Oppo says it will launch its first Smart TV next month

MW
Mike Wheatley

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo said at its annual developer conference on Monday that it is preparing to launch its first Smart TVs next month.

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The move will mark Oppo’s entrance into the TV market, but it does not come as much of a surprise as rival Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi made a similar move not so long ago, and has since expanded to launch its first OLED TV. And Oppo does have some experience with television, as it also made Blu-ray disc players for a time before deciding to abandon that market last year.

At ODC 2020, Oppo CEO Yi Wei said that the company plans to launch an “Oppo Smart TV” in October and that it will be a “key step” in its plans to expand its “internet of things” ecosystem.

The company didn’t provide any details, but an NDTV report suggests that it will launch at least two models in 55-inch and 65-inch sizes.

India Today adds more detail, though it’s mostly speculation. It said the TVs will likely have “smart features” and will possibly be based on the Android TV platform, like most other Chinese TV brands. It says the two TVs and their remote controls have already been certified for sale in China on the 3C website. That listing says the Oppo TV will be manufacture by a company called TPV Display Technology, which makes display panels for AOC, Envision and Philips, among others.

Oppo didn’t say which regions it’s planning to launch its TV in.

It’s interesting to note that Oppo is owned by a conglomerate called BBK Group, which also owns the OnePlus brand. OnePlus is another smartphone maker that launched an Android TV in 2019. So if Oppo’s TV is anything like that one, we can also expect it to have access to Google’s Play Store and features such as HDR and Dolby Atmos support.

In any case, we expect to learn more in October when the Oppo Smart TV is expected to go on sale.