They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and that's exactly what OPPO is doing with its new Realme sub-brand. The Chinese company unveiled the first product in the series, the Realme 1, and it's immediately evident that OPPO is setting Xiaomi — particularly its Redmi series — in its sights.
OPPO is positioning the Realme 1 as a device that delivers on both price as well as quality, touting the fact that each phone goes through 18 quality tests for the motherboard, more than 100,000 drop tests, and multiple humidity and temperature tests. These kinds of tests are standard across the industry, but OPPO is highlighting them as a possible differentiator.
The phone features a 6.0-inch FHD+ 18:9 display, and is powered by MediaTek's Helio P60 chipset with four 2.0GHz Cortex A73 cores paired with four Cortex A53 cores. MediaTek hasn't fared well in the budget segment in recent years, but it looks like the P60 has the potential to change that. Other specs of the Realme 1 include a 13MP rear camera, 8MP front shooter, and a 3400mAh battery.
Like OPPO's mid-range phones, the Realme 1 features the company's AI-assisted selfie mode, which analyzes your facial features and fixes any blemishes. Another feature to make its way from the F7 is the Diamond Black rear design, an interlacing pattern that allows the phone to catch the light at various angles.
On the software side of things, the Realme 1 is running Oreo based on ColorOS 5.0. The Realme 1 is available in two storage configurations initially: a base model with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage for ₹8,990 ($135), and a version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage for ₹13,990 ($205). While the rest of the specifications look great for a phone in this category, the Realme 1 misses out on a fingerprint sensor.
After-sales customer service has been a major pain point for consumers in India, and OPPO says that it is acutely aware of the issue. The brand says that it will be able to offer resolutions in just over an hour for up to 90% of all smartphone-related issues at its service centers.
The Realme 1 will go up for sale exclusively on Amazon India starting May 25 for as low as ₹8,990 ($135), and the aggressive pricing suggests OPPO is intent on stealing market share away from Xiaomi. There's also a possibility that an offline version of the Realme 1 could make its debut with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage in the coming weeks.
The launch of the Realme 1 comes at a particularly difficult time for Xiaomi, with the company unable to meet the demand for the Redmi Note 5 Pro nearly three months after its release.
What are your thoughts on the device? Let me know in the comments below.
