Redmi K40 Launches: 120Hz AMOLED, Snapdragon 870, up to 12GB/256GB for ~P15K

If you thought Xiaomi Mi 11 offers an incredible flagship value, wait until you see the newly-announced Redmi K40 in China. Xiaomi’s flagship killer series, particularly the vanilla model, features a 120Hz AMOLED and Snapdragon 870 for a starting price of CNY1999(~Php15,000) for the 6GB/128GB model. The 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/256B are priced at CNY2199(~Php16,500), CNY2499(~Php18,900), and CNY2699(~Php20,300), respectively. Set to go on sale in China soon, the Redmi K40 will come in Bright Black, Dreamland, and Sunny Snow colors. 

First and foremost, the design of the Redmi K40 resembles Xiaomi Mi 11 a lot. It’s also thin at 7.8mm, but the 196g is still on the heavy side. Regardless, the rest of the specs are worth the added weight for anyone looking to purchase a 2020 flagship-level phone.

That’s right. The Redmi K40 is packing the Snapdragon 870, which is essentially a boosted version of the Snapdragon 865+ last year. If you don’t need the extra headroom provided by the 888, this is a great value alternative. 

Other than the chip, perhaps the best part about the K40 is the 120Hz AMOLED display. According to the company, the 6.67″ display is an “E4 AMOLED True Tone” with 360Hz touch sample rate, HDR10+, MEMC, DCI-P3, and 1300 nits peak brightness. That’s an outstanding spec of a phone at this price point.

Where Redmi K40 cut corners to hit its price mark is the camera and the fingerprint scanner. There are three sensors on the back featuring a 48MP f1.79 Sony IMX582, a 5MP tele-macro lens, and an 8MP ultrawide. No fancy 108MP nor 64MP sensor. The selfie camera, on the other end, is using a 20MP. Fret not, as the device is capable of recording up to 4K@30fps and up to 960fps at 1080p while offering VLOG mode, Magic Clone, and even macro-video recording among others.

Despite the use of AMOLED, Xiaomi decided to use a side-mounted fingerprint scanner instead of having it built-in under the display. 

For the breadcrumbs, the Redmi K40 comes with a 4520mAh battery with 33W fast charging, Wi-Fi 6, and stereo speakers. No headphone jack.

READ: Redmi K40 Pro, K40 Pro+: Snapdragon 888, 120Hz AMOLED, 108MP starting at ~P21K

Redmi K40 specs, price, availability in the Philippines

• Display: 6.67″ 120Hz AMOLED HDR10+ 1300nits peak, MEMC, DCI-P3, 360Hz touch rate
• Design: Gorilla Glass 5 back and aluminum frame
• Dimension and Weight: 163.7 x 76.4 x 7.8 mm, 196g
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8250-AC Snapdragon 870 5G (7 nm)
• CPU: Octa-core (1×3.2 GHz Kryo 585 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 585 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 585)
• GPU: Adreno 650
• RAM: 6GB/8GB/12GB
• Storage: 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 non-expandable 
• Main Camera: 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2″, 0.8µm, PDAF
  8 MP, f/2.2, 119˚ (ultrawide)
  5 MP, 50mm (macro), 1/5.0″, 1.12µm| video up to 4K@30fps EIS
• Selfie Camera: 20 MP | video up to FHD@30fps
• Connectivity & Ports: 5G, 4G/LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS, USB-C, NFC, Infrared port
• Security: face unlock, side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• Battery: 4520mAh(33W – 100% in 52 minutes)
• Audio: loudspeaker, 24-bit, aptX HD
• OS: Android 11, MIUI 12
• Colors: Black, White, Aurora
• Price: CNY1999(~Php15,000), CNY2199(~Php16,500), CNY2499(~Php18,900), and CNY2699(~Php20,300)
• Release Date: February 2021 (China)

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