(Yicai Global) Sept. 4 -- China's Realme has launched the world's most affordable fifth-generation wireless mobile phone Realme V3.

The Shenzhen-based firm has set the minimum price for the handset as low as below CNY1,000 (USD146), looking to fill a gap in the market, Xu Qi Chase, vice president and global chief marketing officer, told Yicai Global in an interview on Sept. 2.

Despite the virus-hit global smartphone market, Realme is still confident about reaching its sales target of 50 million units this year, Xu added.

What enables cheaper 5G phones is chip manufacturers' increasingly affordable 5G semiconductors, Wang Xi, research manager at IDC China, told Yicai Global. Revealingly, Realme V3 carries MediaTek's Dimensity 720 chipset. Qualcomm announced this week that it will launch its 5G-equipped entry-level Snapdragon 400 series early next year.

Realme was founded by Sky Li Bingzhong, former head of Oppo Mobile Telecommunications's overseas business department, in May 2018. First, it targeted overseas markets before starting to sell in China in April 2019. It has entered the top four of Southeast Asia's best-selling brands and last year, sold 25 million units globally.

Realme will expand into speakers, TVs, headphones, and watches, according to the VP. The firm will launch more than 50 Artificial Intelligence of Things products this year, increased by over a 100 next year, he said. But smartphones will remain a top priority. "We will initiate a more refined plan based on the Chinese market."

As a smaller player, the company needs to be agile in its use of resources. Realme is teaming up with Oppo on supply chain, technology, production, online sales channels, and after-sales services, Xu said.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine