New Delhi: In the last few weeks, Oppo has been making a line of announcements that have given rise to a lot of discussions across the smartphone industry. The company gave away a detail to that, saying that they would no longer be using their own OxygenOS operating system, a change also being reported in Realme’s case, where they are reportedly going over to ColorOS. All these developments have raised eyebrows among many readers, questioning whether Oppo is in imminent danger of a major overhaul of its smartphone business.
Oppo has made no official announcement of a “masterplan” on the brands, but there is a clearly defined plan emerging from the changes. It seems to be bringing Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme close together without dissolving the barriers between the three different smartphone makers. The biggest modification is software. OnePlus users have been avid about using OxygenOS for its clean interface and swift performance that they offered for a couple of years now. But having to manage engineers for different software versions for Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme is a big deal, and testing is continuous. Oppo can put all its efforts into the development of OneOS and, according to reports, Realme UI, instead of having to support three different OS.
The latter might also benefit the company in terms of development costs and faster delivery of software updates. A great many of the three brands phones share a common air of similarity in hardware and software code, and so a single platform makes economic sense.
But the company’s hardware going-toward paradigm is also shifting. The features such as a processor, display, camera, battery, and charging technology are similar to what many Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme phones have seen in recent years. Some even noted that the distinctions were primarily due to the design, software, and brand of the device. Oppo can reduce duplicate work by sharing R&D and production and focus on different groups of consumers for each brand.
According to industry observers, Oppo wants to take its three smartphone brands on different missions. Oppo will surely continue to target mass premium consumers and expand its retail footprint. OnePlus will continue to be seen as a performance brand for users seeking flagship-level features, while Realme could see its dominance extend in the budget and mid-range smartphone market with its pricing.
The move will enable Oppo to meet virtually all price zones without having two brands facing head-to-head competition. The slowing global smartphone market may be another factor leading to the changes. Smartphone sales are not expanding at the same rate as they have grown over time, and firms are having to cut costs and boost efficiency. Serving all three companies with the same software teams, the same service networks, and development departments is far more cost-effective for Oppo than providing these units on a per-brand basis.
Over the last couple of years, the company has been incorporating various components of its backend into the deal, such as research and development, supply chains, charging technologies, and various camera innovations. The recent software updates seem to be another in the line of developments. It has also resulted in a few recent speculations regarding OnePlus reducing its footprint in some global markets. Oppo has faced many scares but made it clear that the company is reevaluating its business plan for the entire global market and targeting areas which offer better “long-term prospects”.
Also, Oppo has not yet taken any notice of any plan to stop selling either OnePlus or Realme. Consumers have good brand recognition for both brands. OnePlus is still in demand for high-quality smartphones, while Realme has gained huge popularity on this side of the cost spectrum. By maintaining a separation of these brand names, Oppo can market to various kinds of purchasers whilst functioning with greater effectiveness and efficiency behind the scenes.
All of these recent announcements paint a picture of a bigger ambition by Oppo, which appears to be to eventually phase out OnePlus or Realme, but instead to build a positive ecosystem for all three brands to share technology, software, and resources. This can help the company cut down on its operations and costs, while at the same time enabling it to move toward more rapid innovation and simultaneously support multiple sectors of customers with distinct brand images.
The smartphone market is becoming ever tougher, and Oppo’s approach might be just the ticket to boost its presence on the international scene. The results of the method will be determined based on whether customers like the new software changes or not, and if the company is able to preserve the singular identity that has driven the success of OnePlus and Realme in the first two years.
