Poco F5 GT and Redmi K60 Gaming Edition in doubt as Xiaomi hints at gaming smartphone policy change

Xiaomi has released several gaming-focused smartphones over the past year, with phones bearing the "GT" branding seeking to provide premium performance at a low price. In addition to that, the company has also launched smartphones—like the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition and Poco F4 GT—with flagship SoCs but otherwise mid-range specs designed for gaming. It appears things may be set to change, however.

In a reply to a tweet by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun confirming the future global release of the Xiaomi 13 series, Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing had this to say:

The message from the Xiaomi executive seems clear: Xiaomi may be merging its flagship devices with its gaming-focused models. Last year, the company released the Redmi K40 Gaming equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 1200. This year, though, it debuted the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition and Poco F4 GT, powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on the Xiaomi 12 flagships. If Lu Weibing's statement is anything to go by, Xiaomi may be set to pivot away from the release of phones like the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition, instead opting to make its regular flagship phones more gaming-capable.

While this is unlikely to affect the company's Black Shark series—effectively handled as an entirely independent brand—it looks unlikely that Xiaomi will debut a device like the Redmi K60 Gaming Edition this year, with the Redmi K60 Pro potentially set to be positioned as a capable gaming device in its own right. There's a chance, as well, that the potential Poco F5 GT also gets dumped.

Buy the Poco F4 GT on Amazon.