Oppo and MediaTek show what it’s like to be a real phone | Tech US News

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“It’s hard for people to understand how these things are made and how much work goes into making a smartphone. It’s not just taking things out of the box. We don’t go to Ikea to create living room.”

Arne Herkelmann, head of product management at Oppo Europe, smiled when he told me this, and I agreed. Making a smartphone is very difficult, and good collaboration is important for its success.

The back of the Oppo Reno 8 Pro is held in a man's hand.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Digital Trends spoke to Herkelmann and Rob Moffat, MediaTek’s vice president of sales and business development for Europe, about the creation of the Oppo Reno 8 Pro, which ended up giving approval to two fast-growing, powerful brands working together. designed to win the property.

Reno, Dimensity, and DORA

“Some people think you open a drawer and say, today we’re building a smartphone, then pull everything together,” Herkelmann laughed when asked about the process of building a new phone. . “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

Oppo has chosen the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 Max, a higher-end mobile chipset, for the Reno 8 Pro, but this is not the only “choose” it and done. The 8100 Max is one of MediaTek’s newest customizable chips, which manufacturers work with MediaTek to finely tailor the chipset to the needs of an initiative called Dimensity Open Resource Architecture, or DORA for short .

MediaTek office.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

“We knew we wanted to use a MediaTek processor,” Herkelmann continued, “and we knew we wanted to use the [Oppo-designed] MariSilicon X neural processing unit (NPU) to improve video performance. This means that we don’t have to push the MediaTek chip hard in the video and can leave it somewhere else. “

The goal for Oppo and the Reno 8 Pro is to be good, and in my experience, it has really succeeded in this area, with the device surprising with its ability to get results most useful of small batteries. Moffat explained this was all part of the DORA initiative.

“The Dimensity 8100 Max is an important part of the conversation,” said Moffat. “We work close to the engineering level [with companies using DORA chips], and some want to focus on AI, some on camera only. When Oppo came to us, it was clear that it had to be good, and there were thousands of hours of research and development behind it. [the Reno 8 Pro’s chip] in terms of optimizing the chipset. “

Herkelmann replied. added that “Oppo and MediaTek have worked together to adjust the products for Reno 8 Pro for performance and functionality, tweaking it as we need that works with ColorOS. It’s only 4,500mAh battery set, and if you only see the numbers, it is small, but the performance and the working time are more than we get from devices with 5,000mAh battery in the market now. It’s an effort from Oppo and MediaTek.”

Relationships

Oppo and MediaTek are big players in smartphones, but there is no doubt that both are better known in China than they are in the world. MediaTek, which recently made a big impact in America, is working with Oppo in Europe, and the Reno 8 Pro is an important collaboration for both companies.

MediaTek processor on the motherboard.

“We’ve done a lot of things with MediaTek in the European market,” Herkelmann explained, “but we’ve never done something on this scale before. less special, less camera, you don’t need to adjust it much or have many discussions with partners. The Reno 8 Pro is new. It is the first of this level in the European market , and we edited it together, and it was the first time we worked on software together [with MediaTek] to get the chipset to do exactly what we want. It is also the first time we have brought MariSilicon X to the Reno series, and only the third [MariSilicon X phone] in all. We were happy to do the collaboration, and it worked out great. “

The Reno 8 Pro is obviously an important phone for Oppo, and Moffat explained that it is also important for MediaTek, just in a different way:

“We’ve built a lot of resources in Europe to support Oppo and others, and bring these great devices out there. This is the biggest test yet.” [of MediaTek’s new resources], not because it is a high-end product from a large smartphone consumer, using one of our most advanced chips for the first time in the region. It’s important that we’re successful, so we’ve been working closely with Oppo up to and through the launch.

“It requires collaboration and dedication,” Moffat added, “We’ve got our headquarters and research and development team working directly with Oppo in China, but it will take more time than that. It takes collaboration across the region to bring it to market.”

A partnership years in the making

MediaTek has been working hard to build a global reputation for some time, bringing out quality chipsets, innovating in 5G, and supporting many devices around the world – from Amazon’s Alexa products to Peloton’s bike. But Moffat revealed that working with Oppo on the Reno 8 Pro is a very good calling card in Europe.

The Reno 8 Pro may be an important step for Oppo and MediaTek, but it has been a long time coming.

“This partnership is MediaTek showing what it should be,” he said, before referring to his recent office in Düsseldorf, Germany, right next to Oppo. “The Oppo and MediaTek offices are important for us. It is a commitment to support Oppo and others in Europe, because success must be 100% of the point. We are continuing to lie Power to the team in Europe because it is the way forward. We need to be able to define how our technology works for the customer.”

Oppo Reno 8 Pro camera module.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

This is where Oppo comes in. Although it may not be well known in America, in Europe, there is a high level of sports promotion – from tennis at Wimbledon to UEFA football, etc. – has given a lot of exposure. And feature-packed, beautifully designed phones like the Find X5 Pro have given it credibility. It knows how to market itself, something from MediaTek’s own entry, it’s not very good.

The Reno 8 Pro may be an important step for Oppo and MediaTek, but it has been a long time coming, as Herkelmann explains: “Most of the Oppo A Series is powered by MediaTek, and in China, for Find X5 Series, we released a version with Dimensity 9000 inch inside.” MediaTek’s first phone in Europe is also the Oppo device, Reno 4Z released in 2020.

Building for the future

The Reno 8 Pro is one of the best Oppo phones I’ve used in a while, and hear the story behind it to explain its success. Moffat explains that while making a good phone is the goal, he also wants to show its potential to you, the buyer: “We need to define what our technology means to people end use. It’s easier for Oppo, and easier for the end user. We did it this time, and it went very well.”

The Oppo Reno 8 Pro screen.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Herkelmann is equally happy about the result, and the future of the two brands: “We will continue on this path. For both companies, it has been a great experience. Let’s see how this will continue.”

If the Reno 8 Pro is representative of what the two supporting companies can do when they work exclusively with each other, we are looking forward to seeing what comes next. The Reno 8 Pro is available in the UK and Europe now, and you can read what we think about it in our Oppo Reno 8 Pro review.

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