If you have not known yet, Malaysia is on lock down from the 18th March 2020 all the way to the end of the month on the 31st March 2020. Well, some may argue that it is not technically a lock down, rather a restricted movement order. Whatever it is, the government has put their hammer down and asks everyone that is not essential to the country’s main functions to stay at home. We have stayed in for two days.
While the news for COVID-19 remains as bleak as ever, there are still some that aims to cheer the people up. Life goes on as well for everyone, HUAWEI is soon releasing their foldable Mate Xs still into the market, despite the lock down. HMD and Xiaomi is still going ahead with their global smartphone launch; although this has nothing to do with Malaysia’s lock down. Stores are still operating in full capacity. Except, everyone is online now.
OPPO is one such brand that is still doing business as usual online. They are soon releasing the OPPO Find X2 Pro 5G on the 21st of March 2020. They have also just launched their new entry-level smartphone, the OPPO A91 into the market with the help of Lazada and Shopee; their online marketplace partners. They are not stopping there though. For the period of the lock down (19th March 2020 – 31st March 2020) they are giving out massive discounts in their own web store.
Considering that, it would be quite selfish of us to not share what they have in store for you. Here are the five things we thought you might want to buy for the lock down. Keep in mind there are no particular standings to the listed items.
1. OPPO Enco Free True Wireless Earbuds (IoT, MYR 599)
A little about the history of OPPO. They did not really start with manufacturing smartphones. They were initially a digital audio company. They started life as OPPO Electronics making high-end earphones, amps, and speakers. They were good at that too. They made the iconic OPPO PM-1. (PM for Planar Magentic) headphones. In MYR, they were worth more than 10,000. Sadly they went out of production.
Still, the legacy of their audio expertise live on with the OPPO Enco Free True Wireless earphones. The OPPO Enco Free TWS earphones is worth MYR 599. With the battery case, it offers up to 25 hours of music playback. The earphones itself gives you 5 hours of music playback, which also means the little, compact case gives you five four extra charges.
With Binaural Bluetooth transmission on top of the Bluetooth 5.0, OPPO’s Enco Free ensures that you have a constant and stable feed of music from your connected smartphone. Yes, it does sound good too with a large (for an in-ear earphone) 13.4mm driver stuck within its slim body. The stems are also touch buttons that supports slide gestures or even touch gestures. Plus, the interchangeable silicon tips ensure that you get a good fit and that your Enco Free does not drop off. Of course, it makes a great wireless earpiece too.
2. The OPPO Find X2 Series (Smartphone, MYR 3,699 – 4,599)
In this case, we did not mention a specific model. There is a reason for that. The reason is that it is quite difficult to choose, for us anyway.
The OPPO Find X2 series is a flagship series that is two years in waiting. The pro version is only coming on the 21st of March 2020. But that does not mean that you should not get the regular OPPO Find X2. The differences, though can be quite an upgrade in experience, is minute enough that you can consider saving MYR 600 and get the OPPO Find X2. You only get one different lens, a battery that is 60mAh smaller, and a smaller memory module.
Both devices are great devices though. Both supports 5G connectivity so you have the option to upgrade to a 5G SIM card once its available. Both pack Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 for good measure. Both are ultra-smooth operators with 6.7-inch AMOLED QHD+ display that refreshes at 120Hz and samples at 240Hz. Both have the same great 48-Megapixel main shooter. What more could you want from a flagship?
3. Coros Pace (Wearables, MYR 899)
It is important to keep yourself active and find ways to exercise at home in the lock down period. These two weeks at home can make a person lazy very fast. There are tonnes of home exercises you can do as well. There are tonnes of them you can find online. That is easy enough then.
What is difficult is keeping your progress in check. You need a fitness tracker for that one. But what is the use of a fitness tracker that you only use for two weeks? You should get one that would last you even longer than two weeks. You should get one that you can take even up the mountains when you go for a hike. You should get the Coros Pace from OPPO’s web store.
The Coros Pace is hardly a smartwatch. There is no Bluetooth connectivity on it either. It does have GPS/GLONASs though. That means that the watch can trace your steps to form a running or cycling map for you. Like any fitness tracker too, you get an accurate heart rate monitor. It will also go deep into the water with you with 5 ATM water resistance rating. Of course, it tells time. What is amazing about this fitness tracker is that it will last you up to 50 days (in UltraMax GPS mode, up to 30 days in regular use).
4. WeLoop XH3 Smartwatch (Wearables, MYR 369)
Regular fitness trackers are not your thing? No problem, you go for the WeLoop XH3 smartwatch. One big plus side; it is cheaper than the Coros Pace, a whole lot cheaper.
Cheap does not mean bad though. The square face displays everything that you need. It is even a touch screen so interaction with it is simple. Being a smartwatch, you can connect it to your smartphone and work as your notifier with vibrations and what not.
Of course, this works as your fitness tracker too. It has a heart rate monitor on its back, it has got all the right motion sensors to keep your movements recorded and decoded correctly, it connects to all the popular fitness apps you can find on your smartphone, and for good measure you can take it swimming too. Beyond all that, it can last you up to 40 days on a single charge. That eliminates the need of plugging it into a charge constantly or every night. A watch should not have to be kept on a charger, it should be worn, and this is designed to be worn
5. Various Data and Charging Cables
OPPO has a accessories arm called Olike. They make things like powerbank, TWS earphones, and Bluetooth Headphones and even regular earphones. They also make cables, good cables.
One thing that all of us in the tech industry can agree on is that you can never have too many spare cables. There is pain in looking for the right cables when you need a charge of your powerbank or even your friend’s powerbank. Even when you want to leech off your friend’s PC for more juice, you always need a cable.
Having your own cable also means that it is one less thing to worry about when you need power. Plus, when you take a photo and need to offload it for post processing on your PC, it is always good to know you have a cable somewhere in your bag.
Olike cables are reasonably priced and they work well too. We especially like their braided cables because they feel like they can last forever. They support all kinds of fast charging too, so even if you are using a Qualcomm Fast Charge 3.0, or OPPO’s VOOC charging, you are safe with Olike cables.
Codes Codes Codes
What was the point of all this again? Oh yes, OPPO is giving out discounts in their own web store. The discounts are not reflected on the store though unless you have a discount code. What discount codes?
| Code | Voucher Worth (MYR) | Limitations |
| TechENTIOT50 | 50 | Enco Q1 & Enco Free |
| TechENTOPPO20 | 20 | Phones below RM600 |
| TechENTOPPO50 | 50 | Phones from RM600 to RM999 |
| TechENTOPPO100 | 100 | Phones from RM1000 to RM1999 |
| TechENTOPPO200 | 200 | Phones RM2000 and above |
| TechENTxOPPOFindX2 | 250 | FindX2 and Find X2 Pro |
We have you covered. Now you can go shop. More information on products can be found on OPPO’s website.