China's Oppo set to introduce camera-centric N1 smartphone in September

There are quite a few Chinese smartphone manufacturers that remain relatively unknown in other parts of the world. But their smartphones are definitely worth finding out about. One such player, Oppo, has finally unveiled its camera-centric smartphone, which was hinted at earlier. The Chinese smartphone will compete with the likes of the Nokia Lumia 1020 or the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom.

The USP of the smartphone, called Oppo N1, is the new “Owl” chip that it sports, according to Android Authority. The imaging chip has reportedly been engineered for superior low-light performance. Apart from that, the smartphone will also come with the new N-Lens and Xenon flash.

The latest news suggests that the Oppo N1 is all set to get a release date soon, perhaps as soon as the end of September. The company recently confirmed the existence of the smartphone on its Weibo (China’s equivalent of Twitter) account. There is still not much else known about the smartphone, though. Earlier information indicated that the smartphone will come with a 13 megapixel camera, which is the best in its class in terms of low-light shooting capabilities. What else the smartphone will come packing, or even how it will look for sure, has still not been revealed.

The Oppo N1 should come with specifications comparable to the company's Find 5

The Oppo N1 could come with a relatively cheaper price tag in comparison to other flagship smartphones sold in the US. That being said, the N1 will still come with a reported $480 (Rs 30,880 approx) price tag, which is still a bit hefty.

Oppo’s earlier flagship, the Find 5, came with impressive specifications. Thus, it can be assumed that the N1 will most likely come with similar specifications, i.e., a 1080p display as well as a good image sensor. While other details are scanty, this latest smartphone offering brings to light the increasing demand being placed for smartphones with higher imaging quality.

There have been reports of Sony looking at some heavyweight lenses for its upcoming Honami/i1 series. And other companies are not far behind. HTC has been rolling out its Ultrapixel bearing smartphones for a while now, while Motorola stands strong with its Clearpixel technology. From all the evidence presented, there is definitely a market for camera-centric smartphones. What remains to be seen is how Oppo’s latest offering will stand up against the likes of Sony, Samsung, HTC and Motorola.