China’s Oppo in Woolworths deal to sell high-end handsets

China’s Oppo has struck a crucial distribution deal with Woolworths to sell its $350 iPhone knock-off.

Oppo shows off its wares at a world meet in Barcelona.

Chinese phone maker Oppo has snared a deal with supermarket giant Woolworths that will see its new $350 iPhone knock-off with high-end Android features sell with your groceries.

The Oppo F1s is no slouch features-wise, with a large 5.5-inch display, eight-core 1.5GHz processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, big 3075 milliampere hour battery, and support for a microSD card for 256GB of additional storage.

Oppo promotes its 16MP front-facing camera as its signature feature. It has an upgraded screen flash, selfie panorama and palm-activated shutter. It has a 0.22s fingerprint reader for unlocking the phone.

To package that in a $350 phone shows the threat the China-branded phone makers present. High-end features for several hundred dollars less than competitors will create a buzz in the market. Woolworths will also stock the ultra-thin and more expensive Oppo R9 and R9 Plus handsets nationwide.

The deal will offset the collapse of Dick Smith, which affected Oppo’s Australian sales early this year. To get the Oppo from Woolworths, you’ll need to go on a $35-a-month plan with a Woolworths-branded 4G SIM card. If you would prefer to buy it outright, you can sneak around the corner to JB Hi-Fi and buy it there for $349.

JB Hi-Fi and Oppo also sell it outright online. Woolworths re-entered the mobile reseller space in May last year partnering up with Telstra to gain access to the incumbent telco’s 3G and 4G mobile networks.

Looks-wise, you would swear the F1s is an iPhone 6s. The R9 models are iPhone-esque too. But they are Android phones with the F1s running Lollipop 5.1 with Oppo’s Colour 3.0 OS overlay.

Oppo Australia chief marketing officer Michael Tran said the firm’s strategic partnerships had been key in its recent successes and its deal with Woolworths would let it build the Oppo brand in Australia.

“While we’re still a relatively young player in the Australian market, we are quickly becoming one of the leading brands for affordable premium smartphones,” Mr Tran said.

“Our partnership with Woolworths will get more of our premium devices into the hands of customers nationwide.”

Figures show that Oppo and fellow Chinese vendor Huawei have enjoyed steady growth. IDC figures show Oppo shipments grew from 2.8 per cent to 6.6 per cent globally year-on-year in the second quarter this year. Huawei’s share in last year’s first quarter was 5.2 per cent. Last quarter it was 9.4 per cent.