The brand’s smartphones are promoted by some of the coolest personalities from tinsel town, like Ranbir Kapoor and Vicky Kaushal, but it still has to prove its tech capabilities. With the OPPO Reno3 Pro proving to be a snazzy purchase this year, the company is gearing up with new devices.

With smartphone-enabled content consumption on the rise, we found out from Sumit Walia — vice-president, product and marketing, OPPO India — a few industry trends.

What are some of the measures that OPPO has taken to uplift customer moods during these tough times?

When the world is fighting a global pandemic and it seems that almost everything has come to a halt, this is exactly when we need to get up and inspire! To ensure that we are in this together and encourage people to stay positive, we launched #ExpertForAnExpert campaign starring Vicky Kaushal and ace celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani. The campaign aims to uplift customer sentiments during these unprecedented times. Through this campaign, we wanted to encourage the audience to explore and validate their passion.

What kind of a difference do you see in people’s content creation and consumption habits?

The world is witnessing an insatiable appetite for content. Our affinity for media has only been amplified by surging smartphone usage and Internet connections. According to a recent report released by Mindshare India and Vidool, the world has witnessed a steep increase in content consumption with the time spent by the average user to be over four hours per day as compared to the previous 1.5 hours on social media platforms. Additionally, subscription revenues in sub-segments like OTT, online gaming, and digital media are rising as consumers scout for quality content while at home.

We are also witnessing a surge in user-generated content that engages the audience and allows content creators to be creative with quality content that is not just entertaining but also requires more network bandwidth and storage. For instance, a webinar that helps you understand the little things about keeping audiences hooked or a chef who gives you quick recipes using leftovers — these are all content format possibilities that have prominently cropped up amidst the ongoing lockdown. The content formats have evolved from texts and graphics to voice and video. Then there has been a continued explosion of messaging apps and the prevalence of AR which combines personalisation with convenience and is eventually enabling people to create more content.

Any particular feature on your smartphone that’s unique when it comes to multitasking?

‘Smartphone is a studio in the pocket’… and OPPO has always understood the demands of its consumers on this front. Whether it is large memory, battery or fast-charging (VOOC 4.0), our smartphones have always kept consumer needs in mind. To help consumers create great social media content and vlogs, we have introduced a compact video editing application made for smartphones called Soloop that allow users to create instant slideshows of photos and videos. The app is simple to use and is custom-made for users who make lots of short videos for their social media handles. Our devices also house OPPO’s signature EIS anti-shake feature to empower users to record stable videos while doing any cooking/ sport activity.

What are some of the trends to look forward to on the video front?

According to SmallBizTrends (a hub for entrepreneurs, business owners, influencers and experts), people share visual content 1,200 per cent times more compared to other forms of content. Also, unlike text-based content, videos consist of great visual and acoustic materials that are easy to remember.

Owing to the ever-rising popularity of short video content creation in India and increase in demand for a big screen on smartphones, our upcoming Find X2 series comes equipped with OPPO’s customised 120Hz QHD+ ultra vision screen; it can display 120 frames per second to help users play games and watch high-definition videos for a smooth visual experience.

Additionally, we also introduced the OPPO Screen Image Engine (OSIE) in the Reno3 Pro. OSIE is a visual optimisation proprietary technology developed by OPPO. What’s noteworthy is that third-party apps can use the OSIE to increase picture saturation and contrast and reduce noise, thereby enhancing image quality and visual effect.

One reality we have to live with is cleaning the phone time and again. What would be an effective way to clean phones without damaging them?

To ensure that our smartphone is germ-free, we suggest users to first unplug all the cables and switch off the smartphone. Then use a soft, lint-free cloth made up of microfiber to clean all stains and marks with circular movements across the display. While using regular sanitisers are a big no, it is best to use sanitisers made only for smartphones once in two days.