Realme Reached 15 Million Phones Sold In India In Its First Year; Aim To Double In 2020

Karamchand Rameshwar - Dec 20, 2019

Not just the budget segment, Realme is aiming to expand its presence in the mid-range and premium segments with the Realme X2 and Realme X2 Pro.

According to Realme India’s CEO Madhav Sheth statement to PTI, more than 15 million smartphones have been sold in its first year of operation and the company is setting a goal to double the amount in 2020. Even though it started off as an Oppo’s sub-brand in May last year, the company quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the budget segment. Previously, Realme is ranked 7th in the global ranking. Unlike Vivo, Samsung, Oppo, and Xiaomi, the brand doesn’t have as much presence in the offline segment in India, but it still managed to boost its sales figures.

Moreover, according to IDC data, the former Oppo’s sub-brand Realme currently occupies 14.3 percent market share, while Xiaomi owns a market share of 27.1 percent, followed by Samsung and Vivo with respective market shares of 18.9 percent and 15.2 percent in Q3 this year. In the same period last year, Realme only had a small market share of 3.1 percent. During the Diwali month, the brand sold more than 5.2 million units in the country.

As per Counterpoint Research, the brand has shipped more than 10 million phones in Q3 this year, which is a year-on-year growth of 808 percent in shipments. Its CEO recently revealed the company’s plan to release offline-exclusive series next year and increase its presence. The brand’s goal is to get 70 percent sales via online and 30 percent sales via offline.

Moreover, it seems like the brand is trying to get out of the budget segment and competes in the premium price range as well. Its first premium phone Realme X2 Pro was announced last month with a Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC, up to 12GB of RAM, 64MP quad-rear camera cluster, and a 90Hz Super AMOLED panel. You can get the 8GB RAM model for Rs. 29,999, which is much lower than other flagships with similar specs.

Separately, the company announced the Realme Buds Air wireless earbuds and Realme X2 in India. The former features wireless charging support and a similar design to Apple’s AirPods. Its price is set at Rs. 3,999 and its next sale is slated to be up on 23 December. As for the Realme X2, the phone is a mid-range smartphone with a Snapdragon 730G chipset. It is up for sale today via Flipkart for a starting price of Rs. 16,999 for the variant with 4GB RAM / 64GB storage.