realme, the world’s fastest growing smartphone brand, has become the Top 6 smartphone vendor in the global rankings, according to the latest market insights conducted by Counterpoint Research. realme successfully took the sixth spot with 15 million shipments and 135.1% YoY growth in Q2 2021. As a notable industry disruptor, the upstart brand has made the mark in a time span of just three years.
“In the past three years, we are like a newborn calf making little of a tiger as well as a real go-getter”, said Founder and CEO Sky Li in his open letter, noting that the young team with an average age of under 29 has encountered a wide range of unknown difficulties but remained determined and passionate to bring extraordinary products to young trendsetters worldwide.
Having started from a nondescript brand, realme has surpassed all industry and customer expectations, expanding to over 61 markets worldwide and ranking as a Top 5 brand in over 18 of these markets, claiming first place in Philippines and Bangladesh, third in Russia, fourth in India, and fifth in the Europe region in Q2 2021. Last month, realme became the fastest brand ever to ship 100 million smartphones, as data shown from research firm Strategy Analytics 2021 Q2.
Echoing the brand’s “Dare to Leap” spirit, realme has taken bold moves in its business strategy choices such as globalization from the start, keeping ears close to the ground and listening to consumer demands, and integrating advanced technologies in beautifully designed and user-friendly products. realme phones were the first in segments with a pop-up camera, the first in Android with magnetic wireless charging tech, and one of the first in the industry with a 64MP camera. Those types of trendsetting innovations at those price points have appealed to a young and tech-savvy audience who quickly became passionate supporters of the brand.
realme is also prioritizing and popularizing 5G products. As the total 5G smartphone shipments rose 6.5% QoQ in emerging markets in Q2 2021, realme’s 5G share in the emerging market smartphone shipments also went up from 8.8% in Q1 to 15.9% in Q2, ranking the 3rd, according to Counterpoint Market Monitor Service data Q2 2021.
Sky said realme’s next goal is to achieve a dual-100 million target – shipping another 100 million handsets by the end of 2022 and completing the same milestone within the 2023 calendar year.
As for its product strategy, realme will streamline its multiple product lines and optimize its technological offerings. The GT series will become its only premium product line to explore cutting-edge technology and disrupt the high-end segment.
