Chinese smartphone leader Oppo has entered into a strategic partnership with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD to enhance the interoperability between advanced smartphones and smart cars. The collaboration aims to integrate Oppo’s Android handsets with BYD’s EVs, allowing users to unlock and control their vehicles through their smartphones. This initiative highlights the growing synergy between mobile technology and the automotive industry in China.
Oppo’s latest flagship 5G smartphone series, the Find X8, is the first product to feature this integration. Using over-the-air connectivity, the Find X8 can control BYD’s newly launched Tengshi Z9 GT intelligent sedan, marking a significant step forward in connected vehicle technology.
In addition to this collaboration, Oppo is reportedly acquiring AI start-up AIWaves, according to a report by Chinese digital media outlet Jiemian. This acquisition aligns with Oppo’s broader strategy of diversifying its business beyond smartphones, following in the footsteps of companies like Huawei, which has expanded into artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor design, and cloud services.
Founded in 2023, AIWaves developed its large language model, “Weaver,” which underpins generative AI (GenAI) services similar to ChatGPT. With this acquisition, Oppo aims to integrate GenAI functionalities across its entire smartphone lineup, making AI capabilities more accessible to its 50 million users. By the end of the year, Oppo expects to roll out these features, ranging from its budget smartphones to premium models. According to Nicole Zhang, Oppo’s general manager of AI products, this initiative is part of the company’s vision to bring AI-powered tools to a broader audience.
AIWaves’ flagship product, Wawa Writing (Frog Writing in English), is an AI tool designed to assist with writing tasks such as marketing copy and fiction. It boasts the ability to generate up to 100,000 Chinese words in just 10 minutes, making it a highly efficient tool for content creation. The acquisition will also see AIWaves’ founder join Oppo, further strengthening the company’s AI ambitions. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.
Oppo’s move into AI mirrors similar efforts by other Chinese smartphone manufacturers, including Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi, all of which are incorporating GenAI capabilities into their devices to enhance features like note-taking, messaging, and photography. These developments signal a broader trend of integrating AI into consumer electronics, promising to transform the user experience across a range of applications.
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