No — Realme is not an Indian brand. It’s Chinese, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and is part of the BBK Electronics family (alongside Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, and iQOO).
Overview
Realme is a smartphone and AIoT (electronics/wearables) company known for value-for-money devices aimed at young, trend-conscious buyers. Founded in 2018, Realme builds smartphones and AIoT products for young users, and claims over 300 million global users and 310 million+ social media followers. Like OnePlus, Realme has an especially strong and visible presence in India — it’s often one of the top-selling smartphone brands there — which is a major reason people assume it’s homegrown Indian.
Origin Story
- 2018: Realme was founded by Sky Li, a former Oppo executive, initially spinning off as an independent brand from Oppo.
- India as launchpad: Realme’s very first phone launched in India, and the country quickly became one of its most important markets — fueling the perception that it might be an Indian company.
- BBK Electronics roots: Realme has always been closely tied to Oppo and the broader BBK Electronics conglomerate (which also backs Vivo, OnePlus, and iQOO), even during the years it operated more independently.
- Rapid global growth: Through aggressive pricing, youth-focused marketing, and a wide product range (numbered series, GT series, Neo series), Realme scaled quickly across Asia, Europe, and beyond.
OnePlus / Realme — Who Owns Them Today
- Both OnePlus and Realme sit under the BBK Electronics umbrella, alongside Oppo.
- As of 2026, this relationship has tightened significantly: Realme officially became a sub-brand of Oppo in 2026, with shared resources and a unified brand strategy, while retaining its own product identity and pricing. Realme and Oppo announced in January 2026 that Realme would merge into Oppo and act as a sub-brand, similar to how OnePlus already operates.
- Notably, the two sibling brands are diverging in strategy: OPPO confirmed that Realme will shift its focus to overseas markets and stop launching new products in China, while OnePlus will continue its planned product releases in China.
- There have also been reports that Realme’s GT 9 and Neo 9 series have been cancelled for 2026 after Realme halted smartphone production in China, shifting its primary focus toward its numbered series in overseas markets.
More Recent News
- The restructuring is aimed at improving operational efficiency and cost control, aligning Realme more closely with Oppo and OnePlus while it continues to launch products independently across key global markets.
- OPPO has combined OnePlus and Realme into one shared ecosystem, paving the way for deeper software integration between the two brands going forward. Existing Realme device owners are expected to keep receiving promised OS upgrades and security patches, though potentially delivered via ColorOS (Oppo’s software) rather than Realme UI going forward.
- The Oppo merger has also reportedly been accompanied by layoffs at Realme, amid a broader rocky year for the smartphone market, especially for Chinese brands.
FAQ
Q: Is Realme owned by an Indian company?
No. It’s Chinese, under BBK Electronics/Oppo.
Q: Are Realme phones made in India?
Yes, some manufacturing/assembly happens in India (standard practice for global smartphone brands selling there), but this doesn’t make it an Indian brand.
Q: Is Realme the same as Oppo now?
They’re closely linked and becoming more so — Realme became a formal Oppo sub-brand in 2026 — but it still retains its own branding and product line, at least for now.
Q: Is Realme related to OnePlus?
Yes — both are BBK Electronics-backed brands that started as Oppo spin-offs, and both now operate as Oppo sub-brands, though their market strategies (China vs. overseas focus) are currently diverging.
Q: Why do people think Realme is Indian?
Because its first phone launched in India, India became one of its biggest markets, and its marketing leaned heavily into Indian youth culture — similar to the confusion around OnePlus.
