Oppo to launch India-centric smartphone sub-brand on Amazon

Oppo wants to challenge Xiaomi with its own India-exclusive smartphones.

| Published: Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 12:20 [IST]

Oppo has announced that it would be launching a new sub-brand. It will exclusive to the Indian market in partnership with Amazon India. The company will officially unveil the new sub-brand on May 1.

The e-commerce platform Amazon.in also rolled out a "Notify Me" page dedicated to the new brand promoting the technology and design of the smartphone alongside the brand's after sales service. AS of now there's no information on the devices the brand would carry, but the teaser hints at a smartphone for the local markets.

The new move can be a part of Oppo's strategy to go head to head with Xiaomi who seems to have dominated the market by bringing India-exclusive products and exploring new distribution channels both online and offline.

A recent report by Counterpoint showed Oppo grabbing 5.8 percent of the market share in the first quarter of 2018 in India. While Xiaomi on the other hand controlled 31.1 percent of the market.

Recently Oppo also launched its A3 smartphone in China. Priced at CNY 2,099 (approx. Rs. 22,100), the smartphone is available for purchase in the country. However, the A3 can be bought at a special introduction price of CNY 1,999 (approx. Rs. 21,000). The smartphone comes in color options like Black, Silver, Pink and Red.

Talking of the specifications, the device sports a 6.2-inch full-HD+ (1080×2280 pixels) LTPS display with a pixel density of 405ppi and an aspect ratio of 19:9. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P60 processor clocked up to 2GHz paired with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of inbuilt storage. The storage space is further expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The smartphone comes equipped with a 16MP rear camera with a dual-tone LED flash and an aperture size of f/1.8. For selfies, there is an 8MP selfie camera with an aperture size of f/2.2.

The device runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based ColorOS 5.0. A 3,400mAh battery powers the entire package. On the connectivity front, it offers 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, Micro-USB with OTG, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Sensors onboard include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, and a proximity sensor.