The new smartphone renaissance: How AI is changing everything

For years, the smartphone industry seemed to have arrived at a fixed point. Ever more refined designs, ever more powerful cameras, but few real revolutions. Now, with the arrival of artificial intelligence, something is changing.

“Before AI, many considered the a bit boring market” admits Kevin Cho, CEO of Oppo Spain “But today technology can completely reconstruct the phone experience, from services to its ecosystem. It’s a rebirth for the entire sector.”

A concept that Jessica Chuang, Oppo’s marketing manager, also agrees with: “For a long time we focused on hardware: screens, batteries, cameras. But now the software has become the soul of the phone. Artificial intelligence gives shape to a new idea of ​​simplicity: it makes life more fluid, more personal, more ours.”

From hardware to software: the phone as a personal assistant

For Chuang, the real change is cultural: “With features like AI MySpace, the phone becomes an active companion. I can tell him ‘show me the restaurant I saved in Barcelona’ and he will find it for me. It’s a small example of how AI makes everything more intuitive.” A transformation that shifts the center of gravity from hardware to software, with AI becoming the point of contact between technology and everyday life.

Oppo plans to bring AI features to more than 100 million users by the end of the year, and not just on flagship models. “We want democratizing artificial intelligence” Cho emphasizes, “AI functions should not be a luxury, but part of everyone’s experience.”

From the smartphone to the “AI phone”

Oppo’s goal is clear: to transform the smartphone into the personal center of artificial intelligence. “We imagine a future where all AI services are integrated into the phone,” explains Cho, “The union between local AI and cloud will make telephone the heart of intelligent connections. It will be the platform from which communication, productivity and creativity will pass.”

A future that Elvis Zhou, CEO of Oppo Europe, defines as “a natural evolution towards more aware phones”. However, Zhou warns about the need to guarantee security and transparency: “We have specific projects for protect user data and strengthen privacy. AI can only improve lives if it is reliable and safe.”

Photography and AI: between reality and creativity

Photography is the terrain on which artificial intelligence most clearly shows its potential, but also its challenges. “It’s true that AI can correct, improve, even imagine,” observes Jessica Chuang, “but most people use it to capture the truthnot to falsify it. Functions like AI Eraser serve to remove disturbing elements, not to create an alternative reality.”

For Chuang, “smart” photography is a tool for creative freedom: “Many users use AI Studio to restore old photos of their parents or color them. It’s not a fake, it’s a way to make memories more alive. Ultimately, it’s the same principle as art: interpret reality to preserve its essence”.

An evolving ecosystem

AI doesn’t just change the phone, but the entire ecosystem of connected products. “Italians love to move, play sports, live outdoors,” says Chuang. “This is why we are expanding our offer of smartwatches and earphones, designed to accompany the user at any time of the day”.

In parallel, Oppo consolidates its strategic partnerships with Google, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Microsoft, aiming for a balance between on-device AI and cloud AI. “It is not a choice of field” specifies Chuang “The future will be hybrid and collaborative. Innovation arises only when multiple actors work together”.

An industry that surprises again

If the past decade saw linear growth, what opens today promises a new curve of innovation. “AI is the engine that reignites the industry’s imagination,” says Cho. “And we want it lead this transformationFor Zhou, the key will always be the centrality of the user: “The smartphone will remain the center of digital life, but it will be more intelligent, more human. The goal is to create devices that understand people, not just respond to commands.”