Realme leaps into UAE market with 'flagship killer'

Dubai - Chinese smartphone maker eyeing young demographic, unfazed by competition

Realme on Monday officially leapt into the UAE smartphone arena, launching three of its latest devices - including one it dubs as a 'flagship killer' - targeting the younger demographic that is becoming increasingly conscious for value-for-money products.
The Shenzhen-headquartered company owned by BBK Electronics - which also the parent organisation of popular brands Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus - takes on a UAE market that is highly-competitive with a flurry of devices available.
It, however, remains unfazed.
"Let's start making our competition feel nervous," Melvil Lucky, product manager at Realme GCC, said at the event in Dubai.
Realme is a young brand, having been established in May 2018 by former Oppo vice-president Sky Li.
It has less than two dozen devices in its portfolio, but it has been growing fast: A recent Counterpoint Research study showed that Realme is the seventh-biggest vendor worldwide and has been ranked the fastest-growing twice.
Josef Wong, president of Realme Middle East and Africa, said in the presentation that the brand is present in 21 countries. It is ranked in the top five in India, Egypt, Indonesia and Spain; in terms of online performance, he says Realme is second in India.
Forbes had described the brand as "fast, furious and disruptive".
"We are committed to providing best-in-class phones for the younger generation," Wong said, adding that they make "all the necessary moves" to achieve their vision.
He also lauded the UAE as one of the most-advanced countries globally, thanks to its initiatives on new innovations like 5G.
Zejiang Wu, CEO of Realme GCC, pledged that their smartphones would be the "best in the UAE market at this price point.
Realme introduced three devices: The C2 (Dh399/499), the 5 Pro (Dh799/899) and the 'flagship killer' X2 Pro (Dh1,999).
The X2 Pro is Realme's highest-specced device, coming with a quad-lens camera system, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset.
Realme launched its first 5G phone, X50 5G, in China on January 7.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com

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