Redmi has finally taken the wraps off its latest K-series phone, Redmi K50i. As expected, this phone is a rehashed Redmi Note 11T Pro that was launched earlier in China.
Redmi K50i is launched at a starting price of Rs. 25,999. And it brings Mediatek's powerful Dimensity 8100 at a drool-worthy price. To bring the price down, Redmi has adopted some price-cutting measures such as using an LCD display instead of an AMOLED display, but this LCD display is an interesting choice. Read on.
Redmi K50i: pricing and availability
Redmi K50i is launched at a starting price of Rs. 25,999. The phone will be available on Amazon and Mi.com starting from July 22 12PM. It will also be available in stores all over India soon. There is also a card offer for ICICI cards, an instant discount of Rs.3,000. You can also get the card offer from Mi home and Mi studio. You will also be able to pick up a Xiaomi smart speaker for free if you did not claim the ICICI card offer from stores.
The complete list of Redmi K50i variants and pricing is given below:
| Variants | Price |
|---|---|
| 6GB/128GB | Rs. 25,999 |
| 8GB/256GB | Rs. 28,999 |
Redmi K50i: Hands on
Redmi K50i: Specifications and key features
Redmi K50i comes with a 6.6-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz. It is a 10-bit display, and it is 100 per cent DCI-P3 compliant. It also supports 7-step Adaptive Sync tech and it can go from 30Hz to 144Hz. It also supports Dolby Vision.
The phone comes with a design unlike Redmi phones. It reminds us of recent Realme phones like Realme GT Neo 2, Realme C31, Realme 9 4G and Realme 9i. But it seems like a good one, at least that is the first impression.
The phone is powered by Mediatek Dimensity 8100 SoC. It is the same chipset that we saw in Realme GT Neo 3. Dimensity 8100 is more powerful than current segment best Snapdragon 870. It is on a par with the Snapdragon 888 chipset in terms of performance and that too with better thermal management. This makes the Redmi K50i the most powerful phone in the segment.
Talking about the cameras, the phone comes with a 64MP primary camera. There is an 8MP ultra wide camera and 2MP macro camera as secondaries. In the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera.
Redmi K50i is backed up by a 5,080mAh battery and comes with 67W fast charging while also supporting USB-PD up-to 27W.
The phone comes with dedicated symmetrical stereo speakers, and it supports Dolby Atmos. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a high impedance jack that can drive big headphones.
Redmi Buds 3 Lite
Redmi also launched a new budget TWS in the event, Redmi Buds 3 Lite. It comes with 18 hours of battery life with case and IP54 water resistance. It is priced at Rs. 1,999. And it also comes with a special early bird pricing of Rs 1,499 for the first 48 hours.
Has the Redmi K50i lost the charm of the Redmi K series?
Redmi K50i is being launched at an exciting price of Rs. 25,999. At this price, this phone destroys every other smartphone in the budget in terms of performance. Dimensity 8100 SoC is better in terms of performance compared to Snapdragon 870 powered Poco F4, iQoo Neo 6 and iQoo 7. It is also better than the Dimensity 1300 powered OnePlus Nord 2T and Oppo Reno 8.
The pricing looks like something Poco would pull off and with the emphasis being on the performance with this phone, Redmi has beat Poco in its own game.
Some people might be turned off by the LCD display on the phone, as most of the phones in this budget now come with a 120Hz AMOLED display. This author thinks that it is a missed opportunity. But, it would have made the price of the phone go up, and we would not have got an aggressive pricing like this one.
As it stands, Redmi K50i offers the best performance for the value. Dimensity 8100 is a tried and tested performer, and gamers in the budget have a great gaming phone with this one.
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