Oppo (stylized in lowercase) is a private Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer and technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong.[2]
Founded in 2004, its major product lines include smartphones, smart devices, audio devices, power banks, and other electronic products.
The company is one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, with around 9% of the global market share, and 600 million global monthly active users across more than 60 markets. The company is also in the top three smartphone brands by sales in 20 regional markets, competing with major smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi.[3]
Oppo also owns other smartphone brands such as Realme and OnePlus.[4]
History
The brand name "Oppo" was registered in China in 2001 and launched in 2004 by Tony Chen in Dongguan, China. In 2005, they introduced their first device internationally, the Oppo X3 MP3 player.[5] Since then, the company has expanded to over 50 countries and become a major player in electronic devices around the world.[5]
In June 2016, Oppo became the largest smartphone manufacturer in China, selling its phones at more than 200,000 retail outlets.[6]
In 2018, Oppo Digital announced that they were discontinuing their disc player business in major markets, and focusing on mobile devices.
In 2019, Oppo was ranked fifth in global smartphone market share.[7]
In 2024, according to data from International Data Corporation (IDG), Oppo ranked fourth in the global smartphone market, securing 8.8% of the total market share with over 103.1 million shipments in 2023.
Branding
The South Korean boy band 2PM prepared a song known as "Follow Your Soul" in a promotional deal with Oppo for launching its brand in Thailand in 2010. In June 2015, the company signed an agreement with FC Barcelona to become a sponsor of the Spanish football club.
In 2016, the Philippine Basketball Association made Oppo its official smartphone partner, starting at the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup.
Oppo hires celebrity endorsers in Vietnam. Sơn Tùng M-TP endorsed three smartphone units: Neo 5, Neo 7, and F1s. Oppo made a sponsorship to one of Vietnam's top-rated reality shows, The Face Vietnam.[9][10]
In 2017, Oppo won the bid to sponsor the India national cricket team, which allowed their logo to be used on the team's kits from 2017 to 2019.[11]
In 2019, Oppo became a sponsoring partner of the French Open
Products
Smartphones
Headphones and amplifiers
Released in 2015, the HA-2, was a portable version of the HA-1 amp/DAC, which featured a battery pack option and a stitched leather casing. The phone played music in real-time to the HA-2 (via the included Android micro USB cable or iOS lightning cable, or USB cable if from PC).
It can also be charged using an included "rapid charger" charging kit. The battery pack feature can only be used simultaneously while the HA-2 is used to play music if the playing (source) device is an Apple iOS device. In October 2016, an updated version was released with a new DAC chip and now named HA-2SE. Otherwise, it was the same as the HA-2.
Smartwatches
Oppo launched its first smartwatch, the OPPO Watch, on 6 March 2020 in the Chinese domestic market. The next year, they followed up with the OPPO Watch 2, then in 2022 with the Watch 3 Pro, and in 2024 with the Watch 4 Pro.[15]
Research and development
VOOC
VOOC (Voltage Open Loop Multi-step Constant-Current Charging) is a fast charging method for Oppo phones unveiled in 2014.[16][17][18] VOOC comes in a few variations:
- VOOC 2.0 (2015), same as the first version that was introduced in 2014, which operates at 5V/4A.
- SuperVOOC (2016), a successor of VOOC 2.0 with 10 V/5 A (50W). It charges a two-cell battery in series.[19] It is based on "low voltage pulse" charging that works in conjunction with a customized battery.[20]
Criticism
Germany
In 2022, Finnish telecommunications equipment supplier Nokia filed a lawsuit accusing Oppo of using its technology patents without paying a license fee. In August, a German court halted sales of Oppo smartphones.[31]
India
Oppo has also faced challenges in India, a market it expanded into in 2014. In July 2022, the Indian government announced a fine of 43.8 billion rupees ($550 million at the time) against Oppo's local subsidiary for tax evasion.[31]
Thailand
In 2025, Oppo and Realme phones sold in Thailand came with a preinstalled illegal loan app that could be disabled but not uninstalled.
See also
- Oppo Digital, an independently operated division of Oppo specialized in designing and marketing audio and video equipment.
- ColorOS
- List of Oppo products
External links
References
- About OPPO OPPO Global, retrieved 11 May 2024^
- Christele Harrouk. ZHA Wins Competition to Design OPPO's New Headquarters in Shenzhen ArchDaily, 29 January 2020, retrieved 1 May 2025^
- Maishi Xie, Mingqiang He. Dongguan's Chang'an Town innovated into global smart device hub