Realme sales pass 1 million in India as Realme 2 Pro launch nears

Realme has announced that sales of Realme phones have now crossed one million in India. This includes sales of Realme 1 and the Realme 2.

To recap, the Realme 1 launched in May in India as an affordable lower mid-range smartphone. At that time, Realme was an online-only sub-brand of OPPO. The phone shared quite a few specifications with the OPPO F7, and its list of specifications included the MediaTek Helio P60 SoC, 3GB/4GB/6GB of RAM with 32GB/64GB/128GB of storage, 5.99-inch Full HD+ (2160×1080) IPS LCD, 13MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing, camera, and a 3,410mAh battery. It shipped with ColorOS 5.1 on top of Android 8.1 Oreo. In terms of pricing, the Realme 1 undercut all of its competitors as its base 3GB RAM/32GB storage variant was sold for just ₹8,990 ($124).

The phone went on to sell 400,000 units in 40 days in India. In July, the country head of OPPO India resigned to form Realme as a separate brand. Realme still uses OPPO’s ColorOS. The Realme 1 was abruptly discontinued in August as the Realme 2 arrived. The Realme 2 is a classic case of “one step forward, two steps back,” as some of the phone’s specifications were downgraded compared to the Realme 1.

It swapped out the capable Helio P60 SoC for the budget Qualcomm Snapdragon 450. Its display resolution was also lower (HD+ vs. Full HD+). On the other hand, it did move to a larger 6.21-inch notched display, and battery capacity was upgraded to 4,230mAh. The Realme 2 also has a fingerprint sensor, an upgrade from the Realme 1.

A big thank you to our 1 Million Realme users! You are the reason we continue to stay real. And if you are as excited as we are, join in the party and comment with an emoji pic.twitter.com/aWQayfaD20

— Realme (@realmemobiles) September 18, 2018

In terms of sales, the Realme 2 still seems to be doing well as there are few competitors at the ₹9000 price point. Realme announced that the phone had sold 200,000 units in its first flash sale. In the second flash sale, the company said that it had sold 170,000 units of the Realme 2. Now, sales of the combined Realme phones have crossed one million, which is an important milestone for the young brand.

The Realme 2’s side-grade in terms of specifications still left many consumers wanting more, which is why Realme will launch the Realme 2 Pro on September 27. Predictably, the Realme 2 Pro will have higher-end specifications than the Realme 2.

The brand has also started teasing the phone. A video teaser shows that the Realme 2 will have a traditional glass back, and not fibreglass. Interestingly, a black color variant with a matte finish on the back is also shown in the video. The phone will also have a waterdrop notch like the OPPO F9/F9 Pro. Naturally, it will have dual rear cameras. The choice of SoC is unknown for now, but we would not be surprised to see Realme using the Helio P60 again.

We expect to learn more about the phone at its launch.