Realme bets big on premium push to grow market share in 2025 amid industry challenges

Realme bets big on premium push to grow market share in 2025 amid industry challenges

Realme is making an aggressive play for the mid-to-premium smartphone segment in India, aiming to boost its market share by 50% in 2025, even as the broader market braces for a contraction after two years of growth. The company is betting big on its flagship GT series and its popular number series to drive growth in the second half of the year, especially during the festive Diwali season.

“Our growth in the Indian market is definitely a must for us, and we're decisive in achieving it. Even though the overall smartphone market is shrinking, we're actually getting growth in India. That shows recognition for Realme in India,” said Chase Xu, Vice President and CMO of Realme.

Realme has set an ambitious target of raising its market share from 12% in 2024 to 18% in 2025. According to IDC, it held a 10.6% share in the January–March quarter of 2025, up from 9.8% a year ago and climbing to the third spot from fourth in the previous quarter.

“...looking at the second half, there are three wars that we will need to fight very well. The first is the sales for GT, and the second is the sales for the number series and Diwali. So, if we can do well in fighting these three wars, we are confident in achieving the goal we established last year,” Xu told Moneycontrol in a virtual interaction.

The Chinese smartphone maker is also leaning on India as a critical market for global expansion, particularly in the premium segment.

“We want to admit to high-end breakthroughs in the global market, and India is a key market. The GT series plays a vital role in our mid to high-end market mission. We do a lot of research with Indian users on how they foresee things,” Xu said.

Realme’s India-first approach is backed by significant investment in localised R&D and marketing. “We are devoting a lot of human resources and efforts, and the whole company's support to our India market. Every time we roll out a new product, we will make India one of our top priorities, and we tailor-make phones for India," he added.

As part of its brand-building efforts, Realme has inked a three-year partnership with Aston Martin for the GT series and launched a “Dream Edition” of the GT smartphone featuring a custom UI co-created with the luxury automaker.

“We really focus on collaborating with brands and IPs that young users like. We're also working on a blockbuster collaboration for our number series. We will roll out a very popular and influential collaboration each year with our number series phone,” Xu said.

Realme’s newly launched GT 7 series in India includes the GT7, GT 7T, and the Aston Martin-created GT 7 Dream Edition.

The company is also streamlining its product portfolio by reducing the number of launches under its number and P series to improve focus on quality and user experience.

“Fewer number series products will be coming up this year than last year, which is an outcome of our user feedback. We will roll out fewer smartphones and focus on quality and user experience,” he noted.

Realme is positioning the lineup on its online-specific P series to appeal to price-sensitive e-commerce shoppers. “We will tailor-make the features for e-commerce users, and we will make sure it has very competitive pricing because users there are price sensitive.”