Realme started off last year as an OPPO sub-brand focused on the budget smartphone segment. Less than three months after the brand’s debut, Realme separated from OPPO to become an independent brand. So far, however, Realme has stayed away from the world’s largest smartphone market – China. This may soon change as Realme’s official Weibo page is now live.
Realme to Enter Chinese Market Soon?
The official Realme account on Weibo has not posted anything significant just yet, although the fact that it has gone live clearly suggests the company may be planning to enter the Chinese smartphone market very soon. Currently, Realme sells its phones in India and a few other markets in South-East Asia. It is expected to foray into the Middle East and Europe before the end of the year.
Thanks to its focus on the youth and a lineup of well-designed smartphones, Realme has been able to achieve unprecedented success in the Indian market. According to data from Counterpoint Research, Realme was the fourth largest smartphone vendor in India in the fourth quarter of 2018, holding an 8% market share. While Xiaomi is still far ahead of Realme in terms of market share, Realme is expected to continue growing rapidly in the near future.
Whether or not Realme will be able to achieve similar success in China, remains to be seen. Even though the company hasn’t confirmed anything officially yet, it is possible that the Realme 3 and Realme 3 Pro will be the company’s first smartphones to go on sale in China. The Realme 3 was launched in India last month, while the Realme 3 Pro went official along with the entry-level Realme C2 in Delhi earlier today. Just like Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand, Realme smartphones offer fantastic value-for-money. Competitive pricing and distinct design language of the brand’s products are probably two of the main reasons behind its massive growth in such a short span of time.
