Redmi K30 5G announced: Easily the cheapest 5G smartphone yet

Xiaomi has finally launched the much anticipated Redmi K30 smartphone. Keeping 5G at the forefront, the Redmi K30 debuts the recently announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset. The new SoC comes with an integrated 5G modem but Xiaomi also has something in the bag for 4G users. For those who can’t afford the more expensive 5G variant, Xiaomi has made a less expensive 4G version of the phone.

Another first for the Redmi K30 is Sony’s new 64MP IMX686 image sensor. This is the first time any smartphone comes bearing the sensor which is a successor of sorts to last year’s IMX586. The new sensor features a 1/1.7-inch size with 4-in-1, 1.6μm large pixels.

There’s a lot riding on the Redmi K30 to prove it’s a worthy successor to last year’s K20 series. In their first month, the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro reportedly managed to sell over a million units. Will the Redmi K30 be able to recreate that magic for Xiaomi? You be the judge. Here’s everything you need to know about the new value-for-money smartphone duo from Xiaomi.

Redmi K30 design

The Redmi K30 series comes in four colorways namely Deep Sea Light, Time Monologue, Flower Shadow, and Purple Jade Fantasy. There are thin bezels surrounding the display, with the exception of a slightly thicker chin. A coin slot-shaped quad camera housing rests at the back of the device giving the phone its distinctive looks. Just like the OnePlus 7T, the back of the phone has a frosted glass finish.

The 5G variant of the Redmi K30 comes with a distinguishable 5G logo under the primary camera setup.

This time around, Xiaomi has ditched the pop-up mechanism in favor of display cutouts up front. Two punch holes on the right corner of the screen house the dual selfie cameras. At first, this was thought to be a pill-shaped housing, but Xiaomi is apparently masking the space between the two punch holes using software tricks. Users can choose to hide the masking in display settings to be able to spot the gap between the two cutouts.

At the bottom of the device, you get a USB-C port for fast wired charging. There’s a speaker grille right next to the USB-C port. It’s also great to see Xiaomi retaining the precious 3.5mm headphone jack on the device.

The volume buttons rest on the right edge of the phone. The fingerprint sensor is integrated with the power button situated next to the volume keys.

Overall, the design of the Redmi K30 looks pretty promising. However, we’ll say more on the subject when we get the device in for a review.

Redmi K30 5G specs

As mentioned before, the Redmi K30 5G features the Snapdragon 765G SoC. The ‘G’ stands for ‘gaming’ and the octa-core chipset is designed to help OEMs bring down prices of 5G phones. Compared to last year’s Snapdragon 730G, the Snapdragon 765G brings a 20% boost in CPU performance and 40% in GPU performance.

The FHD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels) display of the phone measures 6.67-inches compared to the K20’s 6.39-inch screen. It has a 20:9 aspect ratio and 120Hz refresh rate.

Coming to the camera, the phone features a 64MP + 8MP (120 degree wide-angle) + 2MP + 5 MP (macro) setup at the back. On the front is a 20MP shooter with a 2MP depth sensor. The camera features Mimojis, RAW format support, Super Night Scene Mode, and other AI-based features.

The battery capacity is set at 4,500mAh. There’s 30W fast charging onboard which, Xiaomi claims, can charge the device from 0% to 100% in one hour.

In terms of software, the device comes with MIUI 11 based on Android 10 out-of-the-box.

Redmi K30 4G specs

The Redmi K30 4G has all the same specs as the 5G variant, with the exception of the SoC, camera, and fast charging.

The 4G version of the phone gets the Snapdragon 730G chipset and its quad rear camera setup includes 64MP + 2MP + 2MP + 8MP sensors. It gets 27W fast charging.

The device come in Deep Sea Light, Flower Shadow, and Purple Jade Fantasy color options.

Price and availability

The Redmi K30 5G starts at 1,999 yuan ($284) for the 6GB/64GB model, making it the cheapest 5G phone around. The 6GB/128GB option costs 2,299 yuan ($327), the 8GB/128GB model costs 2,599 yuan ($370), and the 8GB/256GB model has a 2,899 yuan (~$412) price tag. The base price is much cheaper than Xiaomi’s first 5G phone, the €599 (~$663) Mi Mix 3 5G.

Meanwhile, the Redmi K30 4G starts at 1,599 yuan (~$227) for the 6GB/64GB option, 1,699 yuan (~$241) for the 6GB/128GB variant, 1,899 yuan (~$269) for the 8GB/128GB model, and 2,199 yuan (~$312) for the 8GB/256GB version.

Xiaomi has put up the 5G variant of the phone on pre-sale in China.

The launch of the K30 series outside of the Chinese market has not yet been announced but we expect the duo to have a much wider international launch soon. India could get the 4G version of the Redmi K30 since 5G networks have not been established in the country yet.

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So what do you think of the new Redmi K30 4G and 5G? Is it the 5G smartphone you want to buy in 2020? Drop us a line or two in the comments section below.