Realme Philippines officially debuted the Realme C1 yesterday, November 29. The budget blower will be available beginning next week, December 5, for as low as P5,490 or $105. Notably, however, the Realme 2 Pro, the company’s flagship phone, may have been there during the announcement, but only on the sidelines; it was not launched.
The Realme 2 Pro as part of the ‘decoration’ at the Realme C1 launch in the Philippines
Understandably, this left some questions as to when — or if — Realme would bring the device here, especially considering that it is already available in other markets. In case you need a fresher, the Realme 2 Pro lists a 16-megapixel, f/1.7 camera and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB storage as its highlights. Its pricing starts at ₹13,990 (around P10,512 or $201) in India.
SEE ALSO: Realme C1 review: A real steal for the price and Where to buy Realme phones? A list of Realme stores in PH
The Realme 2 Pro’s closest competition is the Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite, whose 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant sells for P13,990 ($267) in the Philippines. And given the Pro’s lower price tag, it’s tough to fault Philippine-based consumers who had expected the phone to launch alongside the Realme C1. So why didn’t it?
READ ALSO: Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite review: Definitely not a lightweight
The TL;DR answer is that the Realme 2 Pro lacks the necessary bands for owners to enjoy fast and wide-coverage 4G LTE locally. More specifically, the 4GB and 6GB RAM models don’t support Band 7 (2600MHz) and Band 28 (700MHz), which carriers in the Philippines use to power their LTE networks, along with Band 3 (1800MHz).
The Realme 2 Pro lacks the necessary bands for owners to enjoy fast and wide-coverage 4G LTE in the Philippines. The Realme C1, on the other hand, can use Bands 3 (1800MHz) and 7 (2600MHz).
The top-end Realme 2 Pro, on the other hand, supports Band 7 but not Band 28. This information comes from the official Realme website, so feel free to look it up. As for the Realme C1, it can use Band 3 and Band 7 for LTE connectivity within the country.
Granted, we can’t speak for Realme or any of its employees, but we’re 100 percent sure that’s the reason why the Realme 2 Pro didn’t and won’t arrive here. Bummer. But on the bright side, this is proof that Realme only wants the best experience for its customers — even if it means losing out on potential sales and profits.
That said, we have zero doubt upcoming Realme devices will have greater LTE compatibility in the Philippines, but that’s just not the case now.
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