Chinese smartphone maker Oppo in weekly AI conversations with Google and Microsoft

BEIJING – Chinese smartphone company Oppo is doubling down on artificial intelligence by holding weekly conversations on AI with Google senior management and Microsoft ahead of the launch of its flagship phone abroad.

The collaborations are part of the race to find the next application of artificial intelligence. The rise of generative AI – technology that can produce human-like responses when prompted – has companies taking notice Apple Unpleasant Honeywell rushing to tap into its potential.

“Google will also come to China to ask us what needs and pain points you have with your products? Let’s solve them together,” Billy Zhang, president of Oppo’s overseas market, sales and services, told reporters at the company’s office last week the company. in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. This is evident from a CNBC translation of his comments in Mandarin.

“We know the needs of consumers and we will use AI to meet them [them],” said Zhang. The company is expanding further in Europe but has no immediate plans for the U.S., he said.

Oppo, which also owns the OnePlus brand, said so derives approximately 60% of its sales from Southeast Asia, Europe and other overseas markets. The company in fourth place worldwide in terms of smartphone shipments in the third quarter, accounting for 9% of all units shipped, Canalys said. Samsung and Apple tied for first place, followed by Xiaomi.

While the US leads the pack in AI capabilities, experts suggest Chinese companies will have an edge when it comes to consumer applications of the technology. This is despite US restrictions on the export of high-quality chips to China.

Oppo said that The upcoming flagship smartphone will be equipped with AI tools for writing and recording summaries of Google’s Gemini and content generation features from Microsoft. Microsoft uses OpenAI products such as ChatGPT.

It was not immediately clear to what extent existing Oppo models use AI tools from the two tech companies. Oppo has not yet announced when its flagship phone will be available globally.

Oppo announced this in June plans to integrate generative AI into 50 million of its devices this year. The existing AI tools allow touch up photos, such as removing window reflections. Oppo also has a ChatGPT-like bot.

In addition to partnerships, Oppo says it has been developing its own AI models since 2020 and opened an AI center in February.

“We are very optimistic about AI and have invested with great determination,” said Zhang. “AI is the most important area for technology in the future. All industries can be transformed by AI.”

Counterpoint Research predicts that shipments of generative AI smartphones will increase from 46 million last year to 732 million in 2028. white paper published on Wednesday. The report did not specify how complex these generative AI functions would be.

Apple will publicly release its first software update with AI tools next week. A forthcoming update will enable the removal of unwanted elements in photos and integration with ChatGPT, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday.

Chinese smartphone company Honor on Wednesday unveiled the next version of its operating system that can use AI to mimic actions on a touchscreen, such as opening an app to have coffee delivered.

Oppo plans to integrate AI into its factories, which are becoming increasingly automated, Zhang said. “Today, automation improves quality and stability, reduces production costs and increases unit yield.”

At an entry-level smartphone production line in Dongguan, near Shenzhen, Oppo replaced about 8% of workers with machines this year, moving those workers to more complex, expensive phones.

Other companies have announced plans to integrate generative AI with the industrial sector. Honeywell this week announced a deal with Google’s Gemini to create AI assistants for factory workers and systems.

Oppo is rolling out its digital management system to its factories in seven other countries, starting with India and Indonesia. The company also produces phones in Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil and Egypt.

“Since our manufacturing process is largely digitalized and standardized, it is much easier to grow and expand into global markets,” Danny Du, director of production management at Oppo, told CNBC.

Oppo has reduced production costs by almost 40% in three years, Du said, adding that technological integration with factory machines and systems has reduced production time from 16 to six days. He said this will allow Oppo to respond more quickly to market orders. rather than relying on longer-term forecasts that carry the risk of unsold inventory.

– CNBC’s Kif Leswing and Eric Rosenbaum contributed to this report.