OPPO- one of the biggest Chinese smartphone brands has set up an in-house chip design unit after the US crippled Huawei Technologies’ smartphone division in order to become self-reliant. OPPO’s Shanghai-based chip subsidiary Zeiku which was set up in 2019 has now been confirmed by the company that it will be shutting down. The products of Zeiku included the MariSilicon series of chips which consist of the MariSilicon X ISP and the MariSilicon Y audio chip.
In the statement about shutting down its chip design unit, a representative of the company said, “Due to the uncertainties in the global economy and the smartphone industry, we have to make difficult adjustments for long-term development.”
Speculators pointed out that OPPO invested over $1.4 billion in its chipset development business therefore this decision of the company is not bad news for the OPPO fans but for the company as well. This is because the chip-making business developed in-house co-processors, ISPs, modems, power management, and audio chips. Now OPPO will have to revert back to relying on third-party chip partners.
Currently, Apple and Samsung the two top smartphone brands develop their own mobile chips and other chips for their own products. This somewhere helps them to stand out from their competitors. After OPPO’s this shocking move we will just have to wait and see that with which company the brand partners with to get the mobile chips or other chips.
