China’s Oppo doubling down on R&D investment to tap 5G opportunities beyond smartphones
- Oppo, one of China’s biggest smartphone brands, is boosting its R&D spending to 50 billion yuan (US$7.1 billion) between 2020 and 2022
- It is looking to expand beyond smartphones to other 5G-enabled products such as augmented reality glasses and smart displays
The Shenzhen-based company will invest 50 billion yuan (US$7.1 billion) in R&D between 2020 and 2022, its founder and chief executive Tony Chen Yongming said in a speech at Oppo’s Inno Day event, its annual global technology convention, on Tuesday. “The arrival of the 5G era is bound to set off a new information revolution, which will become a major business opportunity for Oppo and its business partners from all industries worldwide,” he said.
Although handsets will remain the major gateway to 5G, the technology – which promises lightning fast wireless connections, reduced latency and massive capacity – has many other applications. Chen stressed in his speech that Oppo was looking to grow beyond just a smartphone company to tap other opportunities in 5G. The company has plans to introduce a slew of smart devices and services including augmented reality glasses and smart displays, he said.
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