Recently, the OPPO Group clarified the global product strategies for its sub-brands: realme will focus on overseas markets in the future, suspending product updates in the Chinese market. OnePlus will primarily develop the Chinese market, halting new product launches in Europe and North America while maintaining product updates in the Indian market.

Xu Qi, Vice President of realme, also confirmed this in a lengthy post, emphasizing that realme will pause in the Chinese market and concentrate its resources on deepening its presence in overseas markets, focusing on performance and gaming sectors, and bringing cutting-edge technology to a global audience. In my view, this move represents a strategic subtraction and resource reorganization by the OPPO Group in response to the industry's downturn.

This decision does not imply the failure of the realme brand but rather represents an inevitable choice based on commercial logic and market conditions. It can be deeply analyzed from the following five dimensions:

1. Conflict Between Cost Pressures and Business Models

In 2026, affected by the AI industry's crazy (Note: ' crazy ' is translated as 'frenzied' in context, but retained as ' crazy ' in the HTML for accuracy to original tone if needed; however, for smooth English, 'frenzied' would be ideal in a non-direct quote scenario) frenzied preempt (seizing) of production capacity, prices of storage chips such as DRAM and NAND surged, leading to a significant increase in the overall cost of smartphones. realme, which focuses on ultimate cost-effectiveness, faced severe compression of its living space (living space/market viability) due to rising costs squeezing profits and price-sensitive consumers in China delaying phone upgrades. When profits from low-cost phones approach zero, continuing to burn money to capture market share in China no longer makes commercial sense.

2. Resolving Internal Competition Within the Group

Previously, realme and OnePlus, both under the OPPO Group, had significant positioning (positioning) overlap in the Chinese market, particularly in the 1000-3000 yuan price range. Both brands focused on online sales and performance, leading to redundant investments and internal friction in marketing, channel, and R&D resources. By pausing realme, OPPO has thoroughly (completely) resolved this long-standing issue of internal competition, achieving precise division of labor within its brand matrix.

3. Redefining Global Strategy and Focusing Resources

This adjustment clarifies the global division of labor among OPPO Group's sub-brands. realme will fully shift to overseas markets, targeting emerging markets such as India, Southeast Asia, and Africa, continuing to leverage its advantage in ultimate cost-effectiveness and becoming OPPO Group's key player in global emerging markets.

OnePlus, on the other hand, will retreat from European and North American markets, returning to and deepening its presence in the Chinese market. It will fill the gap left by realme in the mid-to-low-end and online markets in China, forming a combination of 'mass online + high-end core' with the main OPPO brand. In summary, the brand matrix has been redivided, forming a clear three-tier differentiated layout.

4. Trading Space for Time in a Competitive Market

Against the backdrop of a global decline in smartphone shipments and intensifying Matthew effect, the OPPO Group has abandoned non-profitable regions, concentrating its dispersed R&D funds and talent on the ColorOS software ecosystem, significantly enhancing resource concentration. This essentially ensures the sustainability of its overall competitiveness by doing things well rather than doing many things during the industry's downturn, which is undoubtedly a wise move.

5. Safeguarding the Rights of Existing Domestic Users

OPPO has established a comprehensive safeguard mechanism for existing realme users in China. Warranty, maintenance, and sales of inventory machines for old realme users will all be handled by OPPO's offline service centers. At the software level, realme users will be able to upgrade to the latest ColorOS system in the future, ensuring their rights are unaffected.

Overall, realme's pause in China does not mean it has lost; rather, it was never meant to be a tool for OPPO Group to continue its involution (involution/intense internal competition) in the Chinese market. This adjustment allows each brand to find a unique and irreplaceable position within the OPPO Group's landscape, representing the optimal solution for maximizing company profits and global efficiency amid existing market challenges. The overall benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

In fact, OPPO Group's adjustment reflects a broader industry trend. With the overall contraction of the global smartphone market, companies are no longer pursuing market dominance across all segments but are instead specializing in niche markets: OnePlus stays in China, realme goes global, and the main OPPO brand targets the high-end market, using a combined strategy to balance domestic market share and global shipments. Looking ahead, whether OPPO Group can further increase its market share remains to be seen—let's wait and see!