Looking ahead to the next year, smartphone buyers in the mid-range segment will place greater emphasis on a few key features, according to Francis Wong, Chief Marketing Officer at Realme India. He said a periscope telephoto camera will become essential, along with much larger batteries of 7,000mAh or more. Wong also noted that consumers are increasingly demanding meaningful AI capabilities in their devices, while the number of years of software updates offered will be a critical factor influencing purchase decisions, he told Financial Express.
“We’re going to see more big-battery phones. Consumers are used to charging their phones daily, but I think from the second half of 2026 into 2027, they will gradually no longer need to do so. Instead, they may charge their phones once every two days. Big-battery phones will become a common phenomenon,” Wong said.
Realme 16 Pro series launching…
Realme has announced that its Realme 16 Pro series, comprising the Realme 16 Pro 5G and Realme 16 Pro+ 5G, will debut in India early next month. The launch follows the company’s recent disclosure of a design partnership with renowned Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa for the upcoming lineup.
Both smartphones will be sold in India through an e-commerce platform as well as Realme’s official website. The company has also teased that the devices will be powered by a Snapdragon processor claimed to deliver performance superior to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 4.
Realme 16 Pro series will attract strong interest…
Wong believes the Realme 16 Pro series will attract strong interest in the Indian market, driven by its improved camera capabilities and the growing purchasing power of consumers in the country. He noted that Indian buyers are increasingly willing to invest in feature-rich smartphones that offer better imaging performance and overall value.
“I think one big change is that Indian consumers are getting richer. Earlier, they were more focused on value for money, comparing things like the processor, battery and megapixel count — the obvious specs on paper. They would check and compare these closely. But over the last two to three years, as Indian consumers’ purchasing power has increased, they don’t care as much about specs anymore. Instead, they are looking at brands, services and experiences. The overall experience — including AI and software — has become more important than it was in the past,” Wong noted.
Wong also discussed on laptop, TV and other IoT products from the house of Realme in India. He said company is focusing on wearables and the audio products apart from smartphones.
Wong also spoke about Realme’s broader product strategy in India, including its laptops, televisions and other IoT offerings. He said the company is strengthening its focus on wearables and audio products, in addition to its smartphone business, as it looks to expand its ecosystem in the country.
“We used to launch laptops, TVs and other products. The challenge with those IoT categories is that you need to operate at a very large scale to maintain healthy margins and strong cost control. Over time, we realised that in India we cannot achieve margins that are competitive with global giants, simply because they are much larger and can control costs better than we can. When competing with them, we don’t have any real advantage. For now, it would be too early. We need to wait a few more years, which is why we have decided to focus only on wearables and audio products,” he concluded.
