look news india
Tech brand Realme has given a severe inflation shock to Indian smartphone consumers who are planning for the festive season and purchasing new gadgets. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer has suddenly increased the prices of several select smartphones of its popular 16-series and budget C-series in India. After the new rates came into effect, phone prices have increased by Rs 1,000 to a maximum of Rs 4,000 depending on different models and RAM-storage variants. The company’s flagship and mid-premium segment smartphones—Realme 16 Pro+ 5G and Realme 16 Pro 5G—have been most impacted. If you are also thinking of buying a new Realme smartphone, then it is very important to carefully understand the revised rates and the new price list of all variants before purchasing.
According to the revised price list, Realme’s most popular premium smartphones Realme 16 Pro+ 5G The price of the base variant (8GB RAM + 128GB storage) has been directly increased by ₹ 4,000. This phone, which was earlier available for ₹ 49,999, is now available for sale at ₹ 53,999. Similarly, the price of 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant of this phone has been increased from ₹ 52,999 to ₹ 55,999 and the price of top-end 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant has been increased from ₹ 55,999 to ₹ 58,999, that is, there has been an increase of ₹ 3,000 on both these variants. simultaneously Realme 16 Pro 5G The 8GB + 128GB base model has also become costlier by ₹4,000 and now costs ₹44,999 instead of ₹40,999. Its 8GB + 256GB (now ₹46,999) and 12GB + 256GB (now ₹49,999) variants have seen a price increase of ₹3,000-₹3,000.
Rising cost of chipset, memory and components became the reason: impact from budget C-series to Pro-series.
The main reason behind this unexpected increase in prices is the increasing manufacturing cost of semiconductor chipsets, memory models (RAM and NAND flash storage) and display panels globally. According to internal industry documents and distributor circulars, companies were under heavy margin pressure due to rising costs of logistics and core hardware components in the smartphone ecosystem, making price revisions inevitable. Not only premium phones, but Realme’s standard mid-range and affordable phones have also been hit by this price hike.
standard model Realme 16 5G There has been an increase of ₹ 1,000 in all variants. Now its 8GB + 128GB model will be available at ₹36,999 instead of ₹35,999, 8GB + 256GB model at ₹39,999 and 12GB + 256GB model at ₹42,999. There itself Realme 16T 5G The prices have also been increased by ₹ 1,000 in all configurations, after which its 6GB + 128GB variant has become ₹ 32,999 and 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB variants have become ₹ 35,999 and ₹ 36,999 respectively.
Budget category customers are also disappointed, because the company’s affordable C-series smartphones have also become expensive. Realme C83 5G The price of its 4GB + 64GB variant has increased by ₹1,000 to ₹18,499, while its 4GB + 128GB (now ₹21,499) and 6GB + 128GB (now ₹24,499) variants have seen a direct increase of ₹2,000. entry-level Realme C100x 4G The 4GB + 64GB model has also become costlier by ₹2,000 from ₹14,999 to ₹16,999.
Tech analysts believe that such revision in smartphone prices can have a direct impact on consumers’ wallets and the sales of the upcoming festive season. However, customers who are planning to buy these smartphones can reduce the impact of this increased price to a great extent by taking advantage of bank offers, credit card cashback, no-cost EMI and exchange bonuses available on e-commerce platforms and retail stores. It will be interesting to see whether after this move by Realme, other rival brands also make a similar increase in the prices of their smartphones or whether they maintain their existing prices to attract customers.