New Oppo Watch pushes smartphone brand further into device market

Leading smartphone maker Oppo is expanding into the Internet of Things (IoT) device market, such as smart watches and in-vehicle systems, which have become new growth engines for its competitors. 

The smartphone brand recently established a strategic cooperation with car brand SAIC on in-vehicle intelligent systems and applications. They will build a new ecosystem to offer unified and user-friendly platforms to developers.

In the wearable computing sector, Oppo has launched its Oppo Watch with dual-core processor, longer battery life, eSports model and over 50 independent applications for sports, health-care and digital entertainment. The watch started selling on Saturday at a base price of 1,299 yuan (US$203). 

In the first quarter, China's wearable computing market sales reached 27.3 million units, equitable to 42.6 percent growth year on year, according to researcher International Data Corp or IDC.

Besides Oppo, firms like Huawei and Xiaomi have already tapped into the market with various products and unified operating systems and interfaces. 

Since Sunday, Oppo has offered 800 million yuan in replacement subsidies and coupons for smart devices such as watches, TVs and other gadgets.