Oppo's spin-off brand Realme is a surprising hit in India

Oppo's Realme sub-brand is chasing Xiaomi’s dominance in India

If you haven't heard of Realme yet, we don't blame you: The Chinese smartphone brand was founded just a year and a half ago. But the Oppo sub-brand is already seeing big success in India, where its shipments grew more than 400 percent compared to the same period last year.

Realme has now risen to become the fourth biggest smartphone brand in India in the third quarter, according to IDC. Its popularity exploded for similar reasons to Xiaomi, which has been selling its phones in the country since 2015. Xiaomi also grew rapidly in India by offering a good price-to-quality ratio on its smartphones.

Chinese smartphone makers continue to dominate India's smartphone market. Xiaomi is first, and shipped more phones than it ever has before in a single quarter with 12.6 million units. Vivo and Oppo are third and fifth respectively. This means Vivo and Oppo parent company BBK Electronics owns three of India's top five brands. Samsung was the only vendor among the top five to record a fall this quarter, but it's still India's second largest smartphone brand.

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