ANDY SHI, PRESIDENT OPPO MEA "We already launched the first 5G device that is commercially available in Switzerland just a week ago and also in the Middle East region we launched our partnership with Etisalat for our first 5G commercial test in the region and we're working with some of the leading carriers, we're targeting at being the first one to bring 5G smartphones commercially available as well."

The internet of things might be becoming more important than the selfie. But this isn't an exact science, with few precise timelines. Not least because the ecosystem required is still untested on a wide scale.

HENRY TANG, DIRECTOR OF STANDARDS OPPO "Only after the penetration rate of 5G smartphones reaches a certain threshold, general consumers will be able to enjoy the full benefits of 5G technology."

Chinese competitor Huawei is also laying its 5G foundations. Partnering with regional telecoms providers Etisalat, Du and Saudi Telecom to build infrastructure across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. By June it hopes to roll out a network in neighbouring Bahrain. OPPO isn't the only smartphone provider racing to unlock 5G's potential. JG, CGTN, Dubai.