Why is the Realme 16 pro series more expensive than before? Realme’s Francis Wong answers.

After the launch of Realme’s latest 16 Pro series, the biggest questions asked were not about the specifications of the devices or their features. They were all about the pricing. A lot of us in the audience of the launch were surprised after seeing the prices of the Realme 16 Pro series, which were slightly higher than previous estimates. While the devices boasted impressive camera features, massive battery packs and capable processors, their prices did not seem to get a similar cheer from the crowd. 

The Realme 16 Pro was recently launched at a price of Rs 31,999 for an 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant, while the 16 Pro+ was launched at Rs 39,999 for the same 8+128GB storage variant. 

Looking at them, we had a few questions. Questions whose answers would shed some light on why these phones were launched at the prices that they were. So, we reached out to Francis Wong, Chief Marketing Officer at Realme India, who answered our questions and shed some light. 

The following is our conversation with him: Business Today: The Realme 16 Pro is launching with a significant price increase over its predecessor’s debut. In a price-sensitive market like India, how do you justify this jump to a consumer base that has traditionally seen the number series as an 'affordable premium' option? Especially when the battery and processors are similar to the last generation realme 15 series?  Francis Wong: Realme 16 Pro series will still be “affordable premium” once all brands have launched their mid-rangers soon in Q1.

First, it’s important to acknowledge a broader industry reality: every smartphone launching in 2026 will inevitably be more expensive than a phone with similar specifications from 2025. This trend is unstoppable and will continue till H2 2027. It's an industry-wide shift driven by rising component costs, especially in memory, imaging systems, and AI-related hardware. To put this into perspective, Samsung has reportedly increased prices of key memory components by up to 60%, and  Apple is facing a 230% increase in the cost of 12 GB RAM used in flagship models.

With the Realme 16 Pro Series, some specs like the processor or battery may look familiar, but smartphones today are defined by the complete real-world experience, not individual specs. The 16 Pro series is built to deliver a true premium experience through meaningful upgrades in camera, design & AI capabilities, etc. Yes, some consumers may initially feel the pricing is higher, but we’ve seen this cycle before. As competition will launch with higher prices, the value of the 16 Pro series becomes clear. The number series has always stood for “affordable premium.” That philosophy hasn’t changed; only the definition of premium has. Pricing has shifted, but every rupee is backed by tangible, everyday value.  Business Today: Will the processor in the devices be able to function as well as expected on the base RAM of 8GB, especially with the AI use cases?

Francis Wong: Yes, absolutely, if it doesn’t meet the standard, we will never bring it to consumers. In the 16 Pro series, the processor, memory, and realme UI 7 are perfectly tuned to ensure even the base 8GB RAM variant delivers exactly what users expect in everyday use. From multitasking and gaming to AI features like AI Camera, AI Edit Genie, and AI Perfect Shot are designed to be fast and efficient, not unnecessarily heavy. At the end of the day, what matters is sustained smoothness and reliability. With smarter system optimisation and practical AI built around real-world usage, 8GB RAM is more than enough to deliver a consistently smooth experience.  Business Today: Is the global RAM shortage the 'ONLY' reason behind these price hikes?  Francis Wong: The sharp rise of memory costs in the past few months is the primary reason. Another reason is the significant increase in the cost and demand for AI and advanced camera systems, which are now core to the smartphone experience, not optional features. You can see a clear update in these two parts in the realme 16 pro series - we are the first one to bring 200MP+periscope into the segment, we upgraded the most welcomed feature, AI Edit Genie to 2.0, etc.