Oppo blog: Coronavirus plays spoilsport with Find X2 launch, Reno 3 Pro headed to India

14 Feb 2020, 12:04 by Shruti Dhapola

Written by Shruti Dhapola | New Delhi | Published: February 14, 2020 5:34:06 pm

https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/02/Oppo_Reno3_Pro_1.jpg

Oppo blog: Oppo Reno 3 Pro with dual-front cameras is headed to India soon, while the flagship Find X2 has been delayed.

First, the bad news. The coronavirus outbreak has ensured that the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 is officially cancelled. Thanks to that every major smartphone manufacturer’s plans have gone for a toss, well for those who were planning to launch something new in Barcelona. This included Oppo’s big launch of the Find X2.

After all, MWC is one of the biggest events for telecom and smartphone manufacturer from around the world, and one where we typically see the next level of innovations from companies.

The Oppo Find X2’s launch has been delayed to March, though an exact date has not been set. But the impact of the coronavirus is not just on MWC 2020. Analysts are predicting it could lead to a wider disruption in supply chain if factories have to remain closed all of February or beyond that.

Canalys has predicted that product launches could be delayed given large public events are not allowed in China. It also noted in a report that while most smartphone production is not Hubei province, which is impacted, there is a “high risk that component providers will not be able to ramp up to normal capacity if the outbreak is prolonged.”

Read our previous Oppo blog here and the earlier blog here.

This is definitely not good news for Oppo given the Find X2 is an important launch for the company. The phone is launching nearly two years after the original Find X, which was pitched as a unique phone thanks to the edge-less display, the in-display fingerprint sensor and the motor-driven camera module.

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But two years is a long time in the smartphone manufacturing world, and a lot has changed since the Find X. In-display fingerprint sensors are common, the edge-display is now present event on budget phone and we know that manufacturers have fallen out of love with the pop-up camera and ‘punch-hole’ is currently ruling the market.

The punch-hole does make a lot more practical sense given a motor-driven mechanism has a limited life and there’s always the issue of the mechanical parts getting damaged. And yes, we know the Find X2 will feature all high-end specifications such as the Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB RAM, a display with 120Hz refresh rate, 65W fast charging, you name it.

But the question is: What will be that one factor to make Find X2 stand out from the rest of the phones running Snapdragon 865? That only Oppo can answer and we will know that by March, hopefully.

In India though, Oppo is gearing up for the Reno 3 Pro launch on March 2. This one has 44MP+2MP camera on the front and yes, this is a punch-hole design. It ditches the ‘Shark Fin’ style pop-up camera that we saw on last year’s Oppo Reno 2 Pro series. Oppo will have a lot of expectations with the Reno 3 series, given the Reno 2 did well for them in the Indian market.

In fact, research firm IDC put Oppo as the market leader in the $300 to $500 segment in the fourth quarter of 2019, ahead of OnePlus, which has typically dominated the space.

Oppo captured 26.8 per cent compared to OnePlus’ 24.4 per cent all thanks to the Reno 2 series. Its overall growth in the quarter was 88 per cent, and the affordable A series and Reno 2 is what helped create these numbers. Oppo will be hoping to continue this performance with the Reno 3 series, which is launching ahead of the OnePlus 8.

But don’t forget, Oppo and OnePlus are technically part of the one giant BBK Electronics family, and this includes vivo and Realme. Of course, the OnePlus products are completely different in terms of software, but in the past we have seen an uncanny resemblance in terms of designs for some Oppo and OnePlus phones such OnePlus 6 and Oppo R15 Pro, OnePlus 5T and Oppo R11S, OnePlus 5 and Oppo R11. You get the picture.

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