Xiaomi is all set to launch the Redmi K30 in China on December 10, but leading up to the event, Xiaomi/Redmi has been revealing key features of the phone, and here are all the things we know about it so far.
Processor
The Redmi K30 will be the first phone in the world to run on the newly announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G. It is Qualcomm’s first affordable chipset to have an integrated 5G modem. With Snapdragon 765/G mobile platform Redmi K30 will see huge performance and graphics improvements compared to Snapdragon 730, which was seen on the predecessor Redmi K20.
There is one caveat here: Redmi seems to be launching a K30 variant with only 4G connectivity, and as per the leaks, that variant will be powered by Snapdragon 730G which is not that exciting.
Design
With Redmi K20 series Xiaomi brought in a polarizing and flashy Aura Back design. The back of the Redmi K20 refracted light in different patterns. The designs were amazing to say the least.
With Redmi K30, Xiaomi will be making the design of the back glass a little simpler except for the camera module, as we can see in the images shared by the company. There is a circular ring around the camera module which might eventually also refract light but it looks like a more subtle design. Redmi K30 will retain the legacy of fan favorite 3.5mm headphone jack, and will also feature side mounted fingerprint sensor.
Cameras
Redmi K30 will be the first smartphone to arrive with Sony’s 64MP IMX686. IMX686 is a successor to IMX586, which appears to be Sony’s most successful camera sensor yet, as almost all smartphone brands launched phones with Sony’s IMX586.
Thus, there are very high hopes with IMX686. It has a 1/1.7″ sensor size and uses the same pixel binning technology to take 16MP 1.6µm size images. A video teaser of IMX686 was published by Xiaomi showcasing the capabilities of IMX686.
Other than IMX686, K30 will also have 3 more sensors: an ultra wide lens with 120° Field of View, a macro-lens which can focus as close as 2 cm, and a depth sensor for better portrait mode. The front cameras will come in a dual punch-hole for a 20 MP camera, and a depth sensor. There are still some details about the cameras left to be unveiled so we will have to wait for the event.
4G/5G
One of the big talking points about this phone has been 5G, Redmi K30 could be the cheapest 5G phone to be launched yet. Even before the launch Xiaomi as a company has committed towards being one of the 5G leaders and said that they are expected to launch about 10 5G phones in 2020.
Xiaomi has also confirmed that there will be a 4G variant as well, but it might be powered by Snapdragon 730G for countries like India, where 5G roll-out is nowhere to be seen.
Display
Yes, display gets a dedicated spot here as there are some very interesting things happening in Redmi K30 regarding display. The Redmi K20 came with a 6.39-inch notchless, bezelless AMOLED display, but it was 60Hz.
Regrading the display on Redmi K30, we don’t have a lot of official info, but rumors/leaks suggest it’s going to be a 6.67-inch 120Hz IPS LCD panel, which can be seen as both an upgrade and a downgrade.
Upgrade being that this might be Xiaomi’s first smartphone with higher-refresh rate screen, but to achieve that, Xiaomi is downgrading the quality of screen to IPS from AMOLED. Xiaomi could have chosen a higher refresh rate AMOLED panel but we assume they are keeping it reserved for the “Pro” variant.
Battery
Redmi has made official that the K30 will be powered by 4,500mAh battery which is a 500mAh bump from Redmi K20’s 4,000mAh battery. Redmi K30 will also support Xiaomi’s 30W turbo charge.
Hence, there are quite a lot of details that we know about Redmi K30 but there still a lot we need to discover yet. We are still waiting for official announcement on pricing of the devices, specs of the 4G variant. The launch event is on December 10 and we will keep an eye for more details regarding the phone/s.