OPPO, the world 4th largest smartphone vendor, introduced a new product series today in Shanghai China. The new lineup is called Reno. Our analysts from Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) services attended the event.
Reno is positioned below OPPO’s flagship FIND X series, and is likely to replace volume-generating R series in the future. OPPO is clearly eyeing the lucrative premium segment and eager for the brand up-lift.
Reno has two major key selling points: optical zoom camera and the notch-less display .
- Optical zoom camera: The vanilla version of Reno comes with a 48MP+5MP rear camera module and offers 5x optical zoom capability. The advance version of Reno, which is named Reno 10x Zoom, features a 48MP+8MP+13MP rear camera module with a fancy 10x optical zoom.
- Notch-less display: Reno comes with a cool-looking notch-less design and its screen-to-body ratio reaches 93% according to the vendor. Behind it is a unique side-scrolling front camera module hidden inside body. The innovative design helps Reno to stand out in the premium category which is currently dominated by notch design and punch-hole design.
The vanilla variant of Reno is equipped with Qualcomm 710 chipset, 6.4 inch enhanced AMOLED display, 16MP front camera, and 3680mAh battery. Its retail price varies from RMB2999 (USD445) to 3599 (USD535), depending on the memory size. The advance version is powered by Qualcomm 855 chipset and 4065mAh battery. Its retail price ranges from RMB3999 (USD595) to RMB4799 (USD715) for different memory combination. In addition, OPPO is going to launch a 5G version of Reno in Western Europe first via the partnership with Swisscom.
Overall, we are impressed by the innovation and uniqueness of OPPO Reno. We are glad to see that OPPO has switched its marketing-driven strategy to innovation-driven approach, which we believe is more sustainable for OPPO to grow momentum. We view the launch of Reno series will strengthen OPPO’s position in premium segment and will help the vendor for brand up-lift. We expect the new Reno will drive up OPPO’s ASP in the upcoming quarters and improve its margin.
But it is worth-noting that the brand-lifting process will take time and OPPO needs patience for strategy execution. In addition, OPPO in the short run needs to manage the cannibalization risk between Reno and R series. We noticed that before Reno’s launch OPPO has lowered R series price.
The competition in the premium segment will be intensified in Android camp in 2019.