Realme Announces Ricoh Imaging Partnership as Realme GT 8 Pro Launch Approaches

Realme on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with camera equipment company Ricoh to bring the tradition of conventional cameras into mobile photography. As part of this collaboration, the two brands will work together to develop imaging systems for Realme handsets, offering deep customisation which is claimed to mimic the feel of a Rich GR camera. Consequently, the first co-created product will be launched with the Realme GT 8 Pro later this month.

Realme Partners With Ricoh

In a press note, Realme said that its collaboration with Ricoh is one of the industry's “most profound imaging partnerships”. The new imaging technology will debut on October 14. It aims to introduce innovations in optical capabilities, colour algorithms, imaging tones, and a custom user interface (UI) design. 

The two companies have co-engineered the upcoming Realme-Ricoh imaging solution for the last four years and have released a “4 Years in One Snap” video, highlighting the behind-the-scenes work for their upcoming co-created product.

Debuting on the Realme GT 8 Pro, it is teased to bring film-like aesthetics and five classic image tones. As per the company, the fruit of this partnership will encourage users to enjoy street photography. The handset, notably, is expected to go official later this month.

“Through this collaboration, we hope that even those who don't usually use dedicated camera would experience snapshot photography with the GT 8 Pro,” Kazunobu Saiki, General Manager of Camera Business Division at Ricoh Imaging Company, said in a statement.

As per Realme, the two brands will offer tools that allow authentic image capture and personal expression, bringing the conventional camera experience to mobile photography.

With this move, Realme joins the expanding list of China-based original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to have partnered with camera equipment companies. Xiaomi has a strategic partnership with Leica Camera AG to co-engineer mobile imaging experiences. Meanwhile, Vivo partners with Zeiss for camera systems on its high-end models. 

Apart from this, Oppo works with Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad to co-engineer mobile imaging systems. Meanwhile, OnePlus is confirmed to be working on its proprietary camera engine, which will debut with the upcoming OnePlus 15.