Realme is one of theupline mobile brandsin terms of sales and launch rates, an achievement also accompanied by the significant fact that its journey began in 2018. 20Bits has been able to interview Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme Europe , and ask him about of the manufacturer’s plans, the characteristics of the Spanish market and the trends that are looming.
From the outside, the lively pitching pace is one of the signs that 2021 has been a good year for Realme.
Yes, definitely. This year we have reached 100 million units sold since we existed as a brand, and we have done it faster than any other firm. We have also expanded our portfolio, welcoming, for example, our first tablet and our first laptop, and we have increased our family of AIoT products even by bringing our first robot vacuum cleaner to Spain.
How do you rate the growth of the brand in Spain and in the European market in just two years? They have already made it clear that in the medium term they aspire to enter the top 3 of sales.
Very positive. As for Europe, we have already managed to be among the top five manufacturers on the continent, and in some countries in the top 3. By the end of next year we hope to have reached fourth place in Europe and position ourselves among the top three manufacturers in Spain.
What characteristics of the Spanish market would you highlight?
Spain is a mature market, but one that welcomes new brands very well. The consumer is open to experimenting with new technologies, while looking for a good relationship between the features offered by the device and its price. For us it has always been a priority market and we have had an exceptional reception.
The high-end range is the center of attention, although at the moment of truth, that of the moment of purchase, the medium level and the value for money rule. Do you agree with the assessment?
Our goal is to be able to offer our customers the best technology at the best price, in all segments, regardless of the range, so that whenever a user chooses Realme, they are choosing the best option in that segment. It is true that we feel very comfortable in the mid-range, but we also have our eyes on the more premium ranges.
Realme focuses on the mid-range but has already made it clear, with the Realme GT as an example, that it is also betting on phones at a good price with even better features. Will the year 2022 be the year of the definitive leap to the high-end?
We are a brand that encompasses a complete portfolio and we always offer advanced features regardless of price. In 2022 the new GT2 range will see the light, the renewal of our flagship range that we have recently announced and that will feature Qualcomm’s most modern processor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. This is a clear commitment to continue incorporating the latest technology in all our products and ranges.
The Realme GT Neo 2 gives a glimpse of the line that the brand will follow in the coming months. What can advance in this regard?
For the next few months we will continue working on completing our portfolio, which will continue as before in three quite differentiated lines. First of all the GT series, which in 2022 will see its second generation and of which we will advance more information at an event on December 20. In addition, we will continue working on our number series, after the success of the Realme 8, and we do not forget the C range, an entry range for those users who do not want to spend a lot of money but want to be up-to-date in design and technology.
The arrival of the Realme Pad and the Realme Book, the debut in the field of tablets and laptops, represent other significant steps. The next one, the Realme folding mobile?
We are a brand focused on offering the most cutting-edge technology with the best design, but when we know that this technology is more than proven and practical and folding mobiles still have an improvement path. We will continue to innovate so that users can access advanced technologies that are useful to them on a day-to-day basis. Televisions, laptops and tablets are the three big screens that will undoubtedly arrive together with wearables and AIoT, but we also do not close ourselves to other products for the home ecosystem, that is why we also began to sell our robot vacuum cleaner.
The 5G, the 120 Hz, the 108 MP camera, the ultra-fast loads, the under display technology , the increasingly large and flashy modules… What new trends will emerge shortly?
Some of the technologies we are working on are, for example, fast charging technologies. 125W is going to become the market standard and wireless charging will continue to evolve. For example, this year we also launched our first version of magnetic wireless charging, MagDart, the first for Android phones , which we want to become popular on our smartphones when we see that it becomes a must-have demand for users.
What will mobile phones be like in five to ten years? Very different from the current ones?
It is difficult to imagine how they can be, even more so in an industry that evolves as rapidly as telephony. For our part, we want to contribute to democratize advanced technologies in all price segments.
There is also a greater emphasis on brands in the development of their own ecosystems. Where does the ‘connected everything’ go? How will the user’s life change?
The ecosystem is an extremely important part of our product strategy. In our case, we call it 1 + 5 + T. With this, we place the smartphone as the axis but we surround it with a whole Techlife smart ecosystem. That is why our strategy includes products such as wearables , televisions, robot vacuum cleaners and tablets and laptops like the ones we are seeing now, in addition to telephones. For us it is about making the consumer experience better and easier and extending it from personal use to home and travel.
