Oppo
Smiley faces to make tech friendly and inspiring
Founded in 2004, by Tony Chen in Dongguan, China, Oppo is an innovator of smart devices, with a mission to create "Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World" and a focus on learning, productivity, entertainment, and healthcare. With 40,000 employees it has ten smart manufacturing facilities around the world, as well as a global design centre in London.
Oppo, the Chinese smart device manufacturer has a history rooted in spreading optimism and inspiration through technology.
Their first mobile phone, adorably named the “Smiley Face,” was launched in 2008. The smiley-face design symbolized Oppo’s belief that technology can be friendly and uplifting.
A recent article in Forbes started “If you are an avid fan of the Wimbledon Championships and Roland-Garros, the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world, or the UEFA Champions League, the annual soccer tournament followed by millions around the world, you would probably have seen the Oppo brand name emblazoned on sideline banners and billboards.”
“In the world of sports and in Oppo’s corporate culture, there are a lot of common values and beliefs. We celebrate our shared humanity, and we express this humanity by performing fairly and honestly to the best of our ability, like a true sportsman,” says William Liu, Oppo’s CMO.
In June 2016, Oppo became the largest smartphone manufacturer in China, selling its phones at more than 200,000 retail outlets. In 2018, Oppo was the top smartphone brand in China in 2019 and was ranked fifth in market share worldwide.
In 2021, Oppo announced that they were acquiring OnePlus, a major phone manufacturer. This deal was extended in 2022, with OnePlus becoming one of Oppo’s subsidiaries and sharing major components with Oppo phones, processors, screens, and even the phones themselves.
In 2022, Oppo unveiled its new brand proposition: “Inspiration Ahead” (Chinese characters: “微笑前行,” meaning “Moving onwards with a smile”). This philosophy emphasizes doing what is right, maintaining composure in the face of challenges, and empowering customers for a better lifestyle using OPPO products and technologies. The corporate value, encapsulated in the term “本分” (meaning “Being duty bound”), reflects a commitment to staying focused, filtering out distractions, and returning to basics1.
Oppo’s approach to innovation revolves around its “3+N+X” technology development strategy:
- 3: Combining hardware, software, and services technologies to create an integrated smart lifestyle for users worldwide.
- N: The Competence Center, championing artificial intelligence, security, privacy, multimedia, and interconnectivity.
- X: A flexible factor that allows OPPO to adapt and evolve as needed.
Over the years, Oppo has continuously updated its product strategy: From the R series to the Reno series. From giving up on the Find series to restarting it. Upgrading the Find X series. It is focused on cutting-edge trends like 5G and AIoT, Oppo invests heavily in research and development to create competitive products.
Its software range, built around the ColorOS operating system, makes devices more user-friendly and intelligent for our 500 million users worldwide. The Oppo App Market, Oppo Cloud also deliver smarter, more convenient, and better-connected services.