Oppo's newly-launched R9 smartphone received an overwhelming response in the Chinese market and the opening day sales are a proof of that. The selfie-focused camera smartphone sold more than 180,000 units in just one day through online and offline networks, GizmoChina quoted the company as saying, adding that it managed to attract such sizable attention despite the competition of low-cost devices from brands like Xiaomi, LeEco or Meizu.
According to the report, Oppo R9 was strategically promoted to attract the consumers with weeks of star-studded campaigns, which significantly contributed towards the success. Also, the two main features of the R9 — its camera and the fast charging technology — fueled the hype.
Oppo launched the R9 and R9 Plus handsets in China last week and confirmed the sale dates for both smartphones as March 24 and April 12, respectively. The response towards the R9 Plus remains to be seen, but the difference in price between the two phones isn't huge to turn off potential customers.
The R9 smartphone costs ¥2,799 (approximately Rs. 29,000), while the R9 Plus has been priced at ¥3,299 (approximately Rs. 34,000) in China. International availability of both phones remains unknown, but if either handset interests you, there is a way to import it from China.
Oppo R9 and R9 Plus smartphones are available on OPPOMART for $499 and $599, respectively. There is indeed a difference in price as the original price of the R9 in China is $416, but that's the price one must pay for importing the handset. Sadly, India is not listed among the countries where OPPOMART would ship the handsets, but the U.S., the U.K. and Belgium are.
Buyers can choose from standard gold and rose gold colours for both R9 and R9 Plus smartphones.
Oppo's official Facebook page has been teasing new "selfie expert" smartphone to be launched soon. So far, the company has shown ultra slim bezels and fast fingerprint scanner, both of which match the R9 description. It's only a matter of time before the company makes it official.
In terms of the specs, Oppo R9 sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display, while the R9 Plus packs a 6 inch screen. Both phones have a fingerprint scanner placed on the Home button and powered by Android 5.1.1 Lollipop-based ColorOS 3.0.
The R9 smartphone features a 16-megapixel front-facing camera with 78.1-degree wide-angle lens, PDAF and f/2.0 aperture. On the rear side of the device, there is a 13MP snapper supported by an LED flash and f/2.2 aperture. The R9 Plus takes the notch up on the rear camera with ony's IMX298 CMOS sensor with f/2.0 aperture and keeps the front snapper of the same configuration as the R9.
Oppo R9 is powered by 2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755) processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The R9 Plus is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 (MSM8976) processor clocking speeds at 1.8GHz, which is backed by 4GB RAM. The R9 Plus comes in two variants, 64GB and 128GB, and has dual SIM slots, one of which also works as a microSD card slot.
The bigger size of the R9 Plus enables the handset to house a bigger battery measuring 4120mAh while the R9 settles for a 2850mAh unit. Like all other Oppo smartphones, the R9 and R9 Plus support VOOC flash charge technology.
