In the smartphone arena, OPPO's pace is accelerating.

Two days ago, OPPO held a new product launch event at the Zhejiang University Gymnasium in Hangzhou, unveiling the new Reno13 series. At this moment, the buzz around the Find X8 series, released a month ago, has yet to fade, and the Reno12 series debuted only half a year ago.

The design of the Reno13 series is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the launch event. The familiar lines and colors easily evoke associations with a certain overseas competitor. Previously, the Find X8 series sparked considerable discussion due to its design similarities with the iPhone, earning it the nickname "OPhone" among netizens. This time, the Reno13 series seems to have gone even further down this "homage" path, from the four-curved flexible edges to the unibody cold-carved glass craftsmanship, all exuding a hint of "Apple flavor."

Of course, design uniqueness has always been a crucial battlefield for brand differentiation. OPPO's "borrowing" in this regard can be seen as a market strategy, but in today's increasingly individualistic consumer landscape, it's hard to say whether this strategy will endure.

However, from an industry perspective, OPPO's strategy might be related to its recent market performance. According to Canalys data, in the third quarter of 2024, OPPO's market share and shipments both declined, dropping out of the top five in the Chinese market and falling into the "others" category.

Especially considering that smartphone shipments in mainland China grew 4% year-on-year to 69.1 million units in the third quarter, against an overall positive market backdrop, OPPO's declining market share has sparked discussions about the brand's standing. As external brand competition intensifies, is OPPO also undergoing strategic adjustments internally, affecting its industry ranking?

In the Reno13 series, we seem to have found the answer.

01. New Era Imaging: Experience Over Parameters

Objectively speaking, the OPPO Reno 13 series sees significant hardware changes, but the upgrades are not particularly striking. Since the Reno12 series, OPPO has deeply tied the Reno series to "trend" and "fashion," aiming to cater to the aesthetics and preferences of the younger generation. This strategy is further reinforced in the Reno13 series, where OPPO not only continues this trendy positioning but also innovates boldly in design and color.

Inspired by butterfly elements from the millennial era, the new "Butterfly Purple" color scheme perfectly blends trendy style with modern technology, infusing tech products with a unique sweet and cool vibe while providing a fresh visual impact for individualistic consumers. For those who prefer a lower profile, the Reno13 series also offers a variety of options like Starry Blue, Midnight Black, and Starlight Pink, totaling four color options to meet the personalized needs of different users.

Praiseworthy is the use of a metal frame in this generation of Reno, adopting the same aluminum alloy frame as the iPhone. Compared to the previous plastic frame, this one boasts a 200% increase in strength and a 36% improvement in bending resistance.

In terms of screen configuration, both the 6.83-inch four-curved flexible edge screen of the Reno13 Pro and the 6.59-inch ultra-beautiful straight screen of the Reno13 support a 120HZ refresh rate and 3840HZ high-frequency PWM dimming, delivering impressive display performance among peers. However, compared to other models in the same price range on the market, these screen specifications, while not inferior, fail to bring breakthrough innovations. Material-wise, the Reno13 series employs a metal frame and unibody cold-carved glass craftsmanship, significantly enhancing the grip but ultimately transferring the increased manufacturing costs to the selling price.

In terms of processors, the Reno13 series is equipped with the Dimensity 8350 chip, identical to the Dimensity 8300/8300-Ultra, featuring one 3.35GHz A715 core, three 3.2GHz A715 cores, four 2.2GHz A510 cores, and Mali-G615 MC6 1.4GHz GPU. Its actual performance is slightly better than the Snapdragon 8+ but a slight step back from the previous-generation Dimensity 9200+.

Rather than performance, the surprise in the Reno13 series is its IP69 water resistance across the entire lineup.

Of course, the main focus in terms of configuration lies in OPPO's traditional strength in imaging. In terms of hardware parameters alone, the Reno13 series' 50MP main camera + 8MP ultra-wide camera combination, along with the Reno13 Pro's exclusive 3.5x equivalent 85mm new periscope telephoto lens, isn't particularly impressive.

Considering the current homogenization of flagship models in hardware, OPPO has focused its efforts on "experience," placing more emphasis on innovation and personalized expression in the photography experience, particularly appealing to users who love sharing snippets of their lives on social platforms.

In OPPO's Reno series lexicon, "texture" and "experience" are equally important, collectively constituting the core selling points of the series. This year, OPPO sparked a social media craze with its LivePhoto feature and vintage filters. This trend was supported by data from Monica, the Reno series' product manager, at the launch event: as of now, the number of LivePhoto notes taken with OPPO phones on Xiaohongshu has surpassed the million mark, making this feature a new favorite for social sharing.

The Reno13 series' photography capabilities go beyond traditional clarity and color reproduction, utilizing technological innovations to impart a unique style to every frame. This feature is undoubtedly highly appealing to users who love sharing their lives on social platforms like Xiaohongshu.

Among them, the "Reframe Image Quality Enhancement" feature is a highlight of the Reno13 series. It automatically optimizes moments that may appear slightly blurry during dynamic capture, transforming them into clear high-definition images, making every photo potentially cover-worthy. This feature not only enhances photo appreciation but also provides users with a more personalized and eye-catching sharing experience.

In today's smartphone market, where the arms race for hardware specifications seems to have reached a bottleneck, OPPO's Reno13 series chooses a different path, focusing innovation on differentiating the user experience. This strategy is particularly wise against the backdrop of severe industry homogenization. The LivePhoto feature and vintage filters have led new trends on social platforms, reflecting not only users' desire for fresh experiences but also hinting at a new direction for future market competition.

As users' demands for mobile photography shift from mere clarity to stylized and personalized expression, OPPO's shift comes just in time. The introduction of features like "Reframe Image Quality Enhancement" not only elevates the user experience but also provides users with more options for self-expression on social platforms. In an era of pervasive hardware overcapacity, OPPO's strategy better meets users' pursuit of personalization and innovative experiences. Emphasizing user experience and innovative play may well be the key to differentiated competition in the future smartphone market.

Additionally, the Reno13 series supports OPPO AI imaging algorithms, including AI super resolution, AI motion blur reduction, and AI reflection removal, easily turning flawed shots into masterpieces.

However, "AI + Fashion" is just one attempt by OPPO in the AI realm.

02. AI + Fashion: Just the First Step

OPPO's AI strategy has always been renowned for its forward-thinking and user-centric design. After the launch of the OPPO Find X8 series on October 24, Liu Zuohu mentioned in an interview that he holds weekly AI-specific meetings with colleagues to discuss creating AI experiences that align with users' intuitive needs.

This strategy is further embodied in the Reno13 series, particularly in cross-platform interaction and intelligent functionality. As one of the first smartphone series in the industry to support one-touch transmission with iOS devices, the Reno13 series enables rapid file transfer, including photos, videos, and documents, between iPhone and other iOS devices through simple touch operations, breaking down operating system barriers and providing users with unprecedented convenience.

Powered by AI technology, the Reno13 series redefines user interaction. Its built-in "Smart Document" and "Smart Note" functions significantly enhance users' efficiency in handling files and editing documents, making mobile office work more efficient and convenient. Additionally, the "AI Image Recognition and Writing Assistance" feature automatically generates copy based on image or page information, supporting over 10 social and e-commerce platforms and five different copywriting styles, a rare innovation in the industry.

Earlier this year, at the OPPO AI Strategy Conference, OPPO unveiled its envisioned 1+N Intelligent Entity Ecosystem Strategy. Here, "1" represents the OPPO AI Super Entity, capable of providing powerful knowledge capabilities based on a vast knowledge graph, document data, and search engine to accurately understand user intent and provide precise results; "N" represents the new intelligent entity ecosystem empowered by the OPPO AI Pro Entity Development Platform.

Through the AI Pro Entity Development Platform, ordinary users can quickly generate personalized AI entities tailored to their needs through zero-code natural language interaction without needing professional programming skills. Moreover, to increase investment in AI and enhance collaboration efficiency, OPPO has established an AI Center by consolidating all AI-related resources within the company, including personnel from software engineering, digital intelligence engineering, and OPPO Research Institute.

In ancient times, Shennong personally tasted hundreds of herbs to cure illnesses. Today, OPPO is also experimenting with "hundreds of paths" for the domestic market. Liu Zuohu commented that the AI Center is a combat force, rapidly responding to and capturing new trends to meet user needs. In other words, it's about discovering new avenues from an AI perspective, seeking uncharted or underserved blue oceans amidst the fiercely competitive red ocean. "AI + Fashion" is just one of these avenues.

In a previous article, Xin Lichang expressed the view that, amidst the industry-wide race towards AI phones, to swiftly open the "half-open" door to the future of AI phones, there is an urgent need for manufacturers to take the lead in ecosystem development and serve as beacons for their peers. OPPO is indeed playing such a role.

In fact, if we look back at the development of smartphones over the past few years, the era-defining leap showcased by current AI phones is far from matching the impact of the original iPhone. Moreover, as early as 2018, when the A12 chip was launched, Apple used AI as a "gimmick," claiming that the A12 was the smartest and most powerful chip with self-learning capabilities. Some domestic phone manufacturers also hyped "AI phones" during that period.

Due to the fierce domestic competition, major manufacturers have always been in a state of "fragmentation." Even in 2024, the so-called "first year of AI phones," considering the launches by major phone manufacturers since the beginning of the year, AI phones remain a new selling point for differentiating competitive advantages and showcasing high-end smartphone brands. With various forms and continuing territorial competition, the industry remains stuck in a stalemate of mutual depletion.

Perhaps from OPPO's perspective, doing AI isn't about competing with service providers but about leading the way, hoping to collaborate with industry partners to build an ecosystem, bring more third-party entities to users, provide abundant AI service capabilities, and offer users more diverse options.

For China's mobile phone industry, this is a turning point and a new beginning.

03. Final Thoughts

Amidst the buzz around the OPPO Reno13 series, Xiaomi quietly launched the Redmi K80 series.

Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen3 chip, faster 120W super-fast charging technology, a larger battery, better screen resolution, and a cheaper price, the Redmi K80 series undoubtedly demonstrates strong competitiveness in hardware parameters and an aggressive pricing strategy.

OPPO Reno13's "AI + Fashion" strategy contrasts sharply with the Redmi K80 series' focus on hardware performance. This contrast is even more pronounced against the backdrop of OPPO's declining market share in the third quarter.

Therefore, even though differentiation is always emphasized, sometimes one must return to the root of the problem: while maintaining AI innovation, OPPO also needs to pay more attention to improving hardware performance and price competitiveness.

*The lead image and images in the text are sourced from the internet.