Redmi's flagship killer K series delivers fantastic value for money. The third-generation in the series, i.e., the Redmi K40 lineup, including the Redmi K40, K40 Pro, and the K40 Pro+, was unveiled earlier this week. Despite flagship-grade specifications including 120Hz AMOLED displays, either Snapdragon 870 0r Snapdragon 888 high-end chipsets, and up to 108MP cameras, the Redmi K40 series starts at an unbelievable price of just about $310. Out of these devices, the base Redmi K40 variant is expected to be rebranded as a POCO smartphone — probably taking the name of POCO F3 — for the global markets. How do you like that idea?

Even though Xiaomi claims that POCO and Redmi now operate independently, we see blurring lines between their inventory. Redmi and POCO are still dependent on Xiaomi for their SKU design, licensing, and some other business decisions, allowing them to launch similar — or the same — phones with different names. That may not especially be a bad thing as it gives users more choices — and often, different design options for the same product.

Both of Xiaomi's spin-off brands — i.e., Redmi and POCO — have a good reputation for selling exciting smartphones. While their phones often have appealing specifications, what chiefly makes them exciting is their high value for money. The Redmi K40 as a product aligns with POCO's ideology of "everything you need, nothing you don't." It is one of the world's first smartphones powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset, an overclocked version of the Snapdragon 865.

Redmi K40 launch color dreamland

The Snapdragon 870 is one of our top choices for flagship killers in 2021. Additionally, the Redmi K40 is equipped with a 120Hz AMOLED display and features 48MP triple cameras on the back. The 6GB/128GB variant of the smartphone starts at only CNY 1999 (~$310) in China, while the 12GB/256GB variant goes up to CNY 2699 (~$418). The rebranded versions for other markets may not be as convincingly economical, but even if we keep a margin of $200, this is still a pretty sweet deal for the specifications up for grabs. The smartphone clearly benefits from the economy of scale, and even though it uses some older generation components, the pricing is unquestionably exciting.

In addition to its exciting flagship-grade specifications with a midranger's pricing, the Redmi K40 offers high-speed 5G connectivity at an affordable price. The Snapdragon X55 modem on the chipset allows up to 7.5Gbps of download speed, much higher than the limit of 3.7Gbs on the mid-range X52 modem we see on the Snapdragon 750G/765G/768G. The X55 modem also offers 4x4 MIMO for better signal strength as compared to the X52. This factor, combined with the already exciting specification of the Redmi K40, makes the smartphone a very compelling choice — irrespective of its naming.

What are your thoughts on Redmi K40 being rebadged as the next POCO flagship killer? Do you want to see the K40 launching in international markets? Let us know in the comments below!