After a tight lockdown that was supposed to end on March 31, the Indian government just extended it to 21 more days starting yesterday, with an announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to the sudden midnight disclosure, Realme has decided to cancel the online-only launch of the Narzo series. Realme CEO Madhav Sheth put out a Twitter post today saying that the company will be suspending not only the Realme Narzo launch but all launches in the near future.
With respect to the announcement made by our Honourable Prime Minister yesterday, we have decided to suspend all upcoming launches including #realmeNarzo series.
Time for us to focus on our family & ourselves. Stay at home, stay safe & cooperate with local authorities. pic.twitter.com/4FmdanvgHL
— Madhav @home (@MadhavSheth1) March 25, 2020
Gizchina News of the week
The new lockdown is set to continue for 21 days, after starting on 25th March. Realme’s announcement comes after the brand said it would postpone the sale of the series. However, now, the launch event itself has been delayed. This comes after Vivo postponed all its launches in an announcement yesterday and we expect other brands to follow in Realme’s footsteps.
Xiaomi’s Mi 10 launch is still on track, as of this writing, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they also set it back a few weeks. Even if a launch takes place, the lockdown essentially will guarantee no sales to be possible. Hence, a launch makes little sense at this particular time.
Meanwhile, Indian citizens scrambled to gather supplies for the extended three-week lockdown that began mid-night yesterday. However, the government has assured the populace that essential services and goods will be supplied and there will be no shortage in that regard. The total number of Covid-19 patients in the country crossed the 570-mark on Wednesday as death toll climbed to 11. Around 20 new cases of novel coronavirus have been reported from across the country on Wednesday morning, taking India’s tally to 581.
