OPPO Zero-Power Tag is Named to TIME’s List of Best Inventions of 2023 for Envisioning a More Sustainable Future

November 2, 2023, SHENZHEN – OPPO’s Zero-Power Tag was announced to have landed on TIME’s list of Best Inventions for 2023 in the Experimental category, putting OPPO among the likes of Apple, Samsung, and Sony with a highly prestigious international accolade for invention.

Every year, TIME recognizes products, software, and services that are solving compelling problems in creative ways. The result is a list of 200 groundbreaking inventions changing how we live, work, play, and think about what’s possible. In the Experimental category, TIME’s recognition of the OPPO Zero-Power Tag adds to OPPO’s international reputation for technical expertise and novel thinking, and highlights a new approach to a sustainable world where IoT devices won’t generate polluting batteries.

“We are honored to be included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 list for the OPPO Zero-Power Tag in recognition of our achievements in innovation and sustainability, ” said Elvis Zhou, OPPO Overseas CMO. “As the shift to B5G/6G accelerates, there's a pressing challenge to expand IoT connectivity without exacerbating our world's e-waste problem. Born from OPPO's vision to blend convenience and environmental responsibility, OPPO Zero-Power Tag is an eco-friendly IoT device that communicates with phones using ambient energy instead of a battery. With object tracking, environmental monitoring and other smart features, we are very excited about the possibilities it will unlock in the IoT space. Moving forward, OPPO will continue to make contributions to sustainability and develop innovative initiatives that positively impact the environment.”

At MWC 2023, OPPO unveiled the company’s first battery-free IoT prototype device — OPPO Zero-Power Tag — powered by Zero-power Communication technology. Leveraging key technologies such as RF power harvesting, backscattering, and low-power computing, the Tag is able to harvest energy directly from Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellphone signals, resulting in surprising advantages such as smaller size, better durability, greater signal distance, and lower cost.

OPPO is now in the process of refining the device's design, technology, and industry standards while introducing more features, such as health monitoring, to expand the device's application to more fields. The company believes that OPPO Zero-Power Tag could one day prevent millions of batteries from going to landfills while making life both smarter and easier for consumers and businesses alike.

Sustainability has long been a central component of OPPO’s business operation and product design. In February 2023, OPPO released the OPPO Climate Action Report with support from global consultancy Deloitte. In the report, OPPO pledges for the first time to achieve carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2050, and outlines five key areas in achieving this goal: low-carbon manufacturing, reducing the carbon footprint of products, investing in options that generate less carbon, utilizing digital technology to manage carbon emissions, and collaborating on industry standards to address climate change.

This year, OPPO Battery Health Engine received the 2023 SEAL Business Sustainability Award, and thanks to its innovations, OPPO was also named one of the 10 Most Innovative Asia-Pacific Companies in 2023 by influential business media Fast Company. In the 2023 OPPO Inspiration Challenge, OPPO added a new category, “Inspiration for the Planet,” to recognize innovations for sustainability and attract more than 280 proposals from worldwide startups, covering from biomimetic materials to sustainable and safe energy storage.

Aspiring for a greener future for all, OPPO will continue to prioritize sustainability in its operations to achieve its carbon neutrality goal, and strive to deliver more environmentally friendly technologies and products through constant innovations.