The foldable smartphones market is was being dominated by Samsung and a few players until last year. After years of teasers, Oppo and Vivo finally launched their foldable smartphones.
Motorola also took 2022 to revive its Moto RAZR series and make it more aligned with modern standards. Last month, we saw the launch of the Oppo Find N2 Flip and the Honor Magic Vs in the international markets. The segment is finally kicking off with vivid competition and many offerings.
Aside Oppo and Vivo, it seems that other BBK Group brands like OnePlus and Realme will join the segment. Yeah, after OnePlus, we have a new teaser that confirms Realme’s arrival in the segment.
Table of Interests
Realme Foldable Smartphone Coming Soon
Realme made its name in the smartphone segment with the launch of budget devices. From an Oppo sub-brand, Realme became the fastest-growing brand. Now, the brand has a good presence in many segments of the smartphone industry and has smart TVs, tablets, and other electronics.
There is one missing category – the foldable segment. This trending segment will soon be joined by Realme, and that is exciting. Could be Realme the first brand to launch a mid-range foldable device?
The revelation came from Madhav Sheth, the Realme VP and President of Realme International. The executive is well known for teasing upcoming products through his social media handles. He took to Twitter to ask his followers if they would prefer a flip-style foldable (Realme Flip) or a larger book-style folding phone (Realme Fold). Those following Realme, know that the brand is expected to launch a foldable for years. The big question is when. Also, we are curious to see the pricing point of a possible Realme foldable device.
Should We Be Expected A Foldable Mid-Range In 2023?
Right now, there are just a few book-style foldable and several flip phones. The latter is also cheaper than the former. We would not be surprised to see Realme launching a clamshell foldable at the first moment.
Considering Realme’s take on the affordable range, it’s okay to create some hype for a foldable phone from them. However, it is still hard to imagine a mid-range foldable phone at this point. The tech behind these displays is anything but cheap.
The development also involves a series of factors with complex design and engineering. Of course, the development of these phones matured since the first Samsung Galaxy Fold. Thus, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 sells cheaper than its ancestor. Still, it’s hard to imagine a foldable phone hitting the mid-range category. We’ll have to wait a few years until that happens.
Anyway, Realme can still bring a foldable with an appealing price. At this point, anything in this category that gets closer to the $999 tag will be considered cheap. We will have to wait for more details, but the reveal certainly will bring excitement to Realme fans.
OnePlus and Vivo To Also Announce New Foldables
Worth noting that OnePlus (Realme and Oppo sister company) is also expected to launch foldable phones soon. The company teased the development of a foldable phone last year.
Recently, it registered trademarks for “OnePlus V Fold” and “OnePlus V Flip”. As per the rumors, the OnePlus V Fold will launch this year and will be based on the Oppo Find N2. The specs can be slightly different, considering that it may launch to compete with the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 foldables.
Vivo, another brand that belongs to the BBK group, will also make a move into this segment soon. The brand will launch two more devices in the segment. We will have the Vivo X Fold 2, and the Vivo X Flip. The year 2023 will be exciting for the brands of this group, we are curious to see if Realme will take a ride in this move or will wait until 2024 to launch its foldable. If we take in mind the strategy adopted by OnePlus and Vivo, we would not be surprised to see two foldable phones coming from Realme.
