The influence of high-performance, low-budget Chinese smartphones on their western rivals has been the subject of debate for many years now, but in 2019 we will see things come to a head with an influx of premium Chinese phones that are priced to shift.
Huawei and OnePlus have long enjoyed success in the UK, and in November 2018 we saw Xiaomi finally enter the UK market with its Mi 8 Pro, Mi 8 Lite and more recently Mi Mix 3. Oppo is next, and officially launched in the UK on January 29.
Where to buy Oppo in the UK
Though no new phones were announced during Oppo’s UK launch party, the Find X ( reviewed), RX17 Pro ( reviewed) and RX17 Neo have been confirmed for the UK, available exclusively through Carphone Warehouse from 8pm GMT today.
Sold SIM-free, the cheapest of the trio is the Oppo RX17 Neo, which costs £319 ( buy here).
Slightly more expensive than the similar OnePlus 6T, next up is the Oppo RX17 Pro at £549 ( buy here).
Meanwhile, Oppo’s flagship Find X will be available at £799 ( buy here).
Who is Oppo?
In IDC’s most recent Mobile Phone Tracker it lists Oppo among the top five smartphone companies in the world, along with two other Chinese brands: Huawei and Xiaomi. It claims the company shipped 29.9m units in Q3 2018, and though this is down on shipments in the same period of the previous year Oppo’s share of the global market has grown from 8.1% to 8.4%.
Oppo has been closely watched by OnePlus fans over the years as its flagship phones seem to have a lot in common with upcoming OnePlus devices, such as the upcoming OnePlus 7. Co-founder Pete Lau was previously vice president of Oppo, though he denies that OnePlus is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oppo, and any links between the two are brushed off as coincidence.
With its entrance to the UK Oppo will offer consumers more choice in affordable yet premium smartphones.
Read next: Best Chinese phones you can buy in the UK
Author: Marie Black, Editorial Director
Marie is Editorial Director at Foundry. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she's worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our EMEA and LatAm editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry's transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.