Oppo Confirms Move Into Custom Chips

Top smartphone maker Oppo will step up chipmaking plans and work with chosen suppliers to co-develop its own custom-made chips, Liu Bo, head of China business for the company, said Thursday in an interview with a small group of Chinese media including Caixin.

“It’s a step Oppo will have to take,” Liu told reporters after two weeks of rumors on the strategy. Liu is responsible for domestic business for the second-largest smartphone maker in China behind rival Huawei.

“We have to tackle chip technology and make it a crucial driving force in future developments,” Liu said.

Oppo will work with key suppliers to design and develop a proprietary chip for its own smartphones, Liu told the reporters. He did not comment on whether the company will take the further step of developing its own system on a chip, or SoC. Such devices combine central processing unit, system memory and other computer components on a single chip.

Oppo is joining a parade of Chinese tech companies that are stepping up chip-making efforts amidst ever-growing competition at the dawn of the 5G era. Its key chip suppliers currently include U.S. giant Qualcomm, Taiwan-based MediaTek and South Korea’s Samsung, Caixin learned.