Over 50 percent Realme smartphones launching in India in 2022 will support 5G: Madhav Sheth

Published On: January 20, 2022

Highlights

Madhav Seth confirms that most Realme smartphones launching in 2022 will be 5G compatible.
He further confirms that Realme 9 and 9 Pro will soon launch in India.
Realme 9 Pro series to come with 5G support.

A few days, ago Realme announced the Realme 9i 4G as the newest addition to the numbered series. Post-launch, the 91mobiles Hindi team got a chance to interview Madhav Sheth, CEO of Realme India. He discussed the company’s new Realme 9i smartphone in India, the brand’s future plans in the country, and gave insight into the upcoming smartphones in the number series. One of the key takeaways from the interview with Sheth was that we would be seeing quite a few 5G smartphones from the company in the coming months.

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In an email interview, Sheth said that more than half of the Realme smartphones launching in India this will year will support. This will be in line with the company’s 5G-first approach to the market. However, that doesn’t mean 4G smartphones are not a priority for the brand anymore.

When asked why the recently launched Realme 9i isn’t 5G-compatible, which goes against the 5G-first policy, Sheth said that many customers still want a 4G smartphone, and Realme 9i is one of the smartphones to cater to that audience. He further assured that Realme still stands by its 5G-first policy and added that the upcoming Realme 9 Pro series would be 5G-only and priced above Rs 15,000. Nonetheless, the company would continue launching 4G smartphones to ensure every customer can experience Realme’s latest technologies, regardless of support for 4G or 5G connectivity.

Sheth also confirmed that the company has no plans to announce a 5G variant of Realme 9i, but the company has some new and interesting 5G smartphones in the pipeline set to launch this year.

Sheth further said that the company had invested almost 90 percent of its R&D towards the development of 5G technology and products. Not just that, the company plans to invest $300 million globally in 5G research and product development, with an aim to open seven R&D centres for 5G networks across the globe, and one of them is going to be in India.

Apart from smartphones, Realme is also planning to expand its IoT portfolio with its TechLife ecosystem. Sheth said that the TechLife products had received a “wonderful response” from consumers, and the brand also achieved some milestones last year. When asked what we can expect from Realme in the IoT segment this year, he said, “In 2022, we are super excited to expand our portfolio further by entering 15+ additional categories and plan to launch 50+ AIoT products.”

Interestingly, Seth also spilled some beans on the company’s plan for the EV market. Madhav said, “Electric vehicles is a category that requires heavy capital and strong technological capabilities.” Speaking of Realme’s plan, he said that the company is focusing on smartphones and IoT products, but EV could be something to look forward to from Realme in the future.