Oppo to invest 50 billion yuan in smart device research
Oppo has announced it will invest 50 billion yuan ($7.11 billion) over the next three years in research and development across its entire smart devices range, including smartwatches, smart headphones, augmented reality (AR) glasses, smart home router, as well as in areas of flash charging, 5G, imaging, and software.
Oppo said the investment is part of the company's strategy to "seize 5G opportunities".
"In the face of the new 5G era, Oppo will head towards Tech Innovation 2.0. which will be driven by 'frontier technology' and 'value for user'," Oppo vice president Levin Liu said at the Oppo Inno Day 2019 in Shenzhen.
The Chinese tech company also revealed it will launch smart watches, smart wireless headphones, and 5G CPE in Q1 2020.
See also: Consumer tech spending to top $2 trillion by 2023 thanks to smart home devices and on-demand services (TechRepublic)
Liu said the idea is to expand the company's portfolio of products beyond smartphones.
"Oppo has been more than just a phone maker from the outset. In fact, smartphones have simply been a gateway for Oppo to deliver a diverse portfolio of technological services. For Oppo and even the entire industry, there won't be any company solely focusing on smartphones," Liu said.
The investment fund builds on top of Oppo's commitment last year that it would invest 10 billion yuan into 5G R&D.
At the time, the company said it had already made "significant strides forward" in its 5G smartphone development.
"5G is a significant network upgrade ... in addition to striving to become the first manufacturer to launch 5G smartphones, Oppo's exploration of application opportunities in the 5G+ era will ultimately determine the value of 5G," Oppo Australia MD Michael Tran said.
"Oppo will fully integrate 5G with applications and user insights, and continuously innovate."
Earlier this year, Oppo signed a deal with Ericsson to collaborate on 5G device testing.
Under the same deal, the pair also came to a global cross-licensing deal agreement that they would be able to use each other's 2G, 3G, and 4G patent portfolios.
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