Among the Chinese Brands, Realme has launched the most number of smartphones in 2021 in India. But with so many models with multiple variants, how did Realme handle everything? Did it adopt the right way or did it miss something? Let’s find out in our Report Card series for 2021 where we find out how Realme did throughout the year and what’s the best smartphone it launched:
Realme 2021: The Number Game
Throughout the year 2021, Realme launched a total of 25 models spread across various price segments with a total sub-variants standing 50 in number. This means that a total of 50 devices were launched out of which, 27 devices were launched under Rs 15,000 accounting for a total of 54% share of all devices launched by the brand in 2021.
Between Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000, the brand launched 19 devices accounting for 38% share. The Rs 30,000 to Rs 45,000 segment saw 4 devices getting launched accounting for the remaining 4% share and interestingly, no smartphone was launched by the brand that was priced above Rs 45,000. The focus was similar to what Samsung was doing, where the most number of smartphones have been launched under the Rs 30,000 mark.
Realme 2021: Hits & Misses
Realme’s growth for the first two years after it debuted in India had been great and this year, despite the pandemic, it seemed like Realme held its ground well while maintaining its launch pattern and growth.
Moreover, Realme was expanding into every price and product segment and was growing beyond just launching smartphones where the brand made its presence felt and focused on AIoT and Audio products as well and also launched a sub-brand called Dizo.
As for the misses, despite launching a number of smartphones in every price segment, we feel the brand somewhere made the scenario confusing for the end consumer as to which smartphone is better than the other and what does it specialise in. Be it the naming scheme of the smartphone or the price to performance ratio, we feel that Realme did cannibalized some of its own products.
Realme did flood the market with smartphones but lacked X factor to grab attention.
Realme 2021: Top 3 smartphones of the year
Out of the 25 models launched this year, here are the top 3 devices launched by Realme that in our opinion, stood out and were the best from the brand:
3. Realme 8s 5G
Launched back in September with a starting price of Rs 17,999, the Realme 8s was the first 5G phone from the brand launched in the respective segment and was overall a good smartphone while not having any major cons about it. It had a 90Hz Refresh Rate display with a MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC.
2. Realme X7 Pro
Realme X7 Pro was one of the first devices to launch in India with the MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ chip and was a segment-defining smartphone. It had great cameras along with a decent display that made the smartphone stood out of the crowd and hold the position of number two.
1. Realme GT Master Edition
The crown for the first position goes to the GT Master Edition that came with Snapdragon 778G SoC and had a starting price of Rs 25,999. It was a bang for the buck smartphone with a unique suitcase-like design and stood out from the other Realme smartphones that follow a traditional design language, quite literally. We don’t seem to find a single con about the smartphone and can say that it deserves the first position.
That was it for our Report Card of 2021 for Realme. It will have to be seen whether Realme follows the same strategy next year which it did this year or does it completely change, especially when the Realme GT 2 Pro, the company’s most premium flagship smartphone is all set to launch and compete with the likes of Galaxy S22 series and OnePlus 10 series.