As 2019 winds down, former smartphone superstars Huawei and Xiaomi are struggling. The former has retreated from the world stage, weighed down by U.S. sanctions that have cut it off from many of its key suppliers. While the latter is struggling in its key home China market, as it faces stiff competition from Huawei and other domestic brands.

That could leave an opening for the lower-profile Oppo, which is already the world’s fifth largest smartphone maker. In particular, the company’s newer Realme brand could be a game changer in the year ahead, as the low-end line of phones finds a growing audience in developing markets.

Realme has come from nowhere to become one of India’s top selling brands over the past year, and is now setting its sights on other developing markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and even China itself. The brand’s sales rose a whopping 573% in this year’s third quarter, as consumers are attracted to its relative high quality at affordable prices.

Read more on the story in my Tech Talk column this week.

Contact reporter Doug Young (dougyoung@caixin.com; twitter: @youngchinabiz https://twitter.com/youngchinabiz)