Despite making promising development with its MariSilicon X ISP chip that’s found on OPPO devices like the Find X5 and X6 series and the Reno8 Pro, OPPO made a surprising announcement that it will shut down Zeku, the subsidiary that’s behind the development of these custom chips. With that announcement, its effectively the end for OPPO and its custom MariSilicon chips–which means we will no longer see any future phones using the MariSilicon X ISP, and that the MariSilicon Y audio chip will not make it to consumer devices.
OPPO has scraped off details of the MariSilicon Y on its website, while details about the MariSilicon X still remain. With OPPO telling Android Authority that “this change will not affect devices that (are) already using the MariSilicon X,” our guess is that there might be a few devices down the pipeline that will still use MariSilicon X. Our guess is that the Reno10 Pro might be the last OPPO phone to use MariSilicon X.
As for why it will end development on its MariSilicon chips, OPPO gave a brief statement on the matter, stating that it is “due to the uncertainties in the global economy and the smartphone industry.” OPPO calls the decision a difficult one, though it was necessary for the company’s long-term development.
OPPO’s decision to end development for MariSilicon chips comes at a time when smartphone shipments are at their lowest as of Q4 2022, where the global market is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic.
