Opinion | The POCO F2 Pro underlines why Xiaomi's branding is a mess

While Xiaomi is yet to release the Redmi K30 globally, it sells the device as the POCO X2 in India. Correspondingly, we thought that the Redmi K30 Pro would go the way of the Redmi K30 and be released as a POCO-branded smartphone in India. However, an updated list of Google Play-certified devices suggests otherwise.

Spotted by XDA Developers, the Google Play listing all but confirms the impending arrival of a new POCO smartphone. According to the listing, the POCO F2 Pro and the Redmi K30 Pro are one and the same device, with both codenamed lmi. With that said, Xiaomi generally includes the suffix "in" for its India-bound smartphones too, as it did with the Indian version of the Redmi K20 Pro. Hence, it is unlikely that the POCO F2 Pro is coming to India. POCO India GM Chandolu Manmohan reportedly ruled out the POCO F2 as a rebranded Redmi K30 Pro, too.

In fact, the Google Play listing suggests that Xiaomi will release the Redmi K30 Pro in India, at least going off the codename lminpro anyway.

So, it seems that the POCO F2 Pro will be the global version of the Redmi K30 Pro, but without 5G connectivity. Overall, the updated Google Play-certified listings underline just how confused Xiaomi's branding has become. At this stage, we would not rule out the POCO F2 being one device globally and another in India.