The Realme X50 Pro 5G features a 90Hz refresh rate display.

The smartphone draws its power from a Snapdragon 865 SoC.

It features a 4,200mAh battery with support for 65W fast charging.

Smartphone maker, Realme, started with the affordable segment, and gradually moved to the mid-range, and then to the premium segment with the X2 Pro. Now, Realme has launched its first 5G enabled X50 Pro smartphone for around $525 starting with India. The company will also be looking to slowly expand in other markets.

Realme X50 Pro 5G pricing vs competition

In the US, the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G will set you back by $999, whereas the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G is available for $899. In comparison, the Realme X50 Pro 5G pricing is quite aggressive at $525.

Similarly, the OnePlus 7T (LTE) is available for $499. So, if you consider the price delta for a 5G phone, you just pay around $25 extra over the 4G OnePlus phone. For that extra $25, you get the latest chipset, 5G, faster charging speeds and higher resolution cameras.

Key specifications of Realme X50 Pro

Chipset, RAM and Storage

The new Realme smartphone comes with a “Pro” tag, and the company has gone all out to ensure it is justified. Under the hood, the X50 Pro is powered by a 7nm Snapdragon 865 SoC paired with Snapdragon X55 modem which enables 5G connectivity. It supports both SA / NSA bands.

There are three SKUs to choose from – 6GB RAM with 128GB storage, 8GB RAM with 256GB storage, and 12GB RAM with 256GB storage. The company is using LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.0 storage to ensure faster read / write speeds.

Display

On the display front, the smartphone flaunts a 6.44-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. A screen with high refresh rate is becoming popular among flagship smartphones, and the Realme phone also features a screen with 90Hz screen refresh rate. This should make web scrolling and gaming experience smoother. The screen also comes with HDR10+ support for gaming and watching high-definition content.

Cameras

In the photography department, you get a quad camera setup at the back. This includes a primary 64MP sensor (f/1.8 aperture), paired with an 8MP (ultra-wide + macro lens), and a 12MP telephoto lens with 20X hybrid zoom support. There is also a fourth 2MP monochrome sensor for portrait mode.

The cameras support 4K video recording at 30fps, HD and Full HD recording at 30/60fps, and slow-motion video recording capabilities. The smartphone also supports UIS video stabilization for smooth and jerk free recording.

On the front, Realme has included a dual front camera placed in hole-punch cut out. There is a 32MP primary wide-angle camera for those high-resolution selfies and video calling. It is paired with a secondary 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens for group photographs.

Battery and other extras

To keep things ticking, the Realme X50 Pro is armed with a 4,200mAh battery. There is support for 65W fast charging, which can take the battery from empty to full in just 35 minutes. Realme has also included vapour cooling system to ensure the thermal levels are low when charging and also while playing games or performing other heavy-duty tasks.

Opportunities in premium segment for Realme

Realme, unlike other smartphone brands, has an India-first approach, and is slowly expanding into the global markets as well. The company recently entered in top 5 smartphone brands in Spain. Globally, Realme has a market share of 1.7% (CY 2019) and is among the top 10 vendors. In China, which is the company’s home market, it hasn’t been doing well, but it also represents a clear opportunity.

Talking about the premium smartphone segment in India (≥₹30,000 or roughly ≥US$420 retail price), it is dominated by three major brands OnePlus, Apple and Samsung. In 2019, premium smartphone shipments reached a record high, and grew 29% YoY.

There is a clear opportunity for brands going with aggressive pricing and flagship hardware on their smartphones. Realme has a 2% market share, where the X2 Pro performed well in the segment. With the X50 Pro 5G ready smartphone, the company is aiming to increase its share further.

Commenting on the launch and opportunities for Realme, Research Analyst Parv Sharma said, “We believe, Realme with its X50 Pro 5G affordable premium smartphone, has an edge to capture early 5G consumers, in 5G ready European countries. To accelerate the adoption of 5G smartphones, Realme needs to partner with the operators in these markets. The company should focus on delivering the premium 5G experience to create brand value.”

Chinese 5G Premium Portfolio Strategies in 2020

“Chinese smartphone brands are racing to launch 5G flagship devices in their portfolio, leveraging the latest 5G solutions from vendors such as Qualcomm. Many of these brands have strong footprint in China, India and parts of Asia. However, some of these brands will have different strategies for different markets,” said VP of Research, Neil Shah.

For instance, in China, most of these brands such as Realme, iQOO, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi will have 5G as a default SKU for flagship models in the first half of 2020. “All the new models launched above $300 this year will be 5G capable, considering Chinese operators are aggressively rolling out 5G networks this year with a target of 100M 5G connections,” he added.

Now, in some other strong markets for these brands such as India where 5G networks might not be rolling out until end of 2021, these brands will still launch 5G SKUs of their flagships. This will happen even more as we see mid-tier 5G handsets sporting Qualcomm 765/765G or MediaTek Dimensity, Unisoc or Samsung Exynos solutions.

While 5G maybe a marketing buzzword, it’s good that brands are launching such phones as it will make the space competitive before 5G network rollout begins. Current 5G phones are also good for users looking for a future-proof solution, and to those who travel abroad, as they can use 5G in countries where the network exists.