A company you probably haven't heard of is now the world's fourth biggest phone maker

Oppo F1

You may not have even heard of the fourth biggest smartphone manufacturer.

Chinese manufacturer Oppo is now the fourth biggest phone maker in the world thanks to record sales in the first quarter of 2016.

Oppo began making phones in 2008. The company released the Oppo F1 in the first quarter of 2016, a phone we gave four stars, and quickly followed it up with the Oppo F1 Plus.

It's no surprise the company has found success by combining high-end spec with low prices, and has found a big market within its home territory of China.

Samsung is still the number one phone manufacturer in the world with Apple and Huawei in second and third place respectively, while fifth place is taken by Chinese manufacturer Vivo.

Up and coming

The other 42% of the market is shared by other manufacturers such as Sony, HTC, LG, Motorola, Microsoft, Lenovo and others.

Oppo sold 18.5 million phones in the first three months of 2016 - that's 153% up on last year.

The company is growing in China at a phenomenal rate and is catching up to the 27.5 million smartphone shipments Huawei experienced in the same period.

Apple sold over 51 million phones in the same period but sold 16% less than last year, showing quite a big drop for the most profitable company in the world.

Check out our time with the Oppo F1 selfie camera below.

James Peckham

James is Managing Editor for Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.