Realme and Ricoh Imaging announce strategic partnership in mobile photography
By ForGeeks
On October 9, 2025, Realme announced a strategic partnership with Ricoh Imaging Company Ltd. The project will be officially unveiled on October 14 in Beijing.
Four Years of Joint Development
The companies have unveiled “4 Years in One Snap,” a video celebrating their four-year journey of collaborative engineering. The collaboration will result in the first Realme and Ricoh GR-branded product, the Realme GT 8 Pro smartphone, which will bring the principles of classic photography to the mobile format.
Realme vice president and chief marketing officer Chase Xu said the partnership was based on the desire to address the main problems of users – uniformity of hardware solutions and excessive algorithmic image processing. Increasingly, he said, young people want to convey their own vision rather than achieve perfect but lifeless images.
General manager of Ricoh Imaging’s camera division Kazunobu Saiki said the two companies share an audience of young and creative users. “Our collaboration is not only about technology, but also about culture, inspiring a new generation to see beauty in everyday life,” he emphasized.
GT 8 Pro brings the spirit of GR to the smartphone
The joint research teams of Realme and Ricoh Imaging have created an optical system, color reproduction and interface based on the principles of Ricoh GR cameras. The Realme GT 8 Pro smartphone combines 30 years of GR heritage – the signature film aesthetic and five classic color profiles – with Realme’s technological capabilities and knowledge of the needs of a younger generation.
The GT 8 Pro smartphone combines GR’s 30-year legacy of signature film aesthetics and five classic color profiles with Realme’s technological capabilities and knowledge of the needs of a younger generation.
This collaboration is not about a technical race, but about developing a culture of street photography where the emotion of the frame and the sincerity of the moment matter.
“Shots Without Rules”
The “4 Years in One Snap” video symbolizes the beginning of a new chapter in mobile photography. Chase Suh called Realme’s approach “fresh and young”: “You don’t have to wait for the perfect moment – just press the button and capture life as it is. Shoot without rules.”
Kazunobu Saiki added that through the partnership, even those who haven’t used cameras before will be able to experience the magic of instant photography with the Realme GT 8 Pro.
On October 14 in Beijing, Realme and Ricoh Imaging will unveil the results of their four-year partnership, ushering in a new era of street photography culture.
