In a rather curious move, OPPO Malaysia earlier today has sent a media note regarding 5G smartphones. According to the brief, one of OPPO’s 5G phone has recently received Certificate of Conformity from SIRIM.
The note has also included a copy of the certificate which was apparently issued on 15 January 2020 but some of its details including the phone’s model name have been redacted by OPPO without any explanation. Then again, we are sure that some of you aware that SIRIM database can be accessed by members of the public.
Upon a quick search, we have learned that the certificate was issued for CPH1921 which is model number for Reno 5G that the company launched in selected markets last year. In fact, the phone has actually made a public appearance in Malaysia before as it was used for a demonstration with Celcom back in July 2019.
In general, this is a weird flex by OPPO. Hence, it made us wonder if this is a kneejerk reaction to the move made by Huawei who has confirmed the Mate 30 Pro 5G for Malaysia by publishing the same type of certificate from SIRIM, just a day after we spotted its gigantic billboard in Subang Jaya.
Even if that is the case, we still not sure why OPPO decide to bring an aging 5G phone into the market instead of its spanking new Reno3 Pro (shown above) and Reno3 5G. Then again, the company did mention in the same media note that there are new phones on their way to our market.
With Huawei and OPPO have now publicly revealed their commitment to 5G in Malaysia, we expect more brands to do the same very soon. Especially as we get closer to the commercial roll out of our 5G network which is expected to take place in Q3 2020.
