“Decoding every aspect of a selfie with insights from a survey”
The smartphone industry is one of the most dynamic businesses to be in. Seeing how a smartphone is the most personal piece of tech a person can own, buyers look for tailor-made devices best suited to their needs. Therefore, smartphone brands have to constantly monitor the ongoing trends and mould their products to cater to the audience’s demands. For instance, 2016 was the year of sturdy metal smartphones and we saw devices with unibody metal designs not just in the premium segment, but the budget category as well. While most of these trends come and go, there’s one which has not just gained popularity in recent times, but has also stayed with the consumers… and that is the need for a good front-facing camera. Thankfully, selfie-centric smartphones such as the OPPO F1s have taken it upon themselves to change the perception by offering high-res 16MP front, and thus leading from the front in the selfie revolution. So what’s next for selfies and which type of selfies are trending right now? We reached out to OPPO, which provided us with some interesting data based on an online research* conducted by Nielsen in India. Read on to find out what the survey conducted by the company showed.
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No longer playing the fiddle
The rear-facing camera has been termed as the primary camera for a smartphone for many years, as it often comes with better optics to capture stills. However, with the rise of selfies, smartphone manufacturers started showering love on the front camera too, resulting in handsets with high-quality lenses up front. As per the data from the survey conducted by OPPO, out of ten pictures clicked by consumers, six had been taken using the front-facing camera and four using the rear-facing camera. Therefore, not only is the front-facing camera now equipped with better lenses and optics to capture clearer selfies, but it’s slowly becoming the more used camera.
Selfies paving the way for groupfies
We have probably used the term a million times already, but if you are somehow unclear on what a selfie is, then allow us to clear your doubts. A selfie is a self-portrait of someone usually clicked by the person with their smartphone’s front-facing camera. A group selfie takes it one step further and is a selfie of a person in a group. As per the data, out of ten selfies clicked by a consumer, only four are selfies and six are group selfies. This goes on to show that people are interested in taking pictures in a group more than a regular selfie. Additionally, group selfies are captured in various situations such as partying, family or official functions, travelling, etc.
What users look for in selfie-centric smartphones?
The demand for a smartphone with a good front-facing camera has never been higher. Since demand creates supply, several manufacturers have introduced a special segment of selfie-centric smartphones in the market which come with several unique features. For starters, most of these devices come bearing a high pixel count on the front-facing camera. Some smartphones even come with a dedicated front-facing flash along with built-in software tweaks which allow users to click selfies by using gestures. According to the survey, almost all users were aware of features like pixel resolution, Beautify modes, gestures and wide-angle lenses.
While there are plenty of features to go about in a selfie-centric device, the top three features that a user looks out for are the pixel resolution, front-facing flash and beautifying features.
Just one ain’t enough
If you’ve wondered to yourself why you can’t click a good selfie on the first attempt, then you are not alone. According to the survey, a large majority of people required on average three attempts to click the perfect selfie primarily due to difficulties in capturing a wider scene, fitting all the people, bad lighting and inconvenient placement of the shutter. Of the aforementioned hurdles, the problem of fitting an entire group in a selfie was the biggest problem faced by consumers which could be why selfie-centric smartphones with wide-angle lenses at the front are becoming more prevalent.
Filters trump makeup
If you’ve seen your social media feeds flooded with selfies and groupfies, then you shouldn’t be shocked. According to the report, almost 87 percent of consumers upload their self-portraits on various social media platforms. It was also found that over 93 percent of users upload their pictures on Facebook while approximately 69 percent share them on messaging apps. Naturally, editing apps are on the rise as a user spends anywhere between 15-30 minutes fine-tuning their selfies. Smartphone vendors have also started equipping their devices with built-in editing and enhancement features such as the Beautify mode on the OPPO F1s.
If you’ve seen your social media feeds flooded with selfies and group selfies, then you shouldn’t be shocked. According to the report, almost 87 percent of consumers upload their self-portraits on various social media platforms. It was also found that over 93 percent of users upload their pictures on Facebook while approximately 69 percent share them on messaging apps. Naturally, editing apps are on the rise as a user spends anywhere between 15-30 minutes fine-tuning their selfies. Smartphone vendors have also started equipping their devices with built-in editing and enhancement features such as the Beautify mode on the OPPO F1s. Here worth mention, OPPO has made built-in beautify function in 2012, which was the world’s first one.
There are a plethora of smartphone brands in business right now which offer great cameras on the back as well as the front. However, the top three spots are reserved by Apple, Samsung and OPPO amongst which, only OPPO and Samsung offer good camera-centric smartphones at affordable price points. If you plan on clicking a lot of group selfies without spending too much, then you’d be better off with one of OPPO’s wide angle options. And it seems that the brand will continue to maintain its lead in the selfie phenomenon as its upcoming smartphone flaunts dual cameras at the front.
* The research was conducted by Nielsen in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin and Kolkata in February 2017 among 1001 consumers who purchased a smartphone after 2014 and took the selfie at least once a week.
