Underdogs dominating the smartphone industry.
India is one of the largest market for smartphones and china is the largest manufacturer. Here the clash between the two tech giants meant that the Indian nationalist consumer has developed a sentiment for the Chinese manufactured mobile phones post the Indian-China tension in the second-Third quarter of 2020. The Global market saw various political factors affecting the smartphone choices for example Huawei-Android tension meant that China was to boycott US products and Huawei sales rose subsequently at around 44% in China.
Another aspect of the post COVID smartphone market is the affordability after the worst recession the world has seen. Globally Unemployment peaked with people unable to afford necessities let alone a luxury of a smartphone. One surprising aspect during the pandemic is the sales of IPhone 11 that rose 40% from its predecessor. Whereas the Indian market shrank during the strict lockdown.
Here the underdogs are looking to capture the market with budget smartphones like Xiomi Redmi Note 9 or Realme 6 Pro as affordable flagships. To further access the upcoming flagships and how they are COVID adjusted in pricing and features below is a comparison of the latest Realme Phone with its previous variant.
To better understand the budget smartphone industry we will study the case of Realme as an example in comparison to the unaffordable iPhones and Galaxy Note20s.
Realme 5 Pro:
The quad-camera speed master, Realme 5 pro, doesn’t look like a compromise on both design and specifications. Its Snapdragon 712 chipset coupled with 4/8 Gigabytes of RAM crown it with the name, speed master. The 48 megapixel quad-camera embedded in the new crystal design provides the user with a surreal camera experience. When using such outstanding specifications, users aim for an everlasting backup of 4035 mAh that comes with VOCC charging 3.0 to juice up the mighty battery. A cherry on the top is the optimized gaming experience to provide realistic yet smooth game graphics.
Realme 6 Pro:
The Realme flagship comes with a 90 Hz ultra-smooth display spread seamlessly across 6.6” full HD screen. The powerhouse uses a Qualcomm snapdragon 720G coupled with a 6/8 GB of RAM and a 64/128 GB of internal memory. The 6 Pro boasts a 64 Mega Pixel primary camera with a 20X zoom lens coupled with a wide-angle lens that gives 105° wide-angle coverage. The 30W flash charging supports a 4300 mAh battery to be refilled within an hour of charging. A huge improvement in the audio department as the Realme 6 Pro uses Dolby Atmos High-resolution speakers.
To further learn what the user is seeking from a smartphone below is the criteria for what to expect from a budget smartphone.
User Experience Goals
Looking at the highly competitive mobile phone market in Pakistan as a user it’s safe to say that the expectations are quite high. The conducted surveys evaluate that the user expects at least the following features from a mobile phone:
- One day battery life with gaming and mobile data
- High-resolution gaming experience
- 1080P screen with at least 90% screen-Body ratio
- Fast charging within an hour
- Durability (Corning gorilla glass 5 or above)
- At least a 48 MP camera coupled with zoom/ wide/ macro lenses
- 4k video recording
- Fine sound quality
- A fast yet reliable security system ( Fingerprint/ facial recognition)
- A stylish sleek body
The above-mentioned features are expected from a good phone when a user seeks to buy a new one. The features vary according to preferences; some prefer a good camera over processor while some want a smooth gaming experience.
While the Realme flagship has won a balance between specifications and design it has been popular in the student community. There is still room for improvement in the finish and product build quality department. The weight of the device is heavy yet the finish could be improved, for example, a glass back that is tempered for protection could do more justice to the specifications it provides. The specifications are well in line as they use the premium snapdragon processors and decent GBs for internal storage. Another revolution that Realme can bring in is a custom android that isn’t power by the Realme UI rather some collaboration with Google would be delightful for the customers.
Creating a better interaction
The Realme flagship couples amazing specifications and compared to its predecessor it boasts a much higher power. The Realme experience can better be brought to the users via a better brand appearance in Pakistan. For a huge consumer base, mobile phone is a status symbol and Realme isn’t yet a symbol of the higher end. The brand positioning is pricing the product to target a mass whereas they need to focus on a corporate partnership that can enable it to become the new Blackberry of Pakistan.
