There was always a star mobile in the editions of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Historically, a brand took advantage of the international spotlight to present one of the flagship smartphones. It was an occasion for a shot of visibility. Although the avalanche of novelties, images and curiosities of the fair ended up swallowing the announcement, that product shone for at least one day on the front page. This year, none of the candidate brands to shine has presented its star mobile at Mobile, and Realme has made the biggest commitment to monopolize the spotlight, with the international presentation of its GT 2 Pro; an attempt to capture the prominence that none of the greats or the usual ones have claimed.
It was Samsung who for years had the heritage of presenting the star of Mobile with its Galaxy S series. Until the battery problems of its Galaxy Note 7, which led it to withdraw millions of units, delayed the launch of the S series in 2017. Huawei took advantage of the situation to advance the presentation of its flagship at the fair that year, which would be the P10. Although Samsung regained the throne the following year with the Galaxy S9, Huawei returned to gather all eyes an edition later with its folding Mate X.
That was in 2019, just when Huawei was in a state of grace, on the way to taking the lead from Samsung. But the veto of the United States arrived, which would mark its decline outside of China. Next, the pandemic ruined the Mobile of 2020 and only allowed a testimonial edition in 2021. Thus, this year there was the question of which smartphone would attract attention.
It seems that the most ambitious launch has been that of Realme, with its GT 2 Pro. It is the high-end of the Chinese brand, whose presentation was initiated by Madhav Sheth, co-founder and CEO of Realme Europe, who has boasted of the growing popularity of the brand. The launch is completed with the announcement of GT 2, which ends the series. The Mobile one, in fact, is the international presentation of these models, since in China —which acts as a separate market for many brands— they were already announced at the beginning of the year.
The GT 2 Pro has a 2K screen with an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120Hz (depending on the needs), which allows greater efficiency. These are features that promise high performance in demanding tasks, such as playing video games; something that is supported by its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, which integrates 5G connectivity.
In the design, the back part stands out, with a non-slip texture and made with a polymer based on biomaterials that imitates paper. The finish is marketed in black, white (to symbolize paper) and green (alluding to nature). The terminal is the result of the work of the renowned Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa, whose signature appears printed next to the photographic sensors. Precisely this element breaks the uniformity of the terminal, as it stands out remarkably.
The main camera is 50 megapixels, although its greatest strength is in the lenses that complement it. The terminal has an ultra wide angle of 150 degrees, the first in a smartphone that covers this width. And, as for the macro sensor, it is armed with 40 megapixels to capture minimal textures.
The Realme GT 2 Pro is distinguished by a cooling system based on a stainless steel vapor chamber. The GT 2 Pro’s breakthrough in this technology achieves a 19 degree reduction in peak core temperature. The 5000 mAh battery has fast charging. The brand has also taken the opportunity to announce its ultra-fast charging technology, 150 W.
The price of the GT 2 Pro with higher features (12 GB RAM and 256 GB of storage) is 849 euros. During the same event, Realme has also presented the GT 2 model, with a lower camera, especially because of the wide-angle and macro lenses. It shows on the screen, with lower resolution, and on the chip, also a Snapdragon, but less powerful. Other additions have been the Realme Book Prime laptop, with an 11th generation Intel, the Realme Buds Air 3 wireless headphones, with improved noise cancellation, and a 4K TV model.
The dilemma of presenting or not on Mobile
The other companies have barely fought for that much-contested attention in other years. Samsung presented its Galaxy S22 two weeks before the fair. Oppo has done the same with its Find X5 just a few days after starting the Mobile. Huawei has focused on computers and tablets, while Xiaomi is not expected to launch high-end models.
By throwing everyone aside, they have given a free pass to a brand that has made its way into the Spanish market quickly in the last two years. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Realme multiplied its sales by 10, according to Canalys, and rose to the top 5 of the best sellers. Ahead, there are only Xiaomi, Samsung, Apple and Oppo. In Europe, too was the manufacturer that grew the most: 280% in all of 2021, according to data from Counterpoint Research, going from tenth to fifth place in the ranking.
The Chinese brand is the result of a peculiar competition. Some of its most direct rivals are part of its parent corporation, BBK, from which Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus also hang. It belongs to a generation of manufacturers that has prospered in the face of the vacuum left by Huawei in the market, after the veto imposed by the United States.
The presentation of the Realme GT 2 Pro takes place in a context in which brands are questioning whether it is worth exposing themselves to the attention of all the international media on Mobile. There, their products are displayed in front of a large window, but they compete for attention with rivals.
The other output is the events themselves. It is the path that Samsung and Oppo have taken this time, and many companies will have thought that this year it was not worth exhibiting at Mobile. But, before the pandemic, already in 2019, Samsung and Huawei decided to make their own presentations for their main smartphones instead of advertising them on Mobile. This turned out to be gasoline for those who were beginning to say in the corridors that the fair was in the doldrums.
There is a company that never presents at fairs; he always does his own events, even with his most primitive smartphone. In January 2007, when the CES in Las Vegas was roaring, 600 kilometers away, Steve Jobs presented the first Apple iPhone with his particular event.
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