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MagyarOnly Xiaomi 13 Ultra but no Oppo Find X6 Pro and Vivo X90 Pro+: The erratic and disappointing product policy of many Chinese companies in Europe
"Thank goodness we have Xiaomi" is what many people might be thinking in light of the news coming from China right now. After all, we in Germany and Austria will soon be getting the highly anticipated Xiaomi 13 Ultra without having to purchase it from import retailers. Nevertheless, like many Chinese smartphone makers, Xiaomi is also not immune to making baffling product policy sometimes. Only the company's top management would know, for instance, why the Xiaomi 12S Ultra or Mix Fold 2 is not sold outside China. Not to mention what appears to be artificially inflated prices in Europe as well as a borderline confusing product lineup in the mid-range segment.
Now comes the latest bad news from the Middle Kingdom. At least according to the usually well-informed leaker Ice Universe, Oppo is apparently not planning an international launch for its rather exciting flagship camera phone Oppo Find X6 Pro. The reasons? Beats me. Perhaps it is because of lacklustre sales figures of previous-gen models or agreements made with competing companies. We don't know for certain and can only speculate at the moment, but this seemingly very erratic product policy definitely has a pattern. Vivo is arguably the best example of what not to do if you are trying to establish a new high-end brand in Europe after the departure of Huawei.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be sold globally, but OPPO Find X6 Pro will not.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) March 10, 2023
Vivo has been doing for years what companies shouldn't
I've been critical of the company, which like Oppo is owned by BKK Electronics Corporation, for the fact that its product policy in Europe comes across as completely haphazard. Most of the best models in the X series are reserved for the Chinese market (once again happening now with the Vivo X90 Pro+). Not only that, Vivo has in the past also sold downgraded EU versions at unreal European prices and even inexplicably allowed product prices to vary by hundreds of euros within the EU. Can a company cultivate a good brand image this way? I doubt so.
And now Oppo too seems to be chipping away at the quality of its brand by refusing to offer anything better outside China apart from OnePlus flagships, which have been negatively impacted by perplexing product policy in the past. That said, it bears mentioning that the information provided by the leaker has yet to be officially confirmed. On a related note, we of course also have to talk about the patent lawsuits from Nokia. These disputes could certainly cause Oppo to lose any real interest they have left in the European market, though we are hearing similar rumours about a cancelled Oppo Find X6 Pro launch in Vietnam.
If we don't want to end up with a duopoly between Apple and Samsung like the one in the US, there once again needs to be more flagship killers in Europe that dare to forgo a little bit of profit in order to gain market share. However, this is getting more and more difficult in view of Xiaomi's current strategy to set prices high as well as Oppo's potential departure from the flagship segment – Apple and Samsung will be happy about it.
Update 1:20 pm: Further indication of a China-only launch
German blogger Nils Ahrensmeier reportedly heard from sources within Oppo that the company has apparently no intention of launching a successor to the Oppo Find X5 Pro (available on Amazon for €878/US$889/£799) on the European market.
Jup, kann ich aus Unternehmenskreisen bestätigen. Ein genauer Grund wurde mir nicht genannt, aber sehr schade. https://t.co/oqnvqAm1D8
— Nils Ahrensmeier (@NilsAhrDE) March 10, 2023
Source(s)
Ice Universe, Nils Ahrensmeier, own information
