Xiaomi just launched a gaming-focused flagship with Mercedes F1

Xiaomi launched the Redmi K40 Gaming in China last year, making its way to India as the affordable yet powerful POCO F3 GT. The company is now offering a sequel called the Redmi K50 Gaming.

This gaming-focused phone offers a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC,  dual vapor chamber cooling tech, and a 6.67-inch 120Hz flat OLED screen (FHD+). The Snapdragon chipset, in particular, should deliver a major boost for gaming given the impressive GPU benchmarks we saw from the S22 Ultra. But we hope Xiaomi’s cooling tech helps maintain this performance over longer sessions.

Aside from the flagship silicon and cooling solution, the phone earns its Gaming moniker thanks to a pair of retractable shoulder buttons like the POCO F3 GT. These can be stowed away when not in use, making for a sleeker device when not gaming.

What else are you getting?

The Redmi K50 Gaming is also equipped with a 4,700mAh battery and 120W wired charging, so you can spend less time charging and more time gaming. This is a drop in capacity from the POCO F3 GT’s 5,065mAh battery, but we do see a charging speed increase from 67W.

In terms of photography, the phone has a 64MP IMX686 triple camera (also featuring an 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro) as well as a 20MP selfie camera. Other notable specs include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, Gorilla Glass Victus, improved haptic feedback, Wi-Fi 6E support, NFC, and MIUI 13.

Xiaomi also unveiled a special Mercedes F1-themed Redmi K50 Gaming phone, seen at the top of the page. The device sports a unique design with black, silver, and turquoise colors and the Mercedes F1 badge. But it’s otherwise identical to the standard edition.

Redmi K50 Gaming pricing and availability

The Redmi K50 Gaming will be available in China from 3,299 yuan (~$520) for the 8GB/128GB model. Meanwhile, the 12GB/128GB Redmi K50 Gaming will set you back 3,599 yuan (~$568) and the 12GB/256GB model will retail for 3,899 yuan (~$615). The Mercedes edition, which comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, will set you back 4,199 yuan (~$662).

There’s no word on availability outside China just yet, but we’re guessing Xiaomi could release this phone in global markets as the POCO F4 GT. After all, the Redmi K40 Gaming landed in India as the POCO F3 GT. We’re also guessing that the phone will receive a price bump outside global markets, but even a ~$620 price in Europe would be a pretty solid price point for a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 flagship with physical shoulder buttons.