Realme hikes prices for six phones in India, budget models see sharp jump from launch
Realme has reportedly sent out a circular to trade partners confirming price increases across six phones in India, effective May 1st. The hike impacts six models — the Realme C71 4G, Realme 15x 5G, Realme 15T 5G, Realme C85 5G, Realme 16 Pro 5G, and Realme 16 Pro+ 5G. Every affected model goes up by Rs 1,000 per variant from the existing prices (which are not necessarily the launch prices, courtesy previous hikes), and the reason cited is rising memory, chipset, and overall component costs.
This is not a Realme-specific problem. The same pressure pushed OnePlus and Nothing to hike prices recently, and tipsters had flagged that most brands would be making similar moves this month. That prediction is playing out exactly as expected.
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Realme phones new prices
| Model | Launch Price | New Price | Total increase since launch |
| Realme C71 4G | Rs 7,699 | Rs 11,999 | Rs 4,300 |
| Realme C85 5G | Rs 16,499 | Rs 20,999 | Rs 4,500 |
| Realme 15x 5G | Rs 16,999 | Rs 23,999 | Rs 7,000 |
| Realme 15T 5G | Rs 20,999 | Rs 27,999 | Rs 7,000 |
| Realme 16 Pro 5G | Rs 31,999 | Rs 36,999 | Rs 5,000 |
| Realme 16 Pro+ 5G | Rs 39,999 | Rs 44,999 | Rs 5,000 |
The Rs. 1,000 hike today is just the latest step. Every phone on this list has been moving upward since launch, and some of the numbers are striking when you look at the full picture.
Not long ago, Indian smartphone brands were locked in a very different kind of race of who could launch the cheapest 5G phone under Rs 10,000. It felt like a milestone moment for accessibility, with brands falling over each other to make 5G affordable for first-time buyers. That era feels distant now.
The Realme C71 4G tells that story most plainly. It launched at Rs 7,699 in July 2025, an entry-level 4G phone at an entry-level price. It now starts at Rs 11,999, a Rs 4,300 increase that works out to a 56 percent jump from launch. A basic 4G phone crossing the Rs 10,000 mark is a line that would have seemed unlikely to cross so quickly, and yet here we are. The buyer who stretches to Rs 12,000 for a phone today is getting something that cost under Rs 8,000 less than a year ago, with no meaningful change in what the phone actually does.
The Realme 15x and 15T have each climbed Rs 7,000 from their launch prices. The 15x started at Rs 16,999 and now costs Rs 23,999. The 15T started at Rs 20,999 and is at Rs 27,999. Both have effectively moved into a higher price bracket without any hardware upgrades to justify it. The 16 Pro and 16 Pro+ are newer but have still risen Rs 5,000 each since their respective launches in late 2025 and January 2026.
At Rs 23,999, the Realme 15x now sits alongside the Redmi Note 15 and Samsung Galaxy A26, both of which offer competitive specs and in Samsung’s case, significantly longer software support. The 15x’s 7,000mAh battery and triple IP ratings are still genuine advantages, but the price gap between it and these alternatives has narrowed considerably.
The Realme 16 Pro at Rs 36,999 and 16 Pro+ at Rs 44,999 are still reasonable for their hardware, but at these prices the OnePlus Nord 6 and the Nothing Phone 4a Pro become direct comparisons worth making before committing.
At the budget end, the C71 at nearly Rs 12,000 and C85 at nearly Rs 21,000 face stiff competition from Redmi and POCO, both of which have strong footing in these brackets. If any of these phones were already on your shortlist, today is a reasonable day to act. Realme’s circular gives no indication this is a one-time move, and with the broader industry heading in the same direction, waiting it out is unlikely to reward you.
