Realme enters in TV segment; launches multiple AIoTs including watch

While the TVs will be initially imported, the company is working on manufacturing them locally in the coming months.

Chinese smartphone brand Realme on Monday launched a range of AIoT offerings including Realme TV, Watch and Realme Buds Air Neo. The company also said that it is aiming to sell about 1 million units by December this year.

With this move, Realme will not only compete with giants like Samsung, LG and Sony but also rivals from smartphone segment like Oppo, Xiaomi, Motorola and OnePlus.

“India has always been a top priority market for Realme. We aim to launch multiple IoT (Internet of Things) products this year around the ‘personal, home, and travel’ experience along with smartphones. Our line of smart TVs feature MediaTek chipsets and Dolby Audio quad speakers, offering the best sound and picture quality at their prices,” Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth told PTII adding that the company is hopeful of selling 1 million units by end of the year.

While the TVs will be initially imported, the company is working on manufacturing them locally in the coming months.

“We are committed to the ‘Make in India’ programme. We have been working on the plan to manufacture TVs in India as well. We will have all the functions, including SMT and panels being made here. The lockdown has delayed the plans. While I cannot comment on the timeline for this, but we will make TVs here,” he said.

The company has introduced smart TVs in two screen sizes — 32-inch display (Rs 12,999) and 43-inch display (Rs 21,999). A 55-inch TV version will also be launched in the coming months.

The company is initially aiming to sell its products via online channels only. The plan will be followed by sales on physical retail stores.

Asked if there could be a slump in demand after nearly two months of lockdown, Sheth said there is pent up demand in the market.

“There will be two kinds of buyers – utility and lifestyle. While utility buying will continue to happen, people buying for lifestyle may postpone their purchases for some time. There is pent up demand, but supply-demand remains a challenge not only for us but also the industry,” he said.

After nearly two months of lockdown caused by the COVID-19, industries, factories and different sectors are restarting their operations in a staggering manner.  Given that these units are working with limited manpower, production volumes are not at full capacity.

On the occasion, the company has also revealed the Realme Watch priced at Rs. 3,999.  The device features a large display of 1.4-inch colour touchscreen display and a battery life that lasts up to 9 days.

It comes with comprehensive health functions including blood-oxygen-level (spO2) and PPG heart rate sensor.

It also unveiled ‘Buds Air Neo’ in the true wireless (TWS) audio category, priced at Rs 2,999 as well as a 10,000 mAh power bank (Rs 999).

The Buds Air Neo will include 13mm drivers and support dual-channel transmission. These earbuds will also feature a super low latency mode for gaming. The Realme Buds Air Neo is said to provide 3 hours of playback on a single charge that can be increased to 17 hours by using the case to re-charge the earbuds multiple times.

Reports suggest all Realme products will be available on Flipkart as well as on its official website, Realme.com on June 5th.