Realme A1 tipped as Oppo sub-brand’s latest budget smartphone

• The Realme A1 smartphone is reportedly in the works.
• Realme is apparently positioning the new device below the Realme U1.
• The new phone is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2019.

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2018 has been an incredible year for sub-brands, as Honor stole the limelight from Huawei, Xiaomi's Pocophone redefined the budget flagship, and Oppo's Realme quickly gained market-share.

It looks like the latter brand is already hard at work on its first product of 2019, according to Droid Shout. This device is purportedly called the Realme A1, and is expected to launch in the first quarter of next year.

According to the outlet's "trusted source," the Realme A1 will be positioned below the Realme U1, which currently retails for 11,999 rupees (~$171). The brand's cheapest phone is the Realme C1, which has a suggested price of 8,990 rupees (~$128), so we'd expect the new phone to slot in between the U1 and C1.

The publication confirmed that the Realme A1 will be available in black and yellow color schemes, but other details weren't forthcoming. We don't blame you for being skeptical about this latest device, but the outlet has previously published what it says are exclusive renders of the Moto G7 lineup. So they're not a completely unknown website at this point.

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In any event, the price bracket means we should expect a phone that's more capable than the Realme C1 but not quite as impressive as the U1. This means we could potentially have a Helio P60 or P70 chipset (if not a Snapdragon 400 or 600 series SoC instead), a rear dual-camera pairing with a dedicated depth sensor, and (hopefully) a fingerprint scanner. Don't expect the Realme U1's 25MP selfie camera on the new phone, as that's pretty much the U1's sole selling point.

It's unclear when exactly the Realme A1 will be revealed, but CES or MWC certainly seems like a good bet. What would you like to see from a new Realme smartphone? Give us your thoughts in the comments!

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