Redmi follows Xiaomi's lead by pricing the top-specced Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition at 4,499 yuan (US$638)

It wasn’t that long ago that we published an opinion-based article detailing how Xiaomi seemed to be slipping out of its reputation for being an affordable brand by pricing the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro at €799 (US$870) and €999 (US$1,087), respectively. Now the Chinese OEM’s sub-brand, Redmi, seems to be following suit by pricing the top-specced Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition at a high cost of 4,499 yuan (US$638) for the domestic market. Global market price tags for the smartphone will be much higher, of course.

Many observers seem taken aback by Redmi crossing the US$600-mark, as the brand is linked with devices that come at very affordable prices. Admittedly, the specifications for the top-end Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition are far from unattractive: Snapdragon 865, 12 GB RAM (LPDDR5), 512 GB storage (UFS 3.1), 4,700-mAh battery, pop-up 20 MP selfie camera, 64 MP + 13 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP rear camera, and a 30x digital zoom capability (8 MP telephoto camera). It’s an impressive list of specs that would command a lofty price from any OEM.

There have been comments that the pricing of this variant of the Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition for Chinese customers will lead some to consider a purchase of a Xiaomi Mi 10 instead, which has a lower price of 3,999 yuan (US$567) in its domestic market. The Mi 10’s main rear camera sensor is 108 MP, which will be an attractive selling point for amateur smartphone photographers. With the high price of the 12 GB + 512 GB Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition, it looks like Xiaomi might even end up cannibalizing sales of its own sub-brand.