Oppo has a plan to crack the European smartphone market and chatbots like ChatGPT could hold the key

Date:
Sat, 17 Oct 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Description:
We spoke to Oppo's European CEO about the company's growth ambitions in the face of negative industry headwinds.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Recent data published by Counterpoint Research paints a bleak picture of the smartphone industry as it stands today.

Q3 2026 (thats the period between July and September) marked the lowest Q3
for smartphone sales in 14 years, with challenger brands like Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo all experiencing declines in market share versus the same period in 2025. Skyrocketing component costs have wreaked havoc on the budget and mid-range tiers, while consumers are holding onto their devices for longer
and have become more discerning in how and where they spend their money. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

What, then, are growth-hungry smartphone manufacturers to do? Oppo, for its part, plans to pursue an aggressive premiumization strategy in Europe.

The European premium market is dominated by two brands, Elvis Zhou, CEO of Oppo Europe, explained to TechRadar in a recent roundtable interview. I believe local European consumers would be interested in a third, good option. You may like Oppo Find X10 series global launch set for October 21 as
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Zhou didnt mention Apple and Samsung by name in our discussion, but those two companies were the only two smartphone manufacturers to grow their respective market shares during that aforementioned Q3 period (though they, too,
suffered year-on-year sales declines). Oppo's next flagship, the Find X10 Pro Max, is due to be released on October 21 (Image credit: Future) We are not here to say we will replace one of these established brands. No. We are here to offer a differentiated third option [...] I believe, in the future, the competition between flagship products [will not be] about price; we are not here to sell a more affordable smartphone. We are here to offer a differentiated experience for the premium market. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

And we heard the same [sentiment] through our market research most premium users would be happy to try a third premium brand.

The European market is not as wedded to Apple and Samsung as, say, the US market, but these companies still account for 68% of the entire European smartphone market (34% each). By contrast, different sources put Oppos share of the European pie at between 1 and 4%.

Thats a sizable mountain to climb for any brand but Zhou and Oppo have identified three emerging trends that could turn the tide in the Chinese companys favor. What to read next The Poco F9 Ultra comes with the same chip as its predecessor and Poco's reasoning makes perfect sense Oppo Reno 16 5G review: a gorgeous yet costly mid-range phone Honor and ARRI explain why the Robot Phone's extremely high processing power makes it such a revolutionary device

I'm quite aware that these two established brands in the European market do still lead the market in terms of brand awareness, sales channels, and even retail channels; they still do have a lot of advantages, Zhou explained. But through our market research, we have identified three trends that might be beneficial to us. The kids are alright First of all, young consumers here in Europe are ready to buy smartphones online. That offers us an opportunity to engage them directly.

The second trend is that the young generation is dubious about
advertisements. They prefer to believe real user experiences that they see [relayed] on social media platforms. And if they believe [those testimonies], then it must be good experiences that people are sharing organically on
social media that's more convincing, and only good products can do that.

We are not here to say we will replace one of these established brands. Elvis Zhou, CEO, Oppo Europe The third trend is that younger consumers ask
questions to AI tools during their decision-making process. These AI tools
can help our brand because they focus more on the features of these products on the user experience of these products without other interference. And according to our market survey, more than 40% of young people ask questions
to AI tools when they want to purchase a new phone. Based on these three new trends, I believe that the value of our products is better respected
nowadays.

That last point is a particularly interesting one. Chatbots like ChatGPT have quickly become a primary search engine for millions of young people globally; if these consumers ask an AI platform for information on the best phone to buy, Oppos handsets are likely to be surfaced on a numerical specs basis
alone (the Oppo Find X9 Ultra , for instance, has better camera specs than
the iPhone 18 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra ).

Oppo doesnt enjoy the same visibility via traditional Google searches, as I proved by searching for the best phone for photography on ChatGPT and Google. The former displays Oppo Find X9 Ultra as the number one choice; the latter doesnt reference Oppo at all until you manually click through to a dedicated best camera phones guide. Image 1 of 2 The search result for 'best phone for photography' on ChatGPT (Image credit: Future) ... and the same search result on Google (Image credit: Future) Image 1 of 2 View Original Image 2 of 2 View Original Of course, young consumers arent so naive as to instantly buy the first product recommended by ChatGPT, but Oppos increased visibility on the platform can only be a good thing for its brand awareness and, ultimately, sales. The perception challenge The Oppo Find X9 Ultra (left) and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (right) (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) In our roundtable interview, Zhou was also asked whether Oppo and other Chinese companies face
a perception problem in the West, particularly surrounding privacy, and the CEO was keen to credit consumers ability to decide for themselves which
brands they trust.

We face all kinds of challenges in our work, but for Oppo, since we are here in an overseas market, our focus is more on market surveys. I've met a lot of young consumers here in Europe, and I find that they are quite open-minded. They're well educated, reasonable, and rational. They are independent in
their decision-making process.

These young consumers, when they purchase their personal items, focus more on the product itself. Is this experience good enough? Is it good value for money? And through our market surveys, we found that young consumers are more interested in good imaging [capabilities], AI [features], and also battery autonomy.

In addition, Zhou continued, the European market pays great attention to data privacy, so we pay great attention to our compliance policy. We want to make sure that when we design our products, we can meet all these compliance regulation demands. We are very confident that our products can stand the
test of time, and one day, our local European consumers will understand that our products can not only meet their requirements, but exceed their demands.

Oppo, then, is putting all its eggs in the premium basket for the foreseeable future and its next pair of flagship phones, the camera-focused Oppo Find
X10 and X10 Pro Max, will be the first test of the company's new premiumization strategy.

Were expecting both devices to be more expensive than their predecessors, but if, as Oppo suggests, young European consumers really do value imaging, AI, and battery life above all else, the Find X10 series has every chance of making a splash on the continent. Today's best Oppo phone deals Contract
Deals Sim Free voucher gift Oppo Find X9 Pro 48 months Unlimited mins 25GB data 30 upfront 41.95 /mth View at EE See all prices gift Oppo Find X9 Ultra 24 months Unlimited mins Unlimited texts 100GB data 49 upfront 52.99 /mth
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