Oppo's smartphone sales in China have skyrocketed recently, including remarkable shipment performance of its foldable models, making Oppo the country's largest foldable smartphone manufacturer, according to market sources.
Four years ago, Samsung was the first to launch a foldable smartphone. Ever since, China-based brands such as Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi have successively launched foldable models. Now that the design of foldable smartphones has stabilized, brand vendors are looking to adopt a dual-flagship business model that includes both slate and foldable form factors.
As shipments of foldable smartphones increase, the cost of components decreases, and sales prices approach a sweet spot, industry players estimate the demand for foldable smartphones will continue to expand.
In recent years, Huawei's foldable smartphones have been boosted by brand power and product capabilities, allowing it to grab half of the foldable smartphone market in China. However, competition in this market began heating up in the second half of 2022, as Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor, and Vivo improved the design and capabilities of their foldable models.
Industry observers estimate that Chinese foldable smartphone shipments could exceed 5 million in 2023. In the first quarter of 2023, Oppo overtook Samsung Electronics and Huawei to become China's top foldable smartphone brand.
Despite continued sluggishness in global mobile phone sales, Oppo has seen its sales in Southeast Asia and Russia increase, which could help up its chances of breaking into the top three for global mobile phone sales in 2023.
Oppo is currently third behind Apple and Samsung in terms of mobile phone sales in Taiwan, with 11.6% of the Taiwan market in May 2023. The launch of the Reno 10 series in Taiwan is expected to grow Oppo's sales and profit performance in Taiwan.
Article translated by Eifeh Strom
