Upcoming Redmi sub-flagship phone tipped to feature ultrasonic fingerprint scanner

Qualcomm will officially unveil its next-generation flagship mobile chipset on 21 October at the Snapdragon Summit event. The new SoC is believed to be called the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and its launch will trigger a new wave of flagship phones. The Redmi K80 series is expected to include at least one smartphone with this chipset.

However, according to Digital Chat Station, the standard Redmi K80 model will not sport the new 3 nm Qualcomm flagship chipset. The prominent Weibo tipster reports that it will instead feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. This isn't surprising, as the standard model in the K70 series launched with a last-gen flagship SoC.

It's possible that the Redmi K80 Pro will be the one to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The K80 Ultra, on the other hand, may launch with the Dimensity 9400+. Although the standard model in the upcoming series may not feature the next-generation SoC, Digital Chat Station suggests it will still have some flagship features. One of them is rumored to be an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. This would be a notable upgrade from the optical under-display scanner found in the Redmi K70 phones.

Digital Chat Station also notes that the standard K80 phone will feature a flat display, a trend seen in recent Chinese Android flagships. Previously, Wang Teng, Redmi's general manager, teased that the Redmi K80 series will be positioned more competitively in the market than the K70 lineup. However, Digital Chat Station earlier reported that the upcoming series will see a price hike, with the Pro model expected to see the largest increase compared to its predecessor.