By Immediately after the launch, Kenyans on social media couldn’t believe the price tag on the OPPO Find X5. In my initial thoughts, I outlined why the company opted to bring a flagship price tag device to the market.
OPPO yesterday announced that the device is now available for purchase countrywide. It’s also available in Jumia, Kilimall, Skygurden, Masoko, and Safaricom shops.
OPPO clearly made good strides with the Reno6 series. They came, priced it at such a high price, we all complained, but they went ahead and went after the flagship market. Pretty balsy but they're finally going after the flagship market.
— N¡gel (@NigelJr_) June 16, 2022
“I can’t trust OPPO with that amount of money,” a consumer told me after posting the Sh99,000 price tag on the device.
So how does OPPO get this trust? how do they defeat this stigma? The “made in China” phrase, albeit reality-changing since the bias that implies a product was made with cheap labor and substandard materials to keep retail prices low, persists.
“With the Find X5 Series, we have raised the bar for flagship smartphones in terms of style and performance, while never stopping in our exploration of new possibilities.” William Liu, Vice President and President of Global Marketing at OPPO states.
In terms of specs, the OPPO find X5 is up there with the Samsungs and Apple devices. The flagship brings with it superior 5G performance, amazing display technology, industry-leading battery capabilities, and 80W flash charging. The only thing the device lacks is a good IP rating. But still…
OPPO, together with other Chinese manufacturers also face another stigma, their lack of originality, the previous OPPO Find X3 series faced backlash after consumers concluded the camera design was ripped off the iPhone and flipped.
#OppoFindX3 design..😲
Flipped version of #Apple Camera module.🤭…And an ugly bump…😁
Source: i don't know the original source.🤝#TFNews💙 pic.twitter.com/2HArD6TJvE— Rafee Shaik (@TechFactsRafee) January 13, 2021
Oppo is kinda being ABIT unoriginal here now. the find X3 has a camera module so close to apple that you can't even denied it. now they have flat edges on the Reno 7 with the s21 ultra camera design
— Kermit after normal pills (@HoodiniZucchini) November 23, 2021
In the past, I argued that there was a common perception that spending more on smartphones meant buying a more premium device and this is why Chinese companies like OPPO were trailing behind, now they have bumped up the prices, specs and are trying to be more original but the reception still remains poor (I don’t have numbers and this is an assumption based on social media).
While the move to still go after the flagship market is bold, I am glad it is being done. What do you think these manufacturers should do to deal with the stigma?
