5G smartphones have basically become the standard for most modern smartphones in the high end and upper mid range market. However, the entry level segments have yet to see the same level of 5G penetration. While Realme had plans on changing this, it appears that an affordable budget 5G phone is still sometime away.
According to Madhav Sheth, CEO of the Chinese brand’s Indian unit, it will be difficult for the company to launch a 5G enabled handset in the region that is priced under 10,000 INR (roughly 130 US Dollars). The senior executive further added that the company is actively working on lowering the price tag of a 5G phone without compromising on specifications and performance. However, this is not a simple task and it will likely take sometime to achieve.
In other words, there is currently no set timeline for Realme’s first affordable 5G phone as of right now. The top official told ET that “We have to make more affordable 5G devices. We want to be a prominent hardware provider for the government’s digitization vision with 5G. There are no new 4G chips in the making, so if you need any good performance phone, we have to bring in 5G chips. For brands, the biggest challenge is not to compromise on other specs by making 5G more affordable.”
Furthermore, Sheth added that while the sub 10,000 INR 5G model in 2022 is difficult, it might be possible next year since “we have already started seeing the democratization of 5G technology.” The CEO also believes that 5G shouldn’t be used as a marketing tool to sell your device and continued to talk about the ongoing supply chain issues. He said that the gap between demand and supply is much better than before.
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