OPPO launched two new Android smartphones in the form of the A83 and R11s New Year Edition, while also announcing the opening of its new futuristic store in Shanghai. The Chinese brick-and-mortar location is meant to be symbolic of OPPO’s recent evolution that saw the company transition for from entry-level and mid-range models to premium handset offerings and is meant to provide its visitors with an experience that’s “fun and relaxing,” encouraging them to mingle without pressure. This particular retail philosophy has already been successfully employed by Xiaomi’s Mi Home stores and the opening of OPPO’s latest shop is hence indicative of a larger industry trend in the Far Eastern country.
The OPPO R11s New Year Edition is identical to the handset announced earlier this fall, save for featuring a new coat of paint and a special packaging meant to celebrate the start of 2018 and everything that went right in 2017, the company suggested. No firm pricing and availability details have yet been attached to the handset but more information on that front is expected to follow in the coming days. Much like its name suggests, the OPPO R11s New Year Edition will be offered in extremely limited quantities and is primarily designed for fans of the camera-focused smartphone vendor.
On the other hand, the OPPO A83 is an entirely new offering that’s already been rumored in recent months, having now officially debuted with a 5.7-inch LCD panel with an HD+ resolution of 1,440 by 720 pixels amounting to a tall 18:9 (2:1) image format. Coupled with relatively slim bezels, the OPPO A83 is meant to provide a contemporary phablet experience on a budget. The handset ships with support for OPPO’s new face unlock solution that the company claims can recognize one’s face in just 0.18 seconds, in addition to featuring 4GB of RAM and 32GB of internal flash memory. A 13-megapixel camera is also part of the package, as is an 8-megapixel sensor for selfies and video calls. The device ships with a reskinned version of Android 7.1 Nougat and a 3,180mAh battery which isn’t removable. Consumers in China are already able to pre-order the OPPO A83 in Black and Champagne Gold for 1,399 yuan ($213), with the mid-range phablet being set to start retailing on Friday, December 29th. It’s still unclear whether the device is meant to eventually make its way to other markets but if it is, India is likely to be near the top of its priority list, as suggested by OPPO’s recent product practices.
