If the only two names that pop into your head when you think of the best phones on the market are Apple and Samsung, frankly, you’re thinking too small.
Chinese phone makers don’t just make phones that compete with Apple and Samsung; in some respects, they surpass the iPhones and Galaxy – in batteries and fast charging stations, and especially when it comes to cameras.
On Wednesday, Oppo launched its latest photography-focused high-end phones, the Find X10 and Find X10 Pro, on the sun-drenched Spanish island of Mallorca. A finca covered with bougainvillea and surrounded by lush olive groves and roving wild goats might at first glance seem like an offbeat choice for a Chinese tech giant to host a global launch event, but the decision is far from random. Spain is Oppo’s biggest European market, and it’s only getting bigger.
It’s a story we see repeating itself around the world. According to researchers Counterpoint and Omdia, Oppo was the fourth largest phone manufacturer worldwide by shipments in the first half of this year. Already well established in China, the company is now seeing growth across the globe, and especially in Europe.
It’s an impressive feat, because growing a smartphone business is harder than it’s ever been. It’s no secret that RAMageddon, the ongoing memory shortage, is driving up phone prices and causing a massive drop in shipments.
Phone makers might put on a brave face as they release new devices to the world, but behind the scenes they are struggling to come up with new strategies that will hopefully see them through in the short and long term.
Growing sales of flagship and premium phones will be key to their survival, said Runar Bjorhovde, principal analyst at market research firm Omdia, during a briefing at the Oppo event. Compared to the budget and midrange segments, the high-end segment is relatively resilient.
You might think this means more exciting (if expensive) phones everywhere – Witness the launch of Apple’s foldable iPhone Duo, which starts at $1,999 – especially in rich countries like the United States. But that is not exactly the case.
Bad news for US phone buyers
When it comes to premium phone markets, none is bigger or more profitable than the United States. And yet Oppo and other Chinese smartphone manufacturers are well clear.
There are several reasons for this. First, they don’t have Apple and Samsung’s long-standing carrier relationships that make it easier to present their phones as solid options to buyers. Along with the geopolitical roadblocks affecting Chinese technology companies, this makes the US simply too complicated and precarious right now to make this investment worthwhile.
“The barriers to entry make it almost impossible to enter and actually scale there unless you have a lot of money to invest,” Bjorhovde said. Instead, the money they have to invest is poured into Europe. (Oppo said it will increase its investment in its European business by 30% over the next three years.)
This is bad news for Americans who simply don’t and won’t be able to take advantage of the full range of choices that people in Europe and beyond have to offer, including the Find X10 Pro. In CNET’s review of the device, Editor-at-Large Andrew Lanxon described it as “a powerhouse phone worthy of its flagship title,” praising its cameras as the best on the market alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Xiaomi’s Leitzphone.
Of these three, only one is on sale in the US, but Europeans can take their pick.
“It definitely feels like US consumers are missing out by not having the latest and greatest smartphones from the leading Chinese manufacturers,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at FDM CCS. It’s especially noticeable when it comes to some of the most advanced foldable phones from companies like Honor, Oppo and Xiaomi, he added.
break duopoly
The Apple-Samsung duopoly that dominates the American market also exists in Europe, but to a lesser extent. But Elvis Zhou, Oppo’s European CEO, wants to see them completely broken.
“People deserve more exciting options,” he said in a briefing with journalists. When it comes to choosing a premium phone, he believes people have a choice between three or four brands, rather than just two.
This reflects the more diverse range of successful phone brands in China, he added. In his company’s home country, there are only a few percentage points difference between Huawei, Apple, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi and Honor.
Xiaomi, Honor and Vivo are now all fighting with Oppo for a piece of the European pie. One sign of increased competition is the shrinking gap between products launched in China and Europe, which has historically exceeded months. Zhou says that is changing – the Find X10 series launched in China just a month ago.
When it comes to choosing a premium phone, Omdia research shows that buyers place more importance on camera quality than people buying budget and midrange devices, but also “softer” values, including preferred brand, perceived status and aesthetics. Oppo has tweaked its camera system, but the same is not necessarily true of the latest values.
However, Zhou is not worried. Oppo is virtually targeting Gen Z with the Find X10 series (Omdia research shows that people under 35 are most likely to buy premium phones), and he thinks they are savvy enough to look beyond ads to first-person recommendations and chatbots that offer specifics-based advice to distinguish which product offers the best value.
“We want to focus on the younger generation because … they know how to make the decision very logically – they will not make the decision just by the brand name,” he said. “Young people really care about the product itself, and they can get all the information they want from AI and from social media. It’s a good opportunity for me.”
The company has already found success with this strategy for the Find X9 series, which saw its share of the premium European market quadruple between 2025 and 2026, according to Omdia.
But even if Oppo had made progress in Europe, it may be difficult to sustain that effort over time, Wood said — especially since all of its Chinese rivals are adopting a very similar strategy at the same time.
The competition may be tough, but Oppo is ready to play the long game. “We are very patient,” Zhou said with a wry smile. “We don’t run here in Europe.”
Editor’s note: Katie Collins travel expenses were covered by Oppo. CNET’s judgments and opinions are our own.
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