Realme exits China market
What's the story
Realme has announced its decision to exit the Chinese market, focusing instead on global markets. The move comes as part of OPPO's larger restructuring plan that has already seen OnePlus shut down in global markets. Shen Qi, a representative from Realme, made the announcement on Weibo, saying they will "pressing the pause button" in China and "concentrate" on overseas markets.
Strategic shift
Realme's expansion to focus on Nordic region of Europe
Realme already has a presence in parts of Europe, and this will be its primary focus going forward.
A recent report indicated that OPPO is concentrating on the Nordic region of Europe for Realme's expansion. This includes countries like Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Qi emphasized the need for a young brand like Realme to "focus," even if it requires more courage than "moving forward with inertia."
User assurance
What about existing users in China?
Despite the strategic shift, Qi assured existing Realme users in China that their needs will be taken care of.
He said that sales and after-sales warranty of existing models will be handled by the OPPO official team.
As for system updates, after the next generation of ColorOS is released, Realme users can update to this new system when they receive an update notification.
Software transition
Transition to ColorOS
Along with its market exit, Realme will also replace its custom interface, Realme UI, with OPPO's ColorOS.
The same transition is being made by OnePlus with Android 17.
This means that both in China and abroad, users will see a shift from Realme's own software to OPPO's ColorOS on their devices.