Chinese smartphone giant Oppo unveiled its India-specific sub brand, Realme, at a special event in Gurugram earlier this week. The brand also launched its first smartphone, Realme 1, on the same day. The device is available in three variants—a 3GB RAM+32GB ROM version priced at Rs 8,990; a 4GB RAM+64GB ROM version, at 10,990; and a 6GB RAM+128GB ROM version at Rs 13,990—which will be available for sale from 25 May, only on amazon.in.
Realme is Oppo’s bid to capture the hugely profitable mid-segment market in India, with this exclusive range of “made in and for India products”. Madhav Seth, CEO, Realme India, told Guardian 20, “With Realme, our intention is to evolve the current Indian online smartphone market by offering premium to mid range smartphones that deliver a delightful user experience. Realme 1, our first offering, is focused at young consumers and is primed to be a market disruptor with the most stylish design, stunning specs along with superb quality, and the most satisfying service in the mid-price range.”
The Realme 1 is powered by the world’s first 12nm AI CPU MediaTek Helio P60, and it runs on Android 8.1. It comes with high-performance hardware and is supported by a 3,410mAh battery. The device sports a 6-inch FHD+Full Screen with a screen ratio of almost 85% and bezels less than 1.98 mm. The immersive screen of Realme 1 not only provides clearer and more colourful images, but is also great for watching ultra high-def videos and playing heavy-duty games.
Talking about the new launch, Seth shared some keys points to highlight the uniqueness of the Realme 1. He said, “Everybody who launches their phone wants it to be different, but how different, they do not know that. Our approach, when we went to the customers, was to identify the problems they go through when they buy phones online. For example, they don’t get a cover or scratch guard when a phone is purchased online. We are providing them with the same. Another issue was: they didn’t know where the service centres for the phones they’d bought were. Well, we have got that covered by providing them more than 500 operational authorised service centres with guaranteed 90% of repair cases resolved within an hour.”
The phone’s design is ergonomic, trendy and contemporary, which will likely appeal to youngsters. One standout feature is the 3D “diamond-black” design adorning the back of the handset.
The camera settings feature an “AI Shot” mode, which is perfect for portraits as it can highlight even the tiniest details of a picture and capture some 296 facial points. The camera settings also allow users to make use of a variety of beautification options, including a group selfie mode that offers specific beautification schemes for each face in the frame. The 13MP camera also comes with another unique add-on, the “AI Scene Recognition” mode on the camera, which can read the surroundings and accordingly adjust a photo’s brightness, colour and contrast.
The facial unlock feature of the Realme 1 is another of its major highlights. It can unlock the phone in less than one second. Levi Lee, CPO, Realme, spoke to us about their new product. “The device is full of great features,” he said. “Starting with the usage to design, everything is unique. What I want to highlight here is the design, on which we spent a lot of time. Our Diamond Black design is quite awesome. Also, the storage and processor are very good in this device, which makes our product better than those offered by other brands.”
When asked if Realme had any plans of launching gadgets other than smartphones anytime soon, the CEO Madhav Seth told us, “We would come up with anything our customers want. Whatever our customers demand, we will provide them with it.”