Oppo began with an MP3 player for the Chinese market and a DVD player for the United States. Today it sits among the top four smartphone brands worldwide, behind only Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi, according to Canalys data based on the third quarter of 2023.
Over more than twenty years, Orro has established eight production centers across China, India, Indonesia and Turkey. One facility sits in Chongqing, a central Chinese city whose population is twice the size of Moscow’s. These sites reflect a broad, globe-spanning manufacturing footprint that supports Oppo’s product lineup and regional market needs .
In Chongqing, the production campus spans a vast area and hosts a smart manufacturing operation built around Surface Mount Technology. The assembly line and a quality testing lab rely heavily on automated systems and robotics to perform tasks that once required human hands.
Externally, the campus resembles a hotel or corporate complex, with plentiful greenery, a small waterfall and a fountain with a pond that soften the industrial silhouette. Entering the grounds requires scanning the area with personal devices, a reminder of how tightly the facility integrates with modern security and data practices .
The testing and inspection process for the Oppo Find N3 foldable phone was a focal point of the visit, including a close look at every camera assembly. The tour reveled in the precision with which each sensor is handled, and the thoroughness with which the cameras were evaluated at the testing stations.
From behind glass, observers could see the assembly floor where robotic systems perform most tasks. Coco Jan, an Oppo product specialist, explained that the facility relies heavily on automation for quality control.
“About 90 to 95 percent of the SMT process is automated to minimize human error,” Jan noted, highlighting the shift toward machine-led production rather than manual handling.
Robots oversee almost every step, from printing circuit boards and mounting components to bonding and final testing. While machines handle the bulk of work, human operators still manage nonessential tasks and prep machines for production runs.
In a separate area, visitors observed finished devices undergoing readiness checks before shipment to distribution centers. One memorable moment involved an Orro employee in a cleanroom setting who appeared to be playing mobile games while testing device behavior under sustained load—a totem of how automated testing frees human time for oversight and analysis.
Oppo runs more than 150 tests on its Chongqing smartphones, with the majority automated. A standout test is the drop sequence, conducted in several stages from heights of 1, 1.5 and 1.8 meters. Other tests include plug and remove cycles for the charger, button-press endurance, and a bend test simulating wear from sitting in a back pocket. Robotic arms also verify the folding and unfolding of hinge covers.
“In total, 800 thousand key tests are conducted for each side power button, volume button and fingerprint sensor. If a user pressed a key every second, it would take ten days to complete all manual tests,” Jan explained. Specific batches of smartphones go through similar, model-spanning test regimes. The scale — and the precision — underscore how automated testing reduces the need for manual repetition yet preserves rigorous oversight.
Phase by phase, it becomes clear why robotics play an essential role in this environment, and how the factory balances automated efficiency with human checks.
Photo laboratory in IKEA style
Another Orro laboratory operates in Dongguan, China, where cameras are tested in a controlled, studio-like setting. The Oppo Imaging Laboratory covers around 600 square meters and is organized into 16 zones that resemble miniature showrooms in an IKEA-style indoor city. The design aims to standardize test conditions and verify camera performance under varied contexts.
Within these zones, interiors adopt themes such as a karaoke club, a children’s room, a supermarket, a bookstore and even a KFC-inspired space. While some furnishings are real, the food visuals are artificial and materials used for props are intentionally nonfunctional to prevent variation in test results. A few cosmetic products in one area are real, providing a contrast with the synthetic environment.
Everything in these setups is fixed in place to ensure consistency from shot to shot. Robots glide through the spaces, carrying smartphones and following marked paths that indicate where photos should be captured.
“During camera development, a single model can undergo at least 150 photo-testing cycles, with roughly 500 images per cycle. That adds up to about 75 thousand photos per smartphone model,” Jan revealed. The tests are fully automated, with robots moving to designated spots and adjusting lighting to simulate a range of real-world scenes. This approach helps reveal camera strengths and weaknesses across diverse shooting conditions.
As Jan observed, what once required engineers to spend an entire day now takes only two hours for a complete photo-testing round. This acceleration translates into faster iteration and more rapid refinement of imaging algorithms. After each testing cycle, Oppo teams assess dynamic range, color accuracy, brightness, sharpness, noise levels and portrait quality, using mannequins placed in different positions to standardize measurements. Upon passing all tests, camera processing algorithms are refined toward an optimal benchmark.
When the camera algorithms pass internal validation, Oppo sponsors field tests in real-world environments across multiple cities and weather conditions, ensuring robust performance before broader deployment. The same evaluation framework is used across devices to confirm consistency and reliability in imaging performance under real-use scenarios.
Office and private smartphones
A reporter from a technology outlet also visited Oppo headquarters in Shenzhen, China, where the company’s hallmark devices and foldable concepts were showcased. Among the unmoved artifacts were early foldable prototypes that never reached mass production, offering a glimpse into the company’s design explorations.
Several folding prototype concepts dated back to 2018, predating the commercial launch of some rival devices. While visible behind glass, these prototypes were not available for hands-on testing. In addition to foldables, the Shenzhen campus exhibited phones tailored to the Chinese market, including early Oppo handsets prior to Android, as well as branded televisions and smartwatches.
The standout device in this section was the Oppo Find X, a striking smartphone featuring a body-integrated panel with dual main cameras and a front camera, eliminated from visible notches. Its elegant design invited admiration, even as commercial development in this exact form has not yet taken off across the industry.
Overall, the tour offered a look into Oppo’s past innovations and ongoing exploration, from manufacturing automation to pioneering imaging capabilities and boundary-pushing form factors.