Chinese handset-maker OPPO will spend about US$7 billion on research and development in the next three years.

The investment will help to develop core technologies in hardware, software and systems, as well as in 5G, 6G, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data and other technologies.

The R&D budget was announced by founder and CEO Tony Chen at a Dec. 10 company event in Shenzhen, where he said that OPPO "has been more than just a phone maker from the outset." Chen said the company plans to build a multiportal ecosystem of intelligent devices with smartphones as the key gateway.

New OPPO products slated for release in the first quarter of 2020 include smartwatches, smart wireless headphones and 5G customer premise equipment.