Realme is a tech product brand based in China’s major tech hub, Shenzhen.
Founded in 2018, Realme’s product portfolio includes smartphones, TVs, headphones, and smart home devices. Realme is currently operating in 61 countries, with a strong focus on emerging markets.
Realme has been consistently ranked in the top 7 global smartphone brands by market share (they delivered over 28 million smartphones in the first nine months of 2020 alone).
Realme’s smartphones are especially popular in emerging markets. For example, they’re the 4th most popular smartphone brand in India by market share.
And the company’s watch was the most shipped wearable in India last year, with a 21% market share.
What’s next:
Realme is a part of the smartphone democratization meta trend — smartphone products produced specifically for emerging markets.
Despite the rise of smartphone ownership at a worldwide level, growth lags significantly in developing countries. For example, India currently has 32.1% smartphone penetration, and only 50.7% of Brazilians own a smartphone.
Which is why smartphones priced between $100-$400 dominate the global smartphone market (60% share of all smartphones now fall within this price range). That market share is expected to grow to 63% by the end of this year.
Besides Realme, other examples of emerging smartphone brands include Vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi.