Realme is one of India’s biggest smartphone makers and is among the major players driving the 5G revolution in India. Today, the company hosted the first edition of its Realme Global 5G Summit in partnership with Counterpoint Research, GSMA, and Qualcomm. The event saw industry experts speak about the state of the 5G industry, while both Realme and Qualcomm gave us an insight into their plans for the industry going forward.
Realme Vice-President and CEO (India and Europe) Madhav Sheth at the 5G summit announced that the company will invest over Rs 2,100 crore (USD 300 million) on research and development globally on 5G and set up seven R&D centers at different locations, including in India. Responding to a question, Sheth confirmed that the company plans to bring 5G phones to the sub Rs 10,000 price segment in India by 2022.
Sheth said that after 3-4 years of development, Realme believes that 5G smartphone development has entered the 2.0 era where the devices have become affordable compared to the 1.0 era when 5G was limited to high-end flagship devices at a high price.
Speaking at the event, Sheth also said, “Starting with our first 5G model, the Realme X50 5G, we have been exploring new design concepts and technical innovations to bring users slimmer and design-rich 5G phones that offer powerful performance. We believe that in the 5G era, helping to accelerate the adoption of this new technology is a crucial mission for Realme. We will work hard to help popularize 5G by listening more to consumers’ needs, pushing forward product innovation, and helping to build the broader 5G ecosystem with our industry partners.”
The move to bring 5G phones to more affordable segments is an ambitious yet understandable move considering the company has already made its presence felt in the sub Rs 15,000 segment with the recent launch of the Realme 8 5G. The Realme 8 5G has been quite well received in the country, and the company will be hoping to replicate its success by launching more affordable 5G devices in the country. To remind our readers, the Realme 8 5G was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 14,999
Sheth said that in 2020, Realme launched about 14 products in 22 markets, accounting for about 40 percent of its portfolio. By 2022, the number of 5G products will reach above 20 accounting for 70 percent of all Realme product models across markets.
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