Xiaomi vs Realme smartphone war is back: Poco India country head ‘red flags’ Realme’s latest phone

The Xiaomi vs Realme smartphone war is back, or should we say kinda. For the latest jibe on Realme’s new phones comes from Poco, the company that vehemently says that it is not Xiaomi’s sub-brand. But yes, it did originate as one. Also, the copyright information on Poco India’s website has Xiaomi written in it. So we can say that the two key players of the Indian smartphone market who have a history of taking potshots at each other’s launches and more, are back at it.
In the latest dig, Poco India country head Himanshu Tandon has made fun of Realme’s latest smartphone, Realme 12 5G. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tandon wrote that buyers should wait for the company’s upcoming phone Poco X6 Neo instead of buying Realme 12 5G. He said that the Realme phone’s pricing is flawed. Talking of ‘red flags’, he said that the Realme 12 5G phone runs on Dimensity 6100+ processor and has an LCD screen. He further added that Poco gives the same processor in its 5G phone Poco M6, which is priced under Rs 10,000.
“After seeing today’s launch, everyone should REALly wait for the ‘Neo’ upgrade. Red Flags: Dimensity 6100+, LCD at 17k? 😮😕 Just an FYI, we use Dimensity 6100+ in #POCOM65G which is priced under 10k. #POCOX6Neo,” posted Tandon.

Interestingly, Poco also announced its upcoming phone Poco X6 Neo today. The company is likely to launch the upcoming 5G phone in partnership with Indian telecom giant Airtel. The company has announced that the Poco X6 Neo is likely to be among the cheapest 5G phones in the country.
Some reports suggest that Poco X6 Neo could be a rebranded Redmi Note 13R Pro from China. The Redmi Note 13R Pro has largely the same specifications as the Redmi Note 13. The phone has 6.67-inch 1080p OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and hole punch cut-out at the centre, it runs on MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chip and is powered by 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support.
Goes back to days of Madhav Sheth and Manu Kumar Jain
Realme’s erstwhile CEO Madhav Sheth and Xiaomi’s former India head Manu Kumar Jain often trolled each other’s brands on social media as well as at launch events. During the launch of the Realme 3 smartphone in March 2019, Sheth made fun of the Chinese smartphone brand while comparing the Realme 3 side-by-side against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 in terms of specifications and features. Towards the end of the Realme 3 presentation when a slide showcased the specs and the features of both the handsets, Sheth mentioned all the added functionalities in Realme 3 followed by “Guys I think I forgot one thing” moment. The list of such jibes from execs of both the companies is long.