Xiaomi’s cult hit Redmi series is now all grown up with a flagship-beating effort. The Redmi K20 as it is known in its homeland China, or Mi 9T globally, is set to hit Malaysian shores on 20 June 2019.
The Redmi K20’s entry certainly muddies Xiaomi’s Redmi line since its traditionally a budget- to mid-range series. Considering Xiaomi has the Mi series, Mi MIX series and Pocophone entrenched at the top end, the Redmi K20 will inevitably make it a more crowded space. Less is more, as they say.
Nonetheless, I’m all for consumer choice. And on paper at least, the Mi 9T looks good. There are two models: the regular Mi 9T and the Mi 9T Pro, but it is unclear which model, or both, will be making a debut in the local market. We’ll know next week.
Specs-wise, the Mi 9T sports a 6.39-inch AMOLED display that has an integrated in-display fingerprint scanner.
The regular Mi 9T gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 chipset while the Pro variant will be powered by the range-topping Snapdragon 855.
Both models feature up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage.
In line with the current trend of pop-up cameras, the Mi 9T will come with a 20MP pop-up selfie camera. The pop-up camera is said to be able to rise in 0.8 seconds.
In terms of rear optics, there’s a triple-camera system consisting of a 48MP main, 13MP ultra-wide angle, and 8MP telephoto shooter with 2X optical zoom.
Both variants pack a large 4,000mAh battery that charges via USB-C. Good news for audio afficinados—Xiaomi has retained the 3.5mm headphone jack on the Mi 9T. An odd, if welcomed addition, considering the Mi 9 doesn’t have one.
The Pro variant, by the way, supports 27W fast charging although in the retail box, you’ll only get an 18W charger.
If you can’t wait for next week, you can get the Redmi K20 Pro with global ROM from Mobile2Go. It’s priced from MYR1,898 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model; and MYR2,298 for the 8GB RAM + 256GB storage model.
VIA SoyaCincau
