Oppo R9 Gets a Drastic Price Cut in China to Take on the Vivo X7

BY Sagar Gandhi

Published 4 Jul 2016

Oppo R9 Price drop

Chinese smartphone manufacturers are battling out to reign supreme. Leading the battle currently is the Oppo R9 (F1 Plus in some markets), which has sold an astonishing 7 million units in 3 months, or 1.1 units per second. Even with some impressive figures, the R9 is feeling the pressure from the Vivo X7.

The Vivo X7 shares a very similar design and configuration as the Oppo R9 and thus can be considered a worthy opponent. The X7 has clearly made Oppo feel the heat as the R9 has dropped its price by 300 Yuan. This puts the new price of the Oppo R9 at 2499 Yuan (USD 376), which is just 1 Yuan ($0.15) higher than the Vivo X7’s 2498 Yuan (USD 376) price tag.

This rivalry of Oppo and Vivo might draw consumer attention, but regardless of which device you purchase, BKK Electronics Corporation will ultimately be the winner. Just like the brand Snickers and Mars is owned by Mars Incorporated and the rivalry between the two chocolate bars is a marketing ploy to prevent other competitors from targeting their products and to promote their own products, so is the case of Oppo vs Vivo. Both these companies are subsidiaries of a larger company, the BKK Electronics Corporation.

The shared parent company and similarity between the devices does raise questions of innovation or lack-there-of, (similar to the chocolates, one candy bar has nuts and one doesn’t — not very innovative), however, one cannot deny the popularity of the Oppo R9. Either ways, does it really matter much to you and me if the prices drop and the rivalry sees a semblance competition?

Have a look at the images below to see how similar the two devices truly are, and have a read of our review on the Oppo R9 if you want some insight into the device. If you do decide to get one over the other (Oppo R9 or Vivo X7), we would like to hear your reasons behind that decision, so do share in the comments below.

Read: Oppo R9 Review

[Via Gizmo China]