2024 for Realme has been an action-packed year with multiple launches so far. The 13 Pro series is the latest addition to the company’s numbered flagship portfolio. The launch saw multiple firsts claims from the Realme brand, including the world’s first TUV Rheinland High-Resolution Camera Certification and an exclusive partnership with Sony for the LYT-701 OIS Camera. And, we thought, who else is better than the CEO to talk about all of this? Sky Li, Founder and CEO of Realme, in an exclusive interaction with Gadgets 360, spoke about the latest 13 Pro series launch, 2024 plans, why AI is the future of phones and much more.
Realme’s plan for 2024 in India and beyond
We started with this year’s plans for the brand. Realme has a smartphone portfolio that includes the GT series for users looking for high performance and the Number series for imaging and design. At the same time, C-series targets the mass market with essential functionality.
“2024 has indeed been a significant year for Realme, especially in India. Our portfolio expansion in the country aligns with our global approach of focusing on young users and embodies our spirit of “Make it real”. Our focus is on providing unique consumer experiences and to meet the dynamic needs of the youthful demographic,” Li told Gadgets 360.
On being asked about goals for this year, Li confirmed that the brand is looking to increase sales by 10 percent this year in India. In the next five years, Li told us that Realme plans to penetrate 100 new markets globally, “underscoring our unwavering commitment to sustained growth and international presence.”
In 2024, Realme aims to sell 10 million smartphones, 7-8 million of which it wants to be 5G-enabled and sold through offline channels.
Talking about R&D, Li claimed that Realme plans to increase spending substantially for this. “We are also planning a substantial 470 percent increase in R&D spending, which highlights our focus on strengthening technological capabilities. Our strategic focus revolves around pioneering breakthroughs in key technological domains, including imaging, performance, display, and charging,” he added.
This year has been a year of strategic expansion and innovation for Realme in India, and we look forward to continuing this momentum in the coming years.
Hey realme fans, don’t miss out the exciting news tomorrow. #realme https://t.co/I9dWwtCLYA
— Sky Li (@skyli_realme) May 28, 2024
Realme’s stand on AI
Talking about artificial intelligence (or short AI), Realme believes AI is the future of smartphones and aims to popularise it by integrating it into their devices.
“AI is indeed a transformative force in the smartphone industry, and we firmly believe that AI is poised to be the primary driver of smartphone innovation in the years to come,” Li added.
When asked about the current AI integrations, Li said, “Our strategy for AI integration is two-pronged. On one side, we utilise collaborations with leading chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm and MediaTek to boost performance and efficiency through their sophisticated AI capabilities. Simultaneously, we partner with Sony for their sensor technology, which, when combined with AI, allows us to provide unparalleled photography experiences. This includes AI scene recognition, AI beautification, and AI portrait mode, among others.”
AI is the future of smartphones and Realme aims to popularise it by integrating it into their devices
New 13 Pro series
Realme’s number series has always tried to offer something new in the segment. Be it Realme 5 Pro in 2019 that introduced a quad-camera setup, a first in the segment. Similarly, Realme 8 Pro offered the first 108-megapixel camera setup in the segment in 2021. Last year, Realme 11 Pro+ was the first smartphone to provide a 200-megapixel camera, while earlier this year, Realme 12 Pro+ offered the first periscope lens in the segment. This time around, there are more things at play for the all-new 13 Pro series.
Talking about the all-new 13 Pro series, Li stressed that the Realme 13 Pro series, with its features set like dual Sony main camera system, which includes the industry-first Sony LYT-701 alongside claimed AI photography architecture, Hyperimage+ camera system. Li also talked about another highlight of the product, the design of the Realme 13 Pro+, which takes inspiration from Monet’s depictions of nature and beauty.
Realme 13 Pro+ features a 6.7-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
Realme’s approach for flagship smartphones
Realme’s strategy for its flagship smartphone range has been slightly different from that of the other brands, where we have seen exclusive tie-ups. Talking about Realme’s flagship series, Li said it is driven by the brand’s aspiration, which is young users. “Our strategy is built on three core pillars: popularising large memory, upgrading quality, and implementing our AI+UI popularizer strategy,” he said.
In the future, Realme will standardise some features for the Number Pro series, such as 512GB storage and IP65 water and dust resistance.
When asked to elaborate on AI+UI strategy, Li explained, “Our AI+UI Popularizer Strategy aims to future-proof our phones. Realme was among the first brands to integrate AI into our products through our Next AI Lab. We’ve been incorporating AI across three major innovation areas: AI imaging, AI efficiency, and AI personalization.”
“We’re actively collaborating with industry leaders on platforms, algorithms, and software to extend Next AI benefits to young users worldwide. We’re confident that as Next AI technology matures and more partners join us, realme will deliver next-generation AI experiences to at least 100 million users within the next three years,” Li added.
Realme’s growth in India
India has been a crucial market for Realme, and figures corroborate this. Recently, a Canalys report claimed Realme was the fourth biggest smartphone vendor in Q2 2024. We asked Li how the brand plans to carry on this momentum further. “We have strategic plans in place to further increase and expand our market share. This year, our focus is on becoming a tech brand that better understands young users and exceeds their expectations with every product that we bring out for them,” he added.
Li also talked about how the Indian market has been instrumental in shaping Realme’s growth trajectory, and it continues to be a significant contributor to the company’s sales and revenues. Putting down some numbers, Li said that Realme’s offline sales reached a total of 8 million in 2023, demonstrating the strength of our retail channel presence.
“In 2023, realme made its way into the top 5 brands in India with 17.4 million sales. Moreover, within just five years of our inception, we crossed a milestone of 100 million shipments in India,” Li added.
Exclusive partnerships for design
Realme has been doing partnerships to design its device – something we don’t see in the competition. The latest phone’s frosted glass material, made with a unique flash gold method, reproduces Monet’s brushstrokes using millions of shimmering particles. When asked about the latest partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) to design the Realme 13 Pro series.
“The Museum of Fine Arts is a global pioneer in art curation and exhibition, with a collection spanning six continents and eight millennia of creative achievement. The Realme 13 Pro Series 5G takes influence from Claude Monet’s classic “Grainstack” and “Water Lilies” series,” Li said.
“Realme 13 Pro 5G and Realme 13 Pro+ 5G have a Monet-inspired design. We utilized advanced crafting techniques to bring Monet’s artistic vision to life in these devices. The Miracle Shining Glass, which contains millions of shimmering particles, recreates the flowing effects of light and shadow found in Monet’s works,” he added.