China’s mobile phone market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. The vice president and China’s general manager of the mobile phone brand realme recently announced that realme will suspend product updates in the Chinese market, hitting the “pause button” on its business operations in China. Instead, the company will focus on deepening its presence in overseas markets, particularly in the performance and gaming sectors. This announcement quickly trended on social media platforms, sparking widespread interest from industry insiders and consumers.
On July 16, the realme executive released an “Open Letter to Users,” stating that the company will allocate more resources to overseas markets and temporarily halt new product releases in the Chinese market to further focus on its core brand strengths.
Addressing user concerns about after-sales service, it was clarified that OPPO’s official team will take over sales and after-sales warranty services for existing realme models in China. After the next generation of ColorOS is released, realme users will be able to upgrade to the latest versions based on system prompts.
According to a report from “China Business News,” OPPO confirmed on July 16 that future realme products will focus on overseas markets while putting a hold on product updates in China.
In terms of market data, as of 2025, OPPO held approximately an 11% share of the global smartphone market, ranking fourth worldwide.
Following the announcement, many internet users expressed their sentiments, with some lamenting, “The competition is too fierce!” While others worried, “What if my realme phone breaks down? I’ve only had it for less than a year…”
Established in May 2018, realme was founded by Li Bingzhong, former vice president of OPPO and head of overseas business. In July of the same year, realme officially separated from OPPO to operate independently. The brand initially positioned itself as offering “next-level cost performance,” targeting the younger consumer demographic. It first gained traction in overseas markets such as India and Southeast Asia before re-entering the Chinese market in 2019.
However, in the fiercely competitive Chinese smartphone market, major players like Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo have consistently held over 90% of the market share, preventing realme from breaking into the mainstream.
In fact, realme’s contraction of its Chinese market operations has been evident for some time. Since the second half of 2025, the frequency of new realme device releases in the Chinese market has noticeably decreased, with a lack of flagship products that generate significant market appeal. Since April 1, 2026, OPPO’s service network has taken over after-sales services for all realme products in China, including smartphones, tablets, computers, and IoT devices.
At the end of April this year, OPPO announced the establishment of a subsidiary series business unit, with Li Bingzhong overseeing the marketing service systems of both OnePlus and realme brands. Xu Qi serves as the marketing head of the subsidiary series business unit, signaling further brand integration efforts.
However, industry insiders point out that while realme’s adjustment can be seen as a strategic contraction in the Chinese market, overseas markets present their own challenges. Industry analyst Zhong Xiaolei noted that realme has been facing significant cost pressures in overseas markets this year, and its ability to regain growth through a focus on these markets remains to be seen and tested by the market.