Pocophone in a new avatar? Xiaomi launches the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro in India

At an event in New Delhi yesterday, Xiaomi announced the arrival of the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro — the first flagship phones under the Redmi sub-brand. These phones have already been available for sometime in China and will hit the European market as the Mi 9T and the Mi 9T Pro, respectively.

The specs for both the K20 and the K20 Pro are similar for the most part including the triple-camera setup and the 6.39-inch FHD+ AMOLED display, in-display fringerprint sensor, and a 20 MP pop-up selfie-camera with the primary differences being in the SoC and RAM/storage variants.

The Redmi K20 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC and boasts a triple-camera setup with a 48 MP IMX586 primary sensor, an 8 MP 2x telephoto camera, and a 13 MP 124.8 deg FoV ultra-wide camera. The K20 Pro will be available in two RAM and storage variants — 6 GB/128 GB and 8 GB/256 GB. 

Additionally, the K20 Pro also offers a high-res DAC that can playback up to 24-bit 192 KHz lossless audio and dual GPS antennas for enhanced location accuracy. Although the phone supports 27 W 'SonicCharge' fast charging, you only get an 18 W charger in the box.

The Redmi K20 is one of the first phones to feature the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 SoC. It comes in two RAM and storage variants — 6 GB/64 GB and 6 GB / 128 GB. Rest of the specifications are more or less the same as the K20 Pro. The K20 is not indicated to feature the high-res DAC and dual GPS antennas but does support 18 W fast charging. 

Availability and pricing info in India for both the K20 and K20 Pro along with accessories is as follows: 

• Both Redmi K20 series phones will include 18W chargers and a premium hard case worth INR 999 in the box. Users can buy 27W SonicCharge adapters from Mi.com for INR 999 at a later date.
• Redmi K20 Pro is being launched at an honest price of INR 27,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant and INR 30,999 for the 8GB+256GB variant.
• Redmi K20 will be available for INR 21,999 for the 6GB+64GB variant and INR 23,999 for the 6GB+128GB variant.
• Both phones will go on sale starting 12 pm 22nd July across Mi.com, Flipkart and Mi Homes. It will also be available across all offline retail stores in the coming days - Mi Studio, Mi Stores, Mi Preferred Partners and all other retail shops.
• Xiaomi also announced Mi Neckband Bluetooth Earphones for INR 1,599 and Mi Rechargeable LED Lamp for INR 1,499 (INR 1,299 for participants during the crowdfunding).

The new Redmi phones have rekindled the flagship-killer wars this year. It will be an interesting contest between the OnePlus 7, Asus ZenFone 6, and the Redmi K20 Pro, not to mention other high-end phones such as the Honor View 20. All the phones have potential to offer a great flagship experience with very good imaging capabilities.

What we do not know yet is whether the K20 Pro will indeed turn out to be the Pocophone F2 as is currently being speculated. The Pocophone F1 disrupted the Indian market in 2018 by offering a flagship SoC at mid-range prices but lacked the oomph factor in the design language, which the Redmi K20 Pro has. 

We look forward to testing these devices in the coming weeks so stay tuned for our reviews.