Realme becomes a top smart personal audio brand in India after only its first quarter-year of being one

Canalys' latest report on the Asia Pacific hearables market (which is for the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020) concludes that Realme was the #3 brand in the Indian sector - despite the fact it has mainly been known for its smartphones. However, it has secured a 10% share in the nation's personal smart audio space since launching its first pair of TWS earbuds in December 2019.

The BBK subsidiary leap-frogged more recognized brands such as Xiaomi and Sony into the top 5 in question despite the fact that, according to Canalys, it did not have 1Q2019 shipments to speak of at all. Realme has attributed its breakthrough to its ability to appeal to the target demographics of young people and younger professionals with its hearables.

This, according to the OEM's Global Marketing President Xu Qi, was achieved through careful attention to their design as well as their functions: for example, the style of the recently-launched Buds Q was informed by former Hermes contributor José Lévy. Realme's timing at getting into the truly-wireless arena was also propitious in that the Asia Pacific hearables market really took off in 1Q2020.

This region was found to be the third largest market by location, even when figures from China were excluded. It accounted for 16 million units (or +61% year-on-year (YoY)) in 1Q2020. This represented 21.1% of all shipments worldwide for the quarter.