China's iPhone killer is coming to NZ

The Oppo R9 is a high-end phone at a fraction of the cost. Photo / Supplied

There is no need to spend more than $1000 for a premium smartphone, with one manufacturer offering high-end specs for just a fraction of the cost.

After becoming the number one selling smartphone manufacturer in China, Oppo turned its attention to the Australia and New Zealand market two years ago.

Oppo Australia executive director Michael Tran said the company had slowly been building momentum locally and its latest A$600 (NZ$630) flagship R9s smartphone was the device needed to push it the next level.

A local price for New Zealand has not been announced but is likely to be competitive

"We want to show people that a good price doesn't mean a compromise on quality," he told news.com.au.

"What the Oppo R9s offers is premium features at a mid-range price point."

The latest addition to Oppo's R9 line-up has been designed to meet current demands for greater camera features and improved technologies.

Just like its predecessors, the R9s has been designed to be the perfect device for selfie lovers and includes 16MP front facing camera, with a large f/2.0 aperture and Oppo's Screen Flash technology for quality images in low light conditions.

An all new Sony IMX398 sensor has been exclusively designed for the smartphones rear facing 16MP camera, which combines with an extra wide f/1.7 aperture to capture 40 per cent more light than the previous models - this will improve lowlight shooting and noise reduction.

The camera also includes dual phase detection autofocus, which promises to offer 40 per cent faster focus speeds to help capture crystal-clear images on the run.

Mr Tran said improving the camera was about meeting Australiasia's insatiable appetite for a smartphone that can replace a DSLR.

"People want to capture high quality images and videos on their smartphones, we believe the R9s allows users to achieve this without spending a fortune," he said.

The 5.5-inch R9s is eerily similar to the iPhone in design - both with its all-metal body physical appearance and the design of the app icons and fonts.

It has a 1080p display, 8-core processor, 4GB of RAM memory and 64GB of on-board storage, which can be expanded to 256GB with a Micro SD card.

The R9s further enhances the performance with a "six-string" antenna design - operating on six frequency ranges, which dynamically chooses the best for 4G and Wi-Fi signals.

The device's 3010 mAh battery and VOOC Flash Charge technology will offer heavy users enough charge for the day, while the fingerprint recognition system will become faster over time as it constancy refines its image of the user's fingerprint.

Unfortunately, the R9s doesn't include the latest Android Nougat operating system - it comes with Google Android Marshmallow 6.0.1.

This means you don't get new features such as running two apps side-by-side, Android's built-in virtual reality platform or Google Assistant.

The R9s also lacks waterproofing and doesn't have a Near Field Communication chip required for touch-and-go payments on retail ­terminals.

While the phone does lack these minor features, you just have to ask if they are worth paying an extra $600 to have included on a high-end device.

The new device will be available for pre-order from select Oppo Australian retailers including JB Hi-Fi, Optus, and Woolworths Mobile. New Zealand retail partners have not yet been announced.

The R9s will be released in Australia on January 30.