Oppo has started teasing its next phone launch in India. The phone in question, called the Oppo F25 Pro, is being touted as the slimmest 5G phone with an IP65 rating under Rs 25,000. But it’s also an AI phone, apparently, with Oppo coming in all gung-ho with all the smart things that it can do, particularly in the camera department.
In a press note shared with the media today, Oppo claims that the photography AI on the Oppo F25 Pro can recognise “the race, gender, and age of the subject to provide customised beauty effects, including brightened and smoothened skin, removal of facial imperfections, touch-up effects (lips and cheeks), and a lifted face.”
But wait, hold on. Before you bring your knives out accusing Oppo of insinuating something (the capabilities are very descriptive after all), the brand also mentions that its new phone can adjust “the brightness in photographs based on the actual environment to prevent overexposure and ensure natural skin tones and makeup colour.” So you’d think the Oppo F25 Pro seems to have a little something for everybody.
But then, once again, it goes down the rabbit hole saying the phone can “accurately identify and remove blemishes such as spots, acne, and acne marks; AI minimises pores for a polished skin effect while—at the same time—preserving the original features such as beauty spots.”
To us, this feels neither here nor there (but that is subjective). Look, there’s no denying that AI has started to infiltrate smartphones in a big way. To be fair, AI enhancements like the ones that Oppo is quoting now, have been part of its arsenal for years now, under different names. The brand probably coined the term “portrait expert” and made it more mainstream when no one even knew smartphones would take thought-provoking bokeh shots someday. Credit where it’s due.
At the same time, Oppo’s marketing pitch highlights AI’s current state. With so much happening, and no effective guidelines in place, there is no upper limit and because most of what AI can and can’t do is subject to how effective algorithms and data behind them are, there will always be the element of uncertainty (and the off chance that something could backfire). But there’s also the opportunity to get better over time.
Most smartphone brands have for long shied away from talking about the merits of good software leaving the onus on a select few. Most software coming from China is a straight-up copy of iOS, and not a good one either. And the fact that some brands also share it with sister brands means the same problems are duplicated and accelerated on a wider smartphone base, leaving little room for improvement, let alone innovation.
With smartphone conversations getting more and more AI-centred, all this may change. But even before that happens, brands will have to be doubly sure about what they’re getting into and also communicate it in a way that’s easy for customers to understand and make an informed decision. Maybe take some cues from Samsung or for that matter, from Apple that seems in no rush to get onboard.
Purely basis of hardware, the Oppo F25 Pro will be good-enough, but as an AI phone, it’s got some catching up to do, especially in terms of tone and clarity.
Oppo F25 Pro India launch is set for February 29, 2024.
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