Oppo may be considering replacing Wifi with Lifi

The media have been talking about Lifi for years, a technology that could replace WiFi or coexist with it. Unlike Wifi which uses radio waves, Lifi uses light waves and could allow faster data transfers. But for now, players in the smartphone market have yet to embrace this technology.

The good news is that obviously Oppo is already thinking about how it could support Lifi on its smartphones. In an article published this week, our colleagues from Android Authority relay an article from LetsGoDigital, which claims to have discovered an Oppo patent concerning this technology.

OPPO LiFi smartphone is 100x faster than WiFi.https://t.co/aK4lDnkaW3 pic.twitter.com/8F02yXKKBX

— LetsGoDigital – Mark Peters (@letsgodigitalNL) August 11, 2020

More specifically, the patent describes a smartphone with sensors arranged on the back and / or on the upper edge and which would therefore allow the device to support Lifi connectivity. Oppo would also have imagined an isolation device that would allow Lifi communication not to be disturbed by variations in ambient light.

The successor to WiFi?

If Lifi cannot pass through walls, unlike Wifi, this technology which would use lamps could on the other hand allow faster data transfers, and could also reduce the risk of network congestion.

But for the moment, there is no guarantee that Oppo is indeed developing a smartphone equipped with a Lifi module. Indeed, companies of this size can have very many intellectual properties, but not all use them. In any case, the patent proves that Oppo is anticipating the transition to this new technology.

It should also be noted that Oppo invests a lot of money in research and development. At the end of 2019, he announced that he plans to spend $ 7 billion over three years in this area. And while Oppo started out as a maker of low cost smartphones for rural areas in China, today it is one of the most innovative brands in the global mobile market.