Realme has announced a new product strategy today, but it seems extremely similar to the strategy revealed by another smartphone juggernaut last year.
Realme is calling its new product strategy 1+4+N, which symbolizes one smartphone, four categories of IoT products, and upcoming IoT and lifestyle products (the ‘N’ stands for ‘new’).
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If that sounds rather familiar, then you should know that it’s essentially a rip-off of Huawei’s own product strategy announced late last year. The only difference is that Huawei calls its strategy 1+8+N. And yes, this refers to one smartphone, eight other connected devices, and the wider ecosystem of third-party IoT products.
Sure, there might be a couple of subtle differences here, such as slightly differing takes on what ‘N’ means. But there’s no doubting that Realme could’ve chosen literally any other name for its strategy, yet it settled on 1+4+N. Still think it’s all just a coincidence? Then check out the comparison in the gallery below (the Chinese version of Huawei’s graphic seems even closer to Realme’s slide).
For what it’s worth, a Xiaomi representative took to Twitter and accused Realme of ripping off its slides too. But we definitely think the slide and name is a Huawei rip-off instead. Check out the tweet below.
It’s called as “originality�. Dear #CopyCat brand, you should try it sometime. Now even copying slides.
BTW I am surprised – why did you leave the laptop category? We just launched it. Please add that too your slide too.
Fun times ahead. #CopyCat #FakeMe pic.twitter.com/ljMD5o6mUQ
— Rohit Ghalsasi (@rohitghalsasi) June 23, 2020
Nevertheless, there’s no doubting that numerous brands are adopting an ecosystem-style product strategy, with Apple, Huawei, OnePlus, Samsung, and Xiaomi all doing so. But it definitely seems lazy to copy/paste another brand’s strategy and naming convention too. This is especially disappointing when you consider that Huawei’s naming convention doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.
That’s not to say companies don’t crib ideas from each other, with many major manufacturers (including the aforementioned brands) doing it over the years. But between this latest news and Realme following Xiaomi in several ways, it seems like the BBK-affiliated brand is doing more taking than giving in recent times.
What do you make of Realme’s 1+4+N product strategy? Let us know in the comments! Otherwise, you can check out more noteworthy features in the list below.