LAHORE – At its inaugural 5G summit, realme, the world’s fastest-growing smartphone brand, stated today that it will enable 100 million young people to use 5G smartphones within the next three years. At the summit, which was co-hosted by GSMA, Counterpoint Research, and Qualcomm, realme also announced that new GT series models, as well as realme 5G performance and camera flagships, will be released in June and July 2021, respectively, as well as a number of other corporate initiatives aimed at promoting 5G adoption globally.
The 5G summit, themed “Making 5G Global: Affordability for the Masses,” brought together leaders from industry associations, research institutions, component vendors, and device manufacturers to share their perspectives on a variety of 5G topics, including current global 5G connectivity, the driving forces behind it, and the technical aspects of 5G evolution; and the unique relationship between 5G and younger generations.
At the summit, realme reaffirmed its commitment to being a “5G popularizer” and highlighted its most recent pledge to accelerate 5G adoption in global markets and offer the technology to more users around the world.
In 2020, realme will release 14 5G devices in 21 markets, accounting for around 40% of its total product line.
By 2022, the company wants to boost the number of 5G products to over 20, with a 70 percent coverage ratio across 50 markets.
In the next years, realme also wants to lead the market by delivering a 5G mobile phone for under $100, a move that is expected to boost 5G adoption, particularly in quickly expanding markets.
“Starting with our first 5G model, the realme X50, we have been exploring new design concepts and technology advances to deliver people more slimline and design-rich 5G phones that have a powerful performance,” Madhav Sheth, VP and CEO of realme India and Europe, said during the summit.
We feel that assisting to speed the adoption of 5G technologies is a critical task for realme in the 5G era.
We will work hard to help popularise 5G by listening more to users’ requirements, driving product innovation forward, and collaborating with our industry partners to establish the broader 5G ecosystem.”
“Realme believes that 5G is for the younger generation – internet natives who are looking for methods to connect and express themselves outside the physical world,” said Johnny Chen, realme’s Brand Director.
As a brand committed to millennials, realme attempts to pay attention to what they want from 5G technology and include them more in the process of improving the user experience. We hope that by empowering the youth, they will become forerunners in 5G adoption and help guide more people into the 5G era.”
realme wants to open more than ten 5G pop-up stores throughout the world by 2021, allowing young people to build private spaces where they can enjoy 5G experiences such as cloud gaming, ultra-clear AR, live streaming, and other popular 5G apps.
Kalvin Bahia, Principal Economist, GSMA Intelligence, was also in attendance.
“As of May this year, 60 countries around the world had launched 5G, 12 of which are growing economies, predominantly in Asia,” he said.
While the expansion of 5G coverage is encouraging, a poll conducted by the GSMA found that several impediments to widespread adoption of the new technology among consumers still exist, including device affordability, a lack of digital literacy and skills, and mobile data costs.
Nonetheless, the shift to 5G is unavoidable over the world, with the global economy likely to benefit by USD 600 billion over the next decade.”
Peter Richardson, VP and Co-founder, Counterpoint Research agreed that the growth of 5G has been impressive and the rapid reduction in smartphone prices has been one of the main drivers. He noted, “By the end of last year, we saw some highly competitive 5G products offered at affordable prices in China, with realme being the most aggressive with its V3 5G selling at around USD 145. realme is helping to popularize the technology across many other countries with a series of compelling products with great specifications at surprisingly affordable prices.”
Mr. Rajen Vagadia, VP and President, Qualcomm India & SAARC said at the summit, “The upgrade to 5G chipsets pushes platform processing performance to remarkable levels, allowing us to maximize the step change improvements we are seeing in today’s smartphone components and hardware. Just as important, we are delivering 5G to all tiers, ensuring it is accessible to broad segments across developed and emerging markets alike.”
To support the global adoption of 5G products, realme will establish seven R&D centers around the world in 2021, dedicated to exploring innovative 5G technologies and products. 90 percent of realme’s R&D efforts have been dedicated to 5G technologies and products at this time. In the next two years, realme will invest USD 300 million globally in 5G technology research and product development, as well as in promoting global 5G popularization.