Oppo to invest $1.43 billion in R&D in 2019

Chinese smartphone player Oppo today announced an increase in R&D spending to RMB 10 billion (about $1.43 billion) next year - a 150 percent year-on-year increase - and that the company would continue to increase investment on a yearly basis.

With the increased R&D capital, OPPO will integrate its supply chain and build on its technical expertise to enhance the company's technological capabilities.

Furthermore, OPPO will leverage AI to develop a range of smart devices, including smart watches and smart home technologies, to explore and meet the increasingly rigid demands of consumers in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT).

"5G is a trend OPPO must embrace. In addition to striving to become the first manufacturer to launch 5G smartphones, OPPO's exploration of application opportunities in the 5G+ era will ultimately determine the value of 5G," Tony Chen Founder and CEO of OPPO.

He said, "OPPO will fully integrate 5G with applications and user insights, and continuously innovate to provide users with revolutionary, necessary, convenient and seamless experiences."

The Chinese smartphone maker has applied AI technologies across a wide range of applications including photography, facial recognition, and fingerprint identification while introducing many innovative features including an AI-powered beauty camera, 3D portrait lighting and intelligent recognition scenarios.

"The benefits brought about by AI technologies will truly be realized in the 5G era. For OPPO, AI is both a capability and a mindset, and our development prospects for AI are very broad," Chen said. By employing AI to continuously learn users' habits, OPPO smartphones are able to proactively provide better services and more personalized experiences.

"In the future, smartphones will become intelligent personal assistants - and this is something OPPO will definitely enable," Chen continued. "The smartphone is one of the best vessels for AI, but there is still considerable room for improvement. OPPO will actively embrace artificial intelligence while dedicating focus and resources to cutting-edge AI technologies and applications."

While showcasing OPPO's current R&D capabilities and future technology roadmap, this year's exhibition also facilitated a dialogue between experts from a wide range of industries, effectively opening the door to enhanced opportunities for future technological development.