realme has announced a strategic partnership with RICOH IMAGING COMPANY LTD. The collaboration is set to be officially launched on October 14 in Beijing. According to the announcement, the partnership has been in development for four years and will debut with the upcoming realme GT 8 Pro smartphone.
To introduce the collaboration, the two companies released a promotional video titled “4 Years in One Snap.” The video features realme Vice President and CMO, Chase Xu, and Kazunobu Saiki, General Manager of the Camera Business Division at RICOH IMAGING COMPANY LTD., discussing the foundation of their partnership.
The collaboration stems from a shared understanding of user demands in mobile photography, particularly addressing what realme identifies as two main issues: increasingly similar hardware across devices and over-processed algorithms that reduce the authenticity of photos.
The partnership aims to integrate the characteristics of the RICOH GR series, known for its use in street photography, into mobile devices.
The realme GT 8 Pro will be the first product to feature technology from this joint effort. The device is expected to include co-engineered innovations in optical capabilities, color algorithms, and imaging tones. It will also feature a custom user interface designed to mimic the feel of a RICOH GR camera. The collaboration will incorporate RICOH GR’s 30-year heritage, including its film-like aesthetic and five classic image tones, into the smartphone’s camera system.
Update: realme has shared GT8 Pro Ricoh GR IV sample photos with the same tone. Regarding this, the company said:
From the vivid colors of the “positive film,” the storytelling atmosphere of the “negative film,” to the impactful burst of “high-contrast black and white,” every frame is captured with the authentic Ricoh GR. Break free from the constraints of perfection and capture photos that are truly yours.
The official launch on October 14 is expected to provide further details on the partnership and the imaging capabilities of the realme GT 8 Pro ahead of the China launch of the phone in late October.
Regarding this, realme Vice President and CMO Chase Xu in a discussion with Kazunobu Saiki, General Manager of Camera Business Division at RICOH IMAGING COMPANY LTD., said:
The elements that brought two brands together, which grounded on a shared understanding of user demands. realme saw that young people struggled with two main pain points in mobile photography: increasingly similar hardware and over-processed algorithms that stripped photos of authenticity. 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.
The RICOH GR series has been known as a “street photography hero” because of its sharp quality, portability, and quick response. “That’s exactly what we value.
Kazunobu Saiki said:
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.