As the economy continues to recover and consumer demand rises, the smartphone industry has ushered in an opportunity to bottom out. IDC previously predicted that China's smartphone market shipments will usher in an inflection point in the fourth quarter of 2023, achieving the first rebound in nearly 10 quarters and continuing to recover in 2024.
Under the boom of AI large models, a race for technological innovation is also kicking off. Major mobile phone manufacturers have launched blockbuster new products, and mainstream flagship products have also entered the high-end market.
On January 8, the OPPO Find X7 series was officially released, taking the lead in showing a series of dazzling technological advances at the beginning of 2024: the first earpiece/hands-free dual-mode satellite call of a smartphone, the first device-side application of a 7 billion parameter large model, and the first Android full-focal length 4K Dolby Vision HDR video shooting......
It can be said that OPPO is trying to bring another innovative sample to the industry, bringing more options beyond Apple and Huawei to the high-end flagship mobile phone market.
The 7 billion model landed on the mobile phone for the first time to solve the "last mile" of satellite communication
At present, AI large models have become the ecological base of many terminals, and it is imperative for mobile phone manufacturers to enter the game to make AI large models, and it is also one of the breakthrough directions to solve the dilemma of the mobile phone industry. In 2023, all major mobile phone manufacturers have released their own AI large model matrix, and OPPO also announced that the first device-side application 7 billion parameter large model will be the first to be applied on the Find X7 series.
Thanks to the new large model capability, the Find X7 brings a new AIGC elimination feature. Compared with other models on the same platform, which can only support human body recognition, Find X7 not only supports the recognition and segmentation of more than 120 types of subjects, but also realizes hair-level segmentation, up to 6 multi-subject separation, and the filling and natural generation of ultra-large area images, so that practical people can create and edit freely.
In addition, Find X7 also brings the first AI large model speech summarization. Compared with other 1 billion parameter models, Find X7's 7 billion parameter model can understand the conversation content more accurately and generate a summary content with clear focus and details with higher "IQ" comprehension ability.
The new Xiaobu brings more than 100 intelligent capabilities, including text-to-image, image-to-text, AI article summarization, and more, to provide users with a highly practical next-generation AI experience in all aspects of their daily lives.
In addition to the device-side model, satellite communication is also the next battlefield for mobile phone manufacturers to compete. According to the official announcements, OPPO, Honor, and vivo have all indicated that they will be equipped with satellite communication technology in the new generation of flagship mobile phones.
Compared with Huawei's development, OPPO has gone one step further to solve the "last mile" problem of satellite communication, and the Find X7 Ultra satellite communication version realizes handset/hands-free dual-mode satellite calling, leading the evolution of satellite walkie-talkies to satellite mobile phones, thus promoting satellite communication technology into the 2.0 stage.
Generally speaking, users use satellite communication in an emergency, and after the phone is connected, the user will subconsciously put the mobile phone to the ear to talk. If the satellite communication signal is disconnected because the mobile phone does not support the handset mode, it is likely to delay the call for help in an emergency. The OPPO Find X7 series allows users to freely use the handset mode or hands-free mode, which is no longer limited by how they can use it.
It is understood that the solution of the "last mile" problem of satellite communication is due to the satellite antenna pattern control technology released by OPPO. This technology can dynamically adjust the radiation pattern of the satellite antenna, so that the antenna beam is dynamically aligned with the satellite, so that users can maintain connection and talk status with the satellite in both handset and hands-free call postures.
Another sample of innovation
Independent innovation has become the core keyword of China's mobile phone brand. Especially in recent years, the innovation of Chinese mobile phone manufacturers seems to have pressed the "acceleration button", in the "eye of the storm" of global scientific and technological competition, domestic mobile phones have precipitated profound scientific and technological strength in the fierce Red Sea competition for many years, and handed over a dazzling market "answer sheet".
Under the concept of good-style innovation, OPPO has made breakthroughs in device-side large models and satellite communications. The supporting force behind it is that OPPO insists on using technology as a means to think about products based on user needs.
For example, the OPPO Find N3 Collector's Edition pioneered the VIP mode, allowing users to enter the mode by simply pushing the three-segment button on the side middle frame, completely turning off sensitive permissions such as camera, microphone, and positioning, while OPPO Find N2 Flip is the first in the industry to use a 3.26-inch large external screen, allowing small folding products to communicate with WeChat after folding, using Douyin, Xiaohongshu and other software, improving the user's experience.
On the straight flagship of this generation of Find X7 series, you can also see OPPO's technical reserves, as well as in-depth insight into the actual needs of users. For example, the super light and shadow image engine will directly drive the development of the industry in the integration of software and hardware in computing light and shadow, which is a new technical benchmark for light and shadow computing; at the same time, OPPO through the super light and shadow image engine, for the first time, jointly with MediaTek and Dolby to achieve Android full focal length 4K Dolby Vision HDR video shooting, which is another key milestone in the industry's progress towards the HDR era.
Based on the insight into the needs of users, the OPPO Find X7 series has launched a package of services "International Getaway". Combined with the ubiquitous service capabilities of Pantanal, the service card on the desktop can be intelligently and sensitively prompted to the user, so as to realize the service to find people, rather than people looking for services, so that users can "go abroad smoothly and become locals with one click".
The business card of Chinese enterprises going overseas
In 2024, the high-end and globalization strategy will still be the key for mobile phone manufacturers to maintain their competitiveness, and OPPO has taken the lead in the layout and seized the opportunity in the global market.
According to Liu Zuohu, chief product officer of OPPO, OPPO's current overseas market sales have accounted for more than 60%, and in the past 20 years, OPPO's footprint has spread to more than 60 countries and regions on five continents, with 260,000 stores worldwide. Among them, the market share in 20 countries and regions ranks among the top three, and in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, the market share has reached the first place. And in the $600 price segment, that is, the high-end mobile phone market of more than 4,000 yuan, OPPO ranks among the top three in 21 countries and regions.
According to IDC data, in the third quarter of 2023, OPPO surpassed Samsung in the Southeast Asian mobile phone market with a market share of 18.3% and topped the list. This is a further step forward in the overall regional market after beating Samsung in the second quarter to rank first in Cambodia, Indonesia and other countries. In the Chinese market, OPPO ranked third in the market share of high-end smartphones above $600 in the first half of 2023, behind Apple and Huawei.
After two years of sluggish markets, the global mobile phone market has bottomed out. IDC predicts that global smartphone shipments will increase by 7.3% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, and will continue to recover in 2024, with mobile phone shipments expected to increase by 3.8% year-on-year next year, and will continue to maintain single-digit growth in the next few years, with a five-year compound growth rate of about 1.4%.
With the launch of the imaging flagship Find X7 series, it will further consolidate the process of OPPO's high-end and globalization, and will also help it grasp the upward "outlet" of the mobile phone market in 2024 and make greater breakthroughs.