FOR a generation so obsessed with taking pictures and videos of almost everything they do, it can’t be denied that people have already considered it a necessary if not, the only benchmark to consider in buying a smartphone.
For years, phone brands have been in a rat race to try and stump rival manufacturers in one major category–the camera. And with the advent of the social media and the vast expanse of platforms to be able to share these content, that’s definitely understandable.
In a survey conducted by GSM Arena, a reliable review site for the latest gadgets, 98.6% of polled users frequently utilize the camera of their phones, putting the camera as one of the most important points buyers consider in purchasing a smartphone.
Consumers have long realized the benefits of a good camera on their smartphones, and phone companies have readily submitted themselves religiously to comply with this. But compared to others, nothing compares to one of the rising stars in the smartphone industry–OPPO.
People might mistake OPPO as a relative newcomer in the industry, but the company has been around some time now. And with the strides and noise it has been making recently through its innovative selfie-centric phones, consumers are starting to take notice.
Enter Best Selfie Smartphone
OPPO’s latest masterpiece is its F1 line, which started this “selfie rennaissance.”
With OPPO F1, people were presented a premium selfie phone without the hefty price tag. Its 13 megapixel rear camera coupled with its 8MP front shooter proved to be a niche in the smartphone industry to constantly improve their ‘selfie game,’ making it Manila Standard’s Best Selfie Smartphone.
OPPO’s flagship selfie phone to date really put premium on its front facing camera. It was always a standard for phones to have the main shooter at the back have more MPs than its secondary counterpart at the front. But clearly, OPPO doesn’t abide by standards as the F1s clearly defied expectations by introducing a 16 megapixel front camera with a 13MP main shooter, setting a hallmark for other brands to try and emulate.
OPPO has made waves in the Philippines, as the F1s sold 19,000 units in the first three days of release, thanks in part to the likes of singer Sarah Geronimo as well as recent brand ambassador Alden Richards, who are promoting the smartphone brand.
In a report from Counterpoint Research, OPPO seized a total of 16.6 percent in market share to rule the mobile phone scene and topple long-time market leaders Xiaomi and Huawei. It was an exponential jump for OPPO as compared to the same quarter last year, wherein the company only accounted for 9.9% of the shares.
OPPO’s success didn’t come overnight, but a result of frequent innovations and improvements in all of the gadgets they release. The phone brand’s rise is the outcome of hard work and bold ventures in a growing mobile industry.
These notable feats include the Finder which was OPPO’s thinnest smartphone at the time of its release, and the N1, which was reportedly the world’s first smartphone with a rotating camera. But the brand didn’t stop there as they revealed the N3 next, the industry’s first automated rotating camera. They also introduced the VOOC Flash Charging their own brand of rapid-charging technology, as well as the PI, OPPO’s image processing software.
Then, the Find 7 made a splash. The OPPO Find 7, unveiled in 2014, is the first phone that can make 50MP photos via software. And in the last few years, the company has focused its sights on the endless possibilities of a do-it-all camera, both front and back.
Released just recently in China, the OPPO R9s boast of cameras that can shoot 16-megapixels both at the front and back, while the main and secondary 16MP shooter and 6” R9s Plus will be launched just before the year ends. OPPO also tied this a brandished ‘beautification plus’ selfie panorama mode software feature, although these handsets are only available in China, at least for now.
But with Christmas fast approaching, OPPO has made its case as the smartphone choice for the discerning gift giver. If Filipinos want in on this selfie renaissance, they now know just what smartphone to wish for.