The upcoming Realme Android TV which has been tipped to hit the Indian shores in the near future has now received Google certification with the device sporting “ikebukuro” codename. According to Android TV Guide who initially tweeted the development on Wednesday, the “ikebukuro” name refers to a ChangHong based TV used by multiple brands including Vu Televisions and Micromax. TelecomTalk could independently verify the development with the data from Google suggesting that the particular model “AI PONT” is being used by 10 brands across the globe. Further, Android TV Guide said that the model is powered by MStar T16 platform.
Realme Could Launch Three Models in India
While the certification does not provide complete information on the upcoming device, it has been reported in the past that Realme could launch three models in India. Gadgets 360 in the second week of April reported that two Realme TVs have been spotted on the Bluetooth SIG certification site with the listing revealing an 43-inch and 32-inch models. Further, the report said that one of the models, the 43-inch TV was spotted on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in the first week of April.
In a separate report, Gadgets 360 said that the listing on the Indian certification site sported the number 55 on the model name which indicates that a 55-inch screen could also be on the cards.
Realme Would Enter into Crowded TV Space
Realme initially announced its intention to enter the TV market in January with its CEO Xu Qi suggesting that the company would launch the device first in China. However, in February, the company CEO Madhav Sheth suggested that the Realme TV would make its global debut in April in India.
While the COVID-19 lockdown could have had an impact on the launch of the Realme TV, the company will enter the smart TV space that already has players like Xiaomi, Nokia, TCL, Kodak, OnePlus and Motorola. Additionally, Samsung and LG with the Tizen and WebOS TVs respectively also have a healthy market share in India.
Meanwhile, Counterpoint Research in March said that the Indian TV market despite the huge number of TV households is still underpenetrated.
“India is one of the largest markets in the world with more than 200 million potential TV households and is still underpenetrated which makes India a more attractive growth market for the entire TV and content value chain,” Karn Chauhan, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint, said in the report.
