According to Canalys, Chinese smartphone maker Oppo ranks second in mainland China and fourth globally.
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BEIJING – Chinese smartphone company Oppo is increasingly relying on artificial intelligence and is holding weekly discussions about AI with Google and Google management Microsoft ahead of the overseas launch of its flagship phone.
The collaborations are part of the race to find the next application of artificial intelligence. The rise of generative AI – a technology that can produce human-like responses when asked – has deterred companies Apple To Honeywell rushes to use his abilities.
“Google will also come to China to ask us, what are your needs and pain points with your products? Let's solve these together,” Billy Zhang, president of Oppo's overseas market, sales and services, told reporters at the company's office in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen last week. That's according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks.
“We understand consumer needs and will use AI to satisfy them [them]Zhang said. The company continues to expand in Europe but has no immediate plans for the U.S., he said.
This was said by Oppo, which also owns the OnePlus brand generates around 60% of its sales in Southeast Asia, Europe and other overseas markets. According to Canalys, the company ranked fourth globally in smartphone shipments in the third quarter, accounting for 9% of all devices shipped. Samsung and Apple tied for first place, followed by Xiaomi.
While the US leads the way in AI capabilities, experts believe Chinese companies will have a head start when it comes to consumer applications of the technology. This is despite US restrictions on the export of high-end chips to China.
Oppo has announced that its upcoming flagship smartphone will come with AI tools for writing and recording summaries of Gemini from Google and content creation features from Microsoft. Microsoft uses OpenAI products such as ChatGPT.
It was not immediately clear to what extent existing Oppo models use AI tools from the two technology companies. Oppo has not yet announced when its flagship phone will be available worldwide.
AI smartphones are on a growth path
Oppo announced in June that it plans to integrate generative AI into 50 million of its devices this year. Its existing AI tools allow Retouch photos – for example, remove window reflections. Oppo also has a ChatGPT-like bot.
In addition to partnerships, Oppo says it has been developing its own AI models since 2020 and opened an AI center in February.
“We are very optimistic about AI and have invested with great determination,” Zhang said. “AI is the most important technology area of the future. All industries can be transformed by AI.”
Counterpoint Research predicts generative AI smartphone shipments will rise to 732 million in 2028 from 46 million last year, according to a white paper released Wednesday. The report did not specify how complex these generative AI capabilities would be.
Apple will publicly release its first software update with AI tools next week. A later update will enable removal of unwanted elements in photos and integration with ChatGPT, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday.
Chinese smartphone company Honor on Wednesday unveiled the next version of its operating system that uses AI to mimic actions on a touchscreen, such as opening an app to order a coffee delivery.
Technology for production efficiency
Oppo plans to integrate AI into its increasingly automated factories, Zhang said. “Today, automation improves quality and stability, reduces production costs and increases unit yield.”
At an entry-level smartphone production line in Dongguan, near Shenzhen, Oppo has replaced about 8% of workers with machines this year and moved those employees to work on more complex, high-end phones.
Other companies have announced plans to integrate generative AI into the industrial sector. Honeywell this week announced a deal with Google's Gemini to develop AI assistants for factory workers and systems.
Oppo is rolling out its digital management system to its factories in seven more countries, starting with India and Indonesia. The company also produces phones in Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil and Egypt.
“Because our manufacturing process is largely digitalized and standardized, growing and expanding into global markets is much easier,” Danny Du, head of production management at Oppo, told CNBC.
Oppo has reduced its manufacturing costs by nearly 40% in three years, Du said, adding that technological integration with factory machines and systems has shortened production time from 16 days to six. He said this would allow Oppo to respond more quickly to market orders. rather than relying on longer-term forecasts that come with the risk of unsold inventory.
—CNBC's Kif Leswing and Eric Rosenbaum contributed to this report.