Don’t be confused: this isn’t an article about the Xiaomi Mi 11, the Snapdragon 888-powered flagship smartphone that was just launched in Malaysia yesterday. No, we’re talking another Snapdragon 888-powered series, released under the company’s “independent” brand, Redmi. For now, three new phones have been released under the K40 brand in China, although we don’t have any word on global availability just yet.
Regardless, the theme of the series is—as usual—speed. There are three models in the series: the Redmi K40, K40 pro, and the K40 Pro+. All three models feature an AMOLED FHD+ display pushing a 120Hz refresh rate, as well as an impressive 360Hz touch sampling rate, which should come as good news to gamers. And yes, all three models are powered by Snapdragon 8xx-series chipset, although only the Pro and Pro+ models have the Snapdragon 888.
Ready? Here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to know.
Redmi K40
The Redmi K40 has a Snapdragon 870 under the hood—this is essentially a refresh of Qualcomm’s 2020 chip, the SD865—and you also get LPDDR5 RAM and UFS3.1 storage. Configurations of up to 12GB of RAM are available, along with storage options of up to 256GB. As mentioned above, you’re looking at a FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the display also supports the HDR10+ standard.
To sustain the device, Redmi has equipped the base model in the series with a 4,520mAh battery—the same as its more premium brothers in the range. Charging over USB-C is rated at up to 33W across the board, with Redmi promising a full charge in just 52 minutes. Like many other Redmi devices, you also get an IR blaster (so you can secretly switch channels at mamaks, undetected), but sadly, there is no 3.5mm jack.
Meanwhile, the Redmi K40 also comes with an IP53 water resistance rating, and you also get Gorilla Glass 5. Despite the use of an AMOLED panel, Redmi has—for some reason or other—gone with a side-mounted fingerprint scanners. For cameras, you’re looking at a triple-camera setup on the rear made up of a 48MP main shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens, and a 5MP telephoto macro shooter. Upfront, there’s a 20MP selfie shooter which supports 1080p recordings at 30fps.
Redmi K40 – 6GB RAM, 128GB storage – CNY 1,999 (~RM1,252)
Redmi K40 – 8GB RAM, 128GB storage – CNY 2,199 (~RM1,378)
Redmi K40 – 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – CNY 2,499 (~RM1,566)
Redmi K40 – 12GB RAM, 256GB storage – CNY 2,699 (~RM1,691)
Redmi K40 Pro & Pro+
Moving up a rung, the K40 Pro comes with a 64MP main camera over the standard K40, while Redmi promises that 8K video recording is supported at 30fps (the same as the Pro+). Meanwhile, the triple-camera setup is completed with an 8MP ultra-wide angle shooter, and the same 5MP telephoto macro lens.
You’re also looking at an identical battery size and charging speed on the Pro, along with the same FHD+ AMOLED 120Hz display. IP53 water resistance is also available here, which means that it should be able to handle sweat and small droplets of water. But there’s a big, big difference that sets this apart from the standard Redmi K40: the Redmi K40 Pro and Pro+ are powered by the Snapdragon 888, Qualcomm’s latest chipset.
As for the range-topping Redmi K40 Pro+, it gets a 108MP main shooter, which is mated to an 8MP ultra-wide shooter, and the same 5MP telephoto macro lens as the rest of the series. Again, you’re looking at a 20MP front-facing shooter upfront for selfies. The 108MP main camera can shoot 8K video at 30 fps, or 4K video at 30 fps or 60 fps. If you’re keen to shoot slow-mo footage, you’ll be able to do so at 960 fps at FHD resolution.
And of course, the K40 Pro+ is also powered by the Snapdragon 888 under the hood, while you get LPDDR5 RAM and UFS3.1 storage. The Pro+ comes in a single variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while strangely enough, the Redmi K40 Pro comes with options that don’t quite match up to the standard K40 (with regards to the max RAM available).
Official pricing for the Pro series is as follows:
Redmi K40 Pro – 6GB RAM, 128GB storage – CNY 2,799 (~RM1,754)
Redmi K40 Pro – 8GB RAM, 128GB storage – CNY 2,999 (~RM1,877)
Redmi K40 Pro – 8GB RAM, 256GB storage – CNY 3,299 (~RM2,065)
Redmi K40 Pro+ – 12GB RAM, 256GB storage – CNY 3,699 (~RM2,318)
So, what do you think? At the moment, Xiaomi—sorry, Redmi has not announced if the K40 series will be released globally. However, given how some of Redmi’s flagship phones have been released under the Poco brand for global markets in the past, perhaps this might just be the next Poco flagship in the future. For now, however, let us know what you think in the comments section below.
