Shortly after OnePlus confirmed its withdrawal from the North American and European markets, realme has announced that it will also exit the Chinese market. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort involving the OPPO group of companies.
Shen Qi, a senior executive at realme China, confirmed the news in a Weibo post. He said that the company would be “pressing the pause button” on the Chinese market, adding that the “decision was made after careful consideration.”
The announcement may raise concerns among existing customers in China regarding after-sales support. Addressing these apprehensions, Shen Qi assured users that after-sales service and warranty support would continue, although they will instead be handled by OPPO.
On the software front, he also said that “after the release of the next generation of ColorOS, realme users can update to the ColorOS system when they receive an update notification.” He also assured users that “everyone’s rights will be protected.”
On that note, the OPPO group is also reorganising its software strategy. It has confirmed that realme UI will be phased out, with future devices set to transition to ColorOS instead. Likewise, OnePlus will discontinue OxygenOS in favour of ColorOS beginning with Android 17.
This also raises the question of what will happen to older devices that are not eligible for future ColorOS updates. We reached out to the company for clarification, and a realme representative told us that these devices will instead receive maintenance support. However, the company did not provide a timeline, adding that it will share more details later.
Returning to the Weibo post, the company will shift its focus towards global markets, as mentioned earlier. While Shen Qi did not provide any further details on this move, the brand is reportedly expected to place greater emphasis on the Nordic region, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
(Source: Weibo, via 9to5Google)
