Oppo could be the first smartphone manufacturer to bring a 5G enabled smartphone to India. The company showcased its flagship Reno 5G smartphone with Qualcomm and Jio at the India Mobile Congress (IMC). The company might soon launch the same in the country for the masses to buy. While there are no 5G networks in India as of now, at least people can be future proof by buying this handset.
The smartphone manufacturer which registered 11.8 per cent market share in the third quarter (Q3) in the country, is looking for a suitable time to introduce 5G products in the Indian market, said Sumit Walia, VP, Product and Marketing, OPPO India.
"We believe in bringing next-level technology in India at par with global. We have started working on 5G at our Hyderabad research and development centre and are significantly working on commercialising 5G devices. Right now, we are scanning the telecom landscape to examine how things will move forward. We are looking for a suitable opportunity and time to introduce 5G products in the India market," Walia told IANS.
OPPO last month unveiled plans to launch a dual-mode 5G smartphone soon. Announced by Henry Tang, OPPO's Chief 5G Scientist at the Qualcomm 5G Summit 2019 in Barcelona, the new device will be powered by Qualcomm's dual-mode 5G mobile platform and support both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) networks.
By September, OPPO filed applications for over 2,500 global patent families and declared more than 1,000 families of 5G Standard Essential Patents to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). With clocking double-digit market share in Q3, the company is looking forward to increasing its market share in 2020 with targeting $300-$500 smartphone segment in India.
"In 2020, we are focusing primarily on a $300-$500 smartphone segment. The company is looking to invest more in this segment. For this, we are aiming to launch premium smartphones and update the Reno series," said the company executive.
For OPPO, India has been a very strategic market. There is an ongoing investment of Rs 2,200 crore in the country and the company is currently manufacturing 50 million smartphones in a year at its Greater Noida factory. OPPO aims to double the capacity to 100 million smartphones by next year, said Walia.
