Enhanced camera and video technology for users of platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok and Triller, along with the capacity to engage in social networks using virtual and augmented reality features, are some innovations that will characterise the smartphone market in 2022, according to Chinese smartphone brand OPPO.

In December 2021, ITWeb reported that the company had gained market share in South Africa after launching a year earlier.

Liam Faurie, OPPO South Africa’s Head of Go-to-Market and Operations, is quoted as saying the company has a 10% market share in South Africa’s post-paid smartphone market.

OPPO believes the smartphone innovations are partly in response to the remote and hybrid working models that have evolved over the past two years and partly in response to the global explosion in social media usage – especially as participation in the metaverse takes off.

According to OPPO, ground-breaking products coming to market this year “will not only deliver a host of new features and benefits like these, they will continue to secure the position of the smartphone as the point at which all intelligent networking platforms converge.”

Faurie said: “Evolving technologies like foldable devices, under-display cameras and flash chargers are fundamentally changing the way in which whole societies innovate, collaborate and live. That means it’s not just about making cutting-edge devices, it’s also about delivering integrated technologies that provide a seamless, natural and interactive experience for the user.

“…in 2022, we intend to set new benchmarks for the way in which people all over the world interact, both now and in the future.”

In keeping with its 3+N+X technology development strategy, the company is focusing on developing the ‘3’ fundamental capabilities of hardware, software and cloud services.

This is supported by development in the ‘N’ category of esseNtial technologies, such as interconnectivity, security, privacy and multimedia.

“And then there’s the ‘X’ factor: the blow-your-hair-back innovations like new device concepts, flash charging, augmented reality, enhanced imaging, longer battery life and more,” the company added.

Faurie continued: “Buoyed by the global rollout of 5G, major advances in AI and the warp-speed development of the Internet of Things (IoT), a whole new generation of smartphones is set to change our lives forever.”