Staff Reporter : realme, the youth-favorite smartphone brand, proudly announces its strategic partnership with RICOH Imaging Company Ltd., the world leader in mobile street photography. The partnership will be made official through an event on 14 October, in Beijing, China.
After four years of preparation, this strategic partnership is positioned as one of the industry’s most profound imaging collaborations. To celebrate the partnership, the two companies released the ‘4 Years in One Snap’ video, highlighting four years of co-engineering and teasing features of their first co-created product, designed specifically for the realme GT 8 Pro.
The main spirit of the collaboration is to provide young people with tools that allow for authentic capture and personal expression, bringing the tradition of conventional cameras into mobile photography.
Through extensive customization between realme and RICOH GR, the GT 8 Pro is equipped with an unprecedented imaging experience, achieving groundbreaking innovations in optical capabilities, color algorithms, imaging tones, and a tailor-made UI design that mimics the true feel of a RICOH GR Camera.
This device seamlessly blends 30 years of RICOH GR heritage, including its iconic film-like aesthetic and five classic image tones, with realme’s strengths in mobile imaging and profound insights into the preferences of current generations. This creates a unique synergy that advances street photography culture through joint development and co-engineering.
Chase Xu, Vice President and CMO of realme, stated: “People are getting tired of the same ‘perfect style’ photos. More and more, everyone wants to show their own style, instead of copying the same look.”
Kazunobu Saiki, General Manager of the Camera Business Division at RICOH Imaging Company Ltd., added: “RICOH Imaging and realme share a base of young, creative users. Our collaboration is not only about innovation in products but also about culture—to inspire a new generation to enjoy street photography and discover the beauty of everyday life.”
This partnership isn’t just about a product; it’s about extending street photography culture into the mobile era. Through this collaboration, even those who don’t usually use dedicated cameras will experience snapshot photography with the GT 8 Pro.