OPPO Showcases New Conceptual design with nendo and Hosts Retrospective Exhibition at CIIDE

OPPO, a leading smart device company, showcased multiple new conceptual designs based on its human-centric design philosophy at the 4th China International Industrial Design Expo (CIIDE). These conceptual designs were created for OPPO by leading Japanese design studio nendo, founded by Oki Sato. These result from the close collaboration between OPPO and nendo, exploring the possibilities of future design. OPPO also exhibited a series of its classic product designs, showcasing its unique insights and exploration into form design, materials and interaction that have occurred since the company’s inception.

The China International Industrial Design Expo is a national-level event focused on industrial design in China. With this year’s theme of “New Designs, New Trends, New Momentum,” OPPO put on a retrospective exposition, showcasing classic industry-leading product designs from throughout its history.

In 2008, OPPO launched its first smartphone, the “Smiley Face” A103, marking the beginning of its pursuit of the perfect synergy of ultimate aesthetics and innovation. These innovations have proved numerous over the past 12 years: In 2012, OPPO launched Finder – one of the world’s thinnest phones – designed to be easier and more comfortable for users to hold. In 2014, it introduced the 2.5D curved design on Find 5, while 2016’s R9 took inspiration from snow-covered mountain ridges to provide a smartphone with improved grip and looks. More recently, OPPO launched Reno3 in 2019 as the world’s thinnest 5G phone at the time. 

OPPO’s breakthrough in design also extends to its cutting-edge camera technology. In 2014, OPPO released the world’s first motorized rotating camera smartphone –N3. In 2018, its full-screen display smartphone, Find X, utilized a pioneering sliding design which enabled the camera to pop out from within the phone when activated. This innovation integrated 11 components, including front and rear cameras and sensors, and resulted in a screen-to-body ratio of 93.8%. In 2019, OPPO broke even more boundaries with the launch of the Reno 10x Zoom and its unique pivot rising structure, which has since inspired new design ideas within the smartphone industry.

In November this year, OPPO once again demonstrated its latest exploration into mobile phone form factors with the OPPO X 2021 rollable conceptual handset at the OPPO INNO DAY 2020 event. The size of the conceptual device’s rollable display is infinitely adjustable within a specified range, offering a new perspective on the future of devices and how humans might interact with them.

At the China International Industrial Design Expo, OPPO showcased the “slide-phone” and “music-link” conceptual designs that it has been working on together with the leading Japanese industrial designing studio nendo. The idea for the “slide-phone” originated from OPPO and nendo’s discovery that smartphone users increasingly rely on their smartphones to interact with the world around them. 

To support more functionality, the size of smartphones continues to increase, making it difficult to hold and less convenient. This trend towards larger phones has become a growing concern for users. Armed with this insight, the “slide-phone” concept is designed with three foldable screens attached by hinges folding over in the same direction. By providing users with the flexibility to change the form of the phone as needed, users may benefit from the ability to change its size to suit the occasion. Furthermore, a stylus inserted in the phone allows users to expand their productivity by using the phone for work or other more complex tasks.