Realme exits China to focus on global markets

Oppo has announced a major restructuring for its sister brands Realme and OnePlus. The goal is to streamline operations, cut down on overlap, and let each brand focus on what it does best in the global market.

According to Realme’s official statement, the company will now shift its focus almost entirely to overseas markets. That means new product launches and updates will primarily target international users, while the brand is pausing further product development in China. On the flip side, OnePlus will concentrate more on its home turf in China and continue supporting updates in India, but it’s putting new product releases on hold in Europe and North America.

This clear division of labor should help both brands play to their strengths and reduce unnecessary competition between them inside the BBK Electronics family.

One of the most interesting parts of this strategy is the software side. Going forward, eligible realme and OnePlus devices around the world will have the option to update to Oppo’s ColorOS. It looks like Oppo is gradually unifying its three major Android skins, ColorOS, OxygenOS, and realme UI, under one main platform centered on ColorOS. In the future, many devices across all three brands could ship with ColorOS from the start.

This makes a lot of practical sense for the company. Maintaining three separate software platforms meant duplicated work and higher costs. By consolidating everything under ColorOS (building on the 2021 OxygenOS-ColorOS merger), Oppo can develop features faster, roll out security patches more quickly, and save resources in the long run.

The smartphone market has become incredibly competitive, so moves like this are becoming more common. Realme had already been reintegrated more closely with Oppo, and they’ve been sharing things like after-sales networks in markets like India.

For users, reactions will probably be mixed. Some will love the promise of faster updates and better consistency, while others might miss the unique feel of OxygenOS. Still, the hope is that a stronger, unified ColorOS will ultimately deliver a better experience for everyone. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out over the coming months.

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(Source: Xu Qi Chase on Weibo)