Back in May last year, Oppo formed Realme — a new online exclusive subsidiary of the brand — and launched the Realme 1. A couple of months down the line, the company's vice president and head of its overseas business resigned and established Realme as a new technology brand. Over the last year, Realme has seen tremendous growth in several markets worldwide, including India, and has launched a slew of compelling smartphones across various price segments. The company recently launched the Realme X2 Pro, its first true flagship device, which is expected to further boost its popularity. Now, it seems like Realme is planning to take the OnePlus route and establish itself as an independent company.

According to a recent report from Digitimes, Realme Taiwan's Chief Commercial Officer Chung Hsiang-wei has suggested that if the company continues to scale its business at the current rate then it will soon be independent of its parent company. Currently, the company shares its resources with Oppo, but it has already gone ahead and formed its own R&D team. The team is expected to build up its own ecosystem and product lines, separate from the ones offered by Oppo. Chung added that the company has already secured a place in the top-five brands for online sales in India and has ventured into more than 20 countries, including Indonesia, Spain, and Russia.

Even if Realme establishes itself as an independent brand, it won't directly compete with its parent organization as they target different market segments, Chung added, further claiming that 60% of Oppo's users are female and 60% of Realme's users are male. On top of that, Oppo is slowly migrating towards the premium segment, while Realme is focusing more on technology and fashion-centric devices. The company is also planning to tap into the wearable and true wireless stereo headset markets, in a bid to distinguish itself from Oppo. The company also plans to launch a new lineup of affordable 5G phones in Taiwan by the second quarter of 2020. We've previously seen hints of the upcoming Realme X50 5G, but we aren't sure if that device will make it to the Taiwanese market.

Source: Digitimes

Update: Realme clarifies that it's already an independent company

In response to the claims made above, Realme has issued a statement clarifying that it's already an independent company. The company has stated that the aforementioned information was a result of miscommunication on the part of a local media outlet in the Asia Pacific market. Realme Mobile Telecommunications Private Limited is an independent brand and legal entity that was officially established on May 4th, 2018 by its founder Sky Li and current CEO Madhav Sheth.