Realme is once again being folded back into Oppo, marking another shift inside the former BBK Electronics ecosystem. A report from China, citing Oppo insiders, says Realme will now operate as an Oppo sub-brand. Realme founder and CEO Sky Li will continue to run the brand, but under Oppo’s broader management structure.
The change reflects Oppo’s effort to bring its brands closer together after years of operating separately. According to the report, Oppo wants tighter coordination between Oppo, Realme, and OnePlus. At the same time, the company aims to improve how it shares resources and pushes its global expansion plans.
Under this setup, Oppo will act as the main brand. Meanwhile, OnePlus and Realme will function as supporting sub-brands. Each will keep its own marketing direction, even though strategic decisions will come from the same leadership layer.
The restructuring will not slow down Realme’s product roadmap. All upcoming launches will go ahead as planned. However, Realme will now use Oppo’s after-sales network. This system includes more than 5,000 physical service stores across China.
Realme’s relationship with Oppo is not new. The brand originally launched as an Oppo sub-brand in May 2018. Later that year, it became independent. That independence lasted until the wider BBK Electronics group began to break apart in 2023. BBK once housed Oppo, vivo, OnePlus, iQOO, and Realme. After its collapse, Oppo, vivo, and imoo, the children’s smartwatch maker, continued as separate entities.
