Xiaomi’s Redmi K20 Pro is a flagship killer that should worry OnePlus

Even as OnePlus, a company that started the flagship killer trend, is launching flagship phones now, Xiaomi’s Redmi, known for its affordable and ultra-affordable value for money offerings, is launching flagship killers. No really - what a time to be alive for geeks. The newly independent Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi just launched its first (of hopefully many) flagship killer phone, the much-hyped Redmi K20 Pro, in China – and that should worry OnePlus. 

The Redmi K20 Pro is a high-end phone like the Samsung Galaxy S10, the iPhone XS, the Pixel 3 and even the OnePlus 7 Pro. But unlike any of these high-end phones, the Redmi K20 Pro starts at just CNY 2,499 (roughly Rs 25,200) for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage while the top-end variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage has been launched at CNY 2,999 (roughly Rs 30,226) - for some perspective, the vanilla OnePlus 7 starts at Rs 32,999 (6GB/128GB) in India.  

For that insanely low price, you get a 3D glass build (with a flashy gradient design), a 6.39-inch 1080p+ AMOLED screen with an in-screen fingerprint reader, a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, triple rear cameras (48MP+13MP+8MP), a 20MP pop-up selfie camera, Android Pie-based MIUI 10 software, and a 4,000mAh battery with 27W fast charging via USB Type-C – clearly, that’s a lot of smartphone. At half the price of your average run-of-the-mill flagship. 

Redmi also has a slightly toned-down vanilla Redmi K20 that it is launching alongside the Redmi K20 Pro – it swaps the Snapdragon 855 with a mid-range Snapdragon 730, the 48MP Sony IMX586 with a 48MP Sony IMX582, and drops down the fast charging to 18W. Rest of the specifications (as well as the design) remain the same. The Redmi K20 starts at CNY 1,999 (roughly Rs 20,200) for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, going all the way to CNY 2,599 (roughly Rs 26,200) for the top-end variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.  

Xiaomi India head Manu Kumar Jain has already confirmed that the Redmi K20 with Snapdragon 855 (which is actually the Redmi K20 Pro) is coming soon to India – also he has confirmed that a Redmi smartphone with Snapdragon 730 is coming soon to India which should ideally be the regular Redmi K20. An exact launch time window is awaited. 

Also Read:  Redmi K20 With Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Coming Soon To India To Take On OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro