Realme may become fully independent brand with its own assembly lines and ecosystem

In 2019, Realme has emerged as one of the fastest-growing smartphone brands in the world. The brand currently ranks seventh in terms of overall global smartphone market share. Quite an impressive feat considering its launch in May last year as a subsidiary of Oppo. Realme has since been redesigned and established as a new technology brand.

The Chinese smartphone maker recently reached out to us saying; "Realme Mobile Telecommunications Private Limited is already an independent brand and legal entity. Realme was officially established on May 4th, 2018 by its founder Sky Li and Madhav Sheth."

While Realme currently operates independently, the brand continues to share resources, including an ecosystem and assembly lines with Oppo. According to a DigiTimes report, Realme Taiwan's Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Chung Hsiang-wei claimed that the company had already formed its own research and development team and is expected to build its own product lines and ecosystem.

Chung further added that even if Realme establishes itself as an independent brand, it won’t directly compete with Oppo as the two target different market segments. Chung went on to add that 60-percent of Realme users are male, while 60-percent of Oppo’s userbase is made up of women. According to Chung, Realme is focusing more on technology and fashion-centric devices, while Oppo is migrating towards the flagship/premium smartphone market.

While Realme recently launched the Realme X2 Pro handset as the company’s flagship offering, it is still Rs 10,000 cheaper (at least in India) than Oppo’s flagship Reno 10x Zoom Edition. Moreover, Realme accounts for the fourth-largest smartphone market share in India and has expanded to 20 countries around the world.

Moreover, Realme is also set to tap into the wearables and true wireless headphones market, with the latter set to release in December. The company is also planning to launch a new lineup of affordable and mid-range 5G smartphones in 2020, the first of which could come in the form of the Realme X50 5G.