Are you familiar with Realme phones? You are? You aren’t? Realme is a Chinese phone brand that originally started out as a subsidiary of OPPO (surely you know OPPO; we have reviewed a number of their phones here on Mobility Nigeria and you have likely seen OPPO phones on Big Brother Naija in 2019 and 2020 and Lagos Fashion Week 2021). The Realme brand was later spun off from OPPO.
In simple English, that means Realme is no longer a subsidiary of OPPO, and more like a brother or sister now. They both still belong to the same parent company, BBK.
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So, why is no-one interested in Realme phones in Nigeria?
To be honest, it is too early to say for sure that nobody is interested in Realme phones here in Nigeria. After all, these phones have only just been announced this September.
That said, it doesn’t look like Realme Nigeria is making a lot of noise outside of social media about these devices. Whatever their strategy is, we will be able to tell how well Nigerians embrace Realme smartphones.
It is true that despite the announcement of their smartphones in Nigeria, there is not much chatter going on about the brand and it’s phones. But with some more publicity and adequate marketing, it shouldn’t be long before we see more people using Realme phones in Nigeria.
Realme Phones Announced in Nigeria
Realme has introduced two model on their C series to Nigeria. Let’s have a look at these two models.
Realme C55
This is a midrange Android smartphone with a 6.72-inch display, 8GB RAM, 265 GB storage, 5000mAh battery, and 33W SUPERVOOC charging which the company says will take the battery from 0-50% in just 29 minutes. Realme C55 is now available for ₦144,990 (recommended retail price).
Realme C30s
This is an entry-level model featuring a 6.5-inch display, 8MP AI camera, 64GB storage, dedicated microSD card slot, side fingerprint scanner, and a 5000mAh battery. It is available in two variants as follows: ₦62,990 NGN (2+32GB) and ₦69,900 NGN (3+64GB).
Are these Realme phones 5G enabled?
Not at all. The C30s and C55 are both 4G smartphones. They do not have a 5G radio. If you want a 5G smartphone, you will have to look at Realme’s sister brand, OPPO, or any of Samsung, Apple iPhone, TECNO, Infinix, Nokia, and Xiaomi.
Is Realme going after itel and TECNO’s markets?
Looking at the prices of the Realme C30s variants, it looks like Realme is better positioned to face off itel phones and entry-level TECNO phones. Which makes sense. OPPO smartphones tend to target the higher end of the market, Realme smartphones seem better suited to the entry-level Android smartphone market.
Where to buy Realme phones in Nigeria
Realme phones are scarce to find in the country. We know because we looked around. We tried. And we did not find any in the usual places. So we reached out to Realme Nigeria to ask, and they sent us a list. It turns out that the only places where you can buy Realme phones in Nigeria for now are in the north. Yes; northern Nigeria.
If you are in the West, South, East or even the .iddle Belt, you are out of luck unless you can find the rare seller on Jiji.
Here are the stores where you can buy Realme smartphones now:
- Dancel, No19 Beirut Road Kano
- A A Ajaba, Bulunkutu (Black & White) Plaza, Yola, Borno
- Al-Ameen Com. Shopping Complex Jimeta Yola, Borno
- Ayab Com, Gombe
- Sensible Com, Funtua, Katsina
- El-Bashir Com, Hajiya Halima Plaza, Sokoto
- Fusaha Com, Gombe
- Marghi Phones, Bacab Plaza, Amadu Bello Way, Kaduna
- Smb Shanono Bacab Plaza, Amadu Bello Way, Kaduna
- Talk Shop N M Plaza Amadu Bello Way Kaduna
- El-Daud Gashua Road, Damaturu Yobe
Realme phones are just like ZTE phones; they are superb fones but of high prices. we already have Samsung, so if you want to compete, bring the prices down just like Xiaomi/oppo and Vivo did. then little by little, increase the prices.