Scott’s open letter to OPPO got a bit of attention. It seems it hit a note with a number of our readers, but it also got OPPO’s attention, and perhaps not entirely for the right reasons. Though we had discussed some of the issues we found with the OPPO R11s with the company before publishing, they weren’t privy to the entire letter before it was published. Fair enough, we could’ve done that.
Still, it opened the door to a bit of a dialogue with OPPO about what we thought they’d done right with the OPPO R11s (quite a lot) and a few things they’d got wrong (ultimately, not too many).
In response, we’ve received this letter from OPPO Australia’s Michael Tran, and it is published verbatim below.
Dear Scott and the Ausdroid team,
As always thanks so much for taking the time to review our latest device, the R11s Plus. It’s great to hear you’re a fan of the OPPO hardware. As I’m sure you can appreciate, a lot of time and resources is invested by OPPO, as we continue in our quest to deliver the perfect device for our customers – such as your mum – at a price point that Aussies can afford.
Over the past couple of years, we have experienced unprecedented growth both in Australia and overseas. This is a result of listening to our customers, analysing the market and continuously innovating. Over this period, we’ve introduced numerous innovations, such as the world’s thinnest phone, the world’s first rotating selfie camera, the world’s fastest and safest charging technology and features such as full screen flash, which have since been adopted more widely by the industry.
With the R11s Plus, continued to make further improvements to the camera technology. Through our software enhancements, we allow real time switching between our dual camera setup, with both rear cameras being primary cameras for the first time on an OPPO device. This allows for the best pictures yet, without costing Aussies upwards of $1,000 for a handset.
From a software perspective, we take the same approach, continuously innovating and improving ColorOS. Our team of software engineers work tirelessly to create a fast, simple and intuitive platform for our local market.
As a business, we respect individual taste and preferences. We strive to deliver something that appeals to the majority of people, whilst being easy to use and giving them the best possible experience. As you reported in a previous article, OPPO was recently awarded the Canstar Blue award for Overall Customer Satisfaction in the smartphone category. As a completely independent piece of research, we believe this acts as testament to the quality of our devices and shows how far we have come in a relatively short period of time.
But we’re not perfect. Like any manufacturer there are things we can always improve and are constantly reviewing feedback to improve the overall experience. We focus on the core needs of our customers and listen to what they want from their device. Start with the user and end with the product. This is our approach to product design and innovation.
We are still learning and listening to what our customers want. This is why we will be rolling out the next update to ColorOS in Q1 2018, which will address many of things raised including accessibility, notifications, and launchers.
We also appreciate that our award winning devices come jam-packed with gestures and features that perhaps aren’t communicated clearly enough. Things like access to widgets by pinching the screen, or our host of screen-off gestures add tremendous value to the end user. We will be producing and releasing a series of short tutorial videos to help ensure people get the most out of their OPPO devices.
We appreciate your feedback and will keep you updated with our latest enhancements and innovations. In the meantime, early sales figures suggest the R11s series will be our most loved device to date. And at $659 and $779 respectively, we believe that’s down to the flagship experience at a mid-range price point.
As we continue to grow in Australia, our customers will play a key role in shaping future devices and offerings. We look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.
Many thanks
Michael Tran
Executive Director
OPPO Australia
We appreciate the time Michael’s taken to respond, and acknowledge that they, too, have recognised some of the issues that we’ve found with the device. Some of what OPPO have referred to – e.g. pinching on the home screen to use widgets – we’ve not been able to actually do on an R11s. Other things, around notifications, accessibility and the ability to choose a launcher, are acknowledged as problems which OPPO will fix.
Fundamentally, though, OPPO believe they’re onto an award winning formula with their mobile devices, referring to the Canstar award last year for overall customer satisfaction. For the most part, we’d agree.
However, it’s over to you – the reader. You’ve read Scott’s thoughts on where OPPO’s headed, especially with ColourOS and the R11s, and now you’ve had the opportunity to read OPPO’s response. So, jump on into the comments. How do you see it?
