Chinese startup launches cheapest 5G smartphone

Startup brand Realme has launched a 5G smartphone costing from 1,399 yuan (US$200), the cheapest 5G model among all major brands. 

Xiaomi and Huawei have launched 5G models costing around 1,500 yuan. 

Realme’s V5 model features 5G, fast charging, a 48-mega-pixel camera, 4K video and 128 gigabytes of storage. It will be available from Friday. 

Realme, which ranks No. 7 in the global smartphone market, has more than 40 million users. It kept growing during the pandemic which hit sales of the majority of smartphone brands. 

In the second quarter, only Apple and Realme, among the top 10 smartphone brands, saw sales grow, according to researcher Counterpoint. 

In the first half, China sold 63.6 million 5G smartphones. In June, 5G models accounted for 61.2 percent of the total smartphone market, according to the Ministry of the Industry and Information Technology.