• Smartphone brand realme has surpassed a significant milestone, shipping 200 million units to date.
• The company reached the 100 million mark in 2021.
• For next year, it is prioritising research and development spending, increasing it by 470 percent in 2024.

While it only launched in South Africa earlier this year, smartphone brand realme has been moving plenty of units globally. To that end, the company has surpassed a significant milestone, having shipped 200 million devices since its inception in 2018.

The company has picked up serious pace over the past couple of years, having reached the 100 million mark in 2021, only taking a couple of years to double that figure.

realme adds that it is the fifth fastest brand to achieve the 200 million shipment milestone.

“From its emergence in the highly saturated global market of 2018, which featured over 701 smartphone brands and a stable hierarchy of leading brands, realme has been struggling to explore the global market but now steadily established itself. Committed to offering superior experiences for young people worldwide, realme has been among the top ten global sellers for five consecutive years, emerging as a market leader,” the company highlighted in a release shared with Hypertext.

“In 2023, the brand launched its ‘Simply Better Strategy’, ensuring that each generation of global products features leap-forward technology, positioning realme at the apex of the industry,” it added.

At the time of writing, three models of smartphone are officially available to purchase in South Africa, under its affordable C-series – the C55 (pictured above), the C51, and the C30s.

While it remains to see if more of the company’s smartphone models will be brought to our shores, in what is already a competitive entry-level and mid-range market, in 2024, realme says it plans to significantly increase its investment in research and development.

On this front a planned 470 percent increase in R&D spending is expected, although it is not clear what that percentage translates to in terms of a precise figure.

“Collaborating with over 33 leading international tech partners, realme aims to develop cutting-edge technologies. The brand will also expand its pool of tech talent, engage in Research & Technology team expansion, with an expected 400% increase in research personnel next year,” the release confirmed.

“With the milestone of 200 million global shipments, realme has truly become a mainstream international smartphone brand. The weight and influence of its stance in the international market have increased, empowering it to remain true to its original mission and bring even better products to young people worldwide,” it concluded.