Compared to its Find line of smartphones, OPPO's Reno leads its mid-range family. While the performance of mid-tier devices has been catching up to high-end premium phones, especially in the 5G department, their photography performance still leaves a lot to be desired. Once in a while, a mid-range smartphone does rise among the ranks and, depending on your needs, OPPO's Reno4 Pro 5G could actually be that.
It seems that OPPO is on a roll, showing off concepts for future phones both actual and still imagined. Even as the year comes to a close, the smartphone maker is still not done with the teasers, at least unofficially. Although still unconfirmed, there are whispers about yet another unorthodox phone form factor, this time in taking aim at the clamshell design with a phone that can shrink down to a small square by rolling its screen instead of folding in half.
OPPO currently builds and sells several smart devices, and the Chinese company has showcased some new conceptual designs. The designs were shown off at the fourth annual China International Industrial Design Expo and were created by a Japanese design studio called nendo. The designs revealed hint at possibilities for future products.
Phone makers have a love-hate relationship with the front camera. It is pretty much the only reason now that we even have top bezels on phones but they have become so critical in the age of selfies and video conferencing. There are various solutions to hiding or removing the front-facing camera altogether, from punch-hole cutouts to under-display sensors. OPPO's latest patent isn't exactly about the selfie camera but its idea of a modular, removable, and upgradeable camera system indirectly addresses that as well.
Although Samsung (or actually Royale) started it last year, it was only really this year that foldable phones truly took off, with the more mature Galaxy Z Flip 2 and the Motorola Razr 5G. But even before the seemingly futuristic smartphone can really take hold of the market, it seems that another unconventional design might be arriving next year.
Depending on how the first generation solves design and engineering problems, rollable phones could actually offer a more economic and more practical alternative to foldable phones.
Manufacturers reveal concept designs and working prototypes for a variety of reasons. It could be for bragging rights, being established as a pioneer, or proof that the company can indeed make such a product. Not all of these concepts get turned into actual commercial products but some of them surprisingly do. Unfortunately for those hoping OPPO would be the first in the market with a rollable phone, the company is simply saying no, at least not for the immediate future.
Smartphones have evolved a fair bit with regard to screen real estate – the bezels are as thin as they can get, front-facing cameras are no more a hindrance with under-display camera tech, and the display quality has gone through the roof in the last couple of years. Still, there is a lot more to be desired when we see the unique form factor of a foldable device or a rollable phone that’s eye-popping. So, what smartphone will be the most trusted design in terms of its display technology in a couple of years? Let’s find out.
Smartphone trends come and go. At one point it was all about the screen, these days the focus is on cameras. There is, however, one thing that binds some of these trends together, one that is also sometimes inconsistent across the same phone. Given how smartphones are highly visual and image-oriented devices, it's a fact that color plays a critical role in delivering a quality experience. That's the kind of experience that OPPO is aiming for with the Find X3 that will put an emphasis on color quality and accuracy from the moment you snap up a photo to the time you display it on screen.
We've seen our fair share of renders, concept designs, dummy units, and even prototypes that it sometimes becomes difficult to separate fiction from reality. Some of these concepts don't even have working versions, leaving some to only dream of the possibilities. To be fair, creating even just a single working prototype can be difficult and expensive, especially when you're dealing with novel materials and designs. That's why OPPO showing off the X1 2021 rollable concept phone isn't just a show of the technology, it's pretty much proof that it has what it takes to actually make it a reality.
Although it is only recently that OPPO's name became more familiar around the world, the company has long been making innovations in the smartphone space, including some rather unconventional form factors. Those include the OPPO N1's rotating camera as well as the more recent OPPO Find X's pop-up top. These days, however, nothing says "unconventional" more than foldables, swivables, and rollables so it is with great pride that the company is revealing its OPPO X1 2021 rollable concept phone alongside its next step in AR eyewear.
When will my phone get the update to Android 11? This is an iteration of a question we get every time Google makes a major product release, especially when it comes to a new numbered version of their mobile OS. This year, the biggest update to Android devices will be delivered to a wide variety of devices - maybe more than any previous major update to Android due to the ease with which Google's made updating devices from Android 10 to 11.
The public launch of Android 11 was a big day for Android users but it was an even bigger day for some Android phone makers. While it may have been once normal for some like LG or even Samsung to announce some commitment to the new Android version in one way or another, OPPO was making a big splash about being one of the first few to announce a beta program on the same day as Android 11's launch. That was, however, just the tip of the iceberg and we took the upcoming ColorOS 11 beta for a spin to see if this is more than just a facelift.