Chinese smartphone brand Realme aims to beef up its push in artificial intelligence to gain an advantage amid fierce competition, as AI is expected to give a strong boost to the smartphone industry.

Xu Qi, vice president of Realme, said the company is strategically positioning itself to capitalize on this opportunity by extensively integrating AI into its smartphones.

Realme has been laying the groundwork for AI for several years, boasting a dedicated AI team actively advancing related initiatives, Xu said after the company unveiled its latest smartphone series Realme 12 Pro series.

In the broader context of the smartphone industry, major players like Huawei, Honor, and Oppo have already embraced AI, incorporating large models, AI systems, and functionalities.

Realme aims to differentiate itself by focusing on AI assistants, AI entertainment, AI imaging, and AI efficiency around the overall use scenario of young users.

Launched in the middle of 2018, Realme quickly gained popularity in India and then grew to be a major smartphone vendor in the world, chiefly relying on its popularity in e-commerce sales channels and its resonance with young consumers.

US market consultancy International Data Corp predicted that 170 million next-generation AI smartphones will be shipped globally this year, representing almost 15 percent of total smartphone shipments and a huge jump from the roughly 51 million shipped in 2023.

Xu said the company aims to be among the top five smartphone brands in the world over the next five years.