OPPO India VP on company's grip on present & sight on future: Exclusive

OPPO's recent launch of its Reno 4 Pro and the beautiful smartwatch has garnered a lot of praise for the Chinese brand. Despite the competition from existing rivals, OPPO has managed extraordinary attraction for its new products in India. After having tested the Reno 4 Pro ourselves, we can see what's the fuzz all about.

But critics have highlighted some grey areas in the Reno 4 Pro, which we set out to gain some clarity upon. In an exclusive interview with IBTimes, OPPO India VP and R&D head Tasleem Arif, spoke not just about the Reno 4 Pro, but also touched upon various topics of what lies ahead for the company in India.

Here are the excerpts from our interview with Arif:

OPPO Reno 4 Pro brings the best of certain features but doesn't bag all of the industry's top-of-the-line specs like its chipset. What's the reason?

Being the leader in the technology space, at OPPO all our devices are crafted to bring in suitable features as per our user needs. For us, consumer satisfaction is of the utmost importance. Their demands and needs evolve as rapidly as technology and therefore curating products that meet their every demand and need are eminent to our growth trajectory. With our latest offering the Reno 4 Pro, we ensured we are bringing a product that offers consumers an overall premium power-packed experience.

Taking the Reno legacy ahead with the OPPO Reno 4 Pro, we have continued to innovate by striking the perfect balance between functionality and a thin, lightweight industrial design. We understand the need for faster charging for our consumers and addressed it with the fastest and safest charging technology available in the market.

According to the report by Cybermedia Research, battery life is the second most (61%) important factor after camera (65%) for consumers while buying a smartphone. Hence, the Reno 4 Pro supports up to 10V/6.5A, 65W Flash Charging, and it's 4000mAh battery can be fully charged in 36 minutes. Reno 4 Pro is an India first device with a 90Hz 3D curved display offering premium experience in this segment. The smartphone is designed to deliver an ultra-smooth, premium, and enriching experience. Reno 4 Pro also takes ahead the legacy of the Reno Series with innovative imaging features that empower user's creativity to express themselves. With Reno 4 Pro and its exemplary performance, users will be able to "Sense the Infinite" possibilities.

We believe in letting our products talk for us, and we got an overwhelming response and love from our valued customers on Reno 4 Pro, we smashed its first sale record by over–achieving the goal by over 200%.

OPPO Watch is finally here after a long wait. What are your expectations from the IoT product in India?

OPPO IoT's vision is to help people lead more intelligent lives in various scenarios with the application of multi-devices, that not only simplifies things for consumers but allows them to spend more time on things that matter. Our IoT product strategy is rooted in user needs centering around four personal application scenarios, family, office, and travel - focusing on the key portal devices, open connection capabilities, and building an open ecosystem.

In the same effect, we launched the OPPO Smart Watch recently. It is the world's first smartwatch powered by a dual-curved AMOLED display, is stylish, versatile, and intuitive and is an ideal companion for consumers adding panache to their style. It is also the perfect accessory for easy switching between professional to personal seamlessly with Google apps and services. The products received an overwhelming response from the consumers and the media as well.

With the launch of OPPO Watch in India, OPPO's 3-piece smart kit, comprising of a smartphone, smartwatch, and headphones, has established the foundation of our IoT ecosystem, and the product line has now entered a phase of rapid development. We will continue exploring the field of smart devices and the Internet of things to converge products and services into its ecosystem.

What's next for OPPO's IoT product portfolio in India?

At, OPPO we have worked to introduce the best in class technology to the world. We don't just talk about being driven by innovation, it is in the very core of our philosophy. We have worked over the years to bring forth devices that enrich the user experience and will continue to do so.

As I mentioned earlier that the world is progressing to a more connected ecosystem and technologies like IoT, AI, and Machine learning will chart the course for user experience in the future. Our teams across the world are working to build on our legacy of not only introducing multiple industry firsts but also bringing the technology to our customers and thus making our products worth their investments.

We have recently expanded our bouquet of product offerings with a range of IoT devices in the Indian market. In line with their vision to enhance a holistic experience to their customers, we launched the OPPO Watch in India. Prior to that, we had also launched the Enco W31 and Enco M31 headphones. These products in the IoT portfolio have been warmly welcomed and appreciated by our consumers.

The OPPO Enco W31 true wireless headphones are infused with OPPO's pioneering Bluetooth technology and expertise in audio. From their binaural low-latency Bluetooth transmission to their ergonomic design, these headphones optimize gaming synchronization, noise cancellation during calls, sound quality, and more. The OPPO Enco M31 are neckband-style wireless headphones which support high-definition sound quality comes equipped with Bluetooth 5. This wireless headphone comes with a Hi-Res Wireless certification an LDAC support for ultra-clear, high-quality audio that lets you enjoy music in its purest form.

Additionally, we will also be announcing two more products in our IoT portfolio soon which includes a power bank that will support 18W flash charging and has 12-factor safety assurance. We will be sharing the information around our second product soon.

With the evolition of the Indian market, be it fierce competition or big push for local companies, how is OPPO preparing to sail through unscathed?

OPPO is committed to provide users with the latest technology and launch products that meet the ever-evolving user demands. We had opened our R&D Facility in Hyderabad in 2018 to understand and innovate to meet the needs of the Indian consumers. The facility employs more than 350 people now.

In the next three years, OPPO will continue to focus on 5G / 6G, AI, AR, big data and other cutting-edge technologies, and to support this OPPO will invest over Rs. 50,000 crores toward R&D to build the core underlying hardware, software, and system capabilities to integrate all of OPPO's products and its users into an ecosystem.

We will also continue to promote the development of its ecosystem, ink more partnerships, break boundaries, leverage the strengths that channels, developers, content providers, upstream and downstream supply chain partners, scientific research institutions, and cross-border enterprises have to offer.

We are working with state governments in Kerala and Telangana to boost the start-ups in the respective states. As part of these partnerships we want to bolster innovation in India, in line with the Government's vision. As part of these MoUs, we are systematically developing and supporting start-ups and entrepreneurs working in areas specific to camera and image processing, battery, networks (5G), system performance, payments, Artificial Intelligence, and gaming. OPPO has also signed up an MOU with IIT Hyderabad to hire new talent for its Hyderabad R&D center.