Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Redmi K20 Pro, a high-end Android smartphone with an impressive technical profile matched with a mid-range price tag.
The smartphone launched together with the Standard Redmi K20 at a media event held today in China. The Redmi K20 Pro packs an exciting flag-ship grade profile and could easily be the best mid-range priced smartphone.
Some of the highlights of the Redmi K20 Pro include a 6.39-inch (2,340 x 1,080) OLED full screen display, an in-display fingerprint sensor, a pop-up selfie camera, a rear triple-camera setup and most importantly a Snapdragon 855 chipset.
The focus of the K20 Pro technical profile is the use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset. This is the same chipset that powers the Samsung Galaxy S10+ as well as the recently launched OnePlus 7 Pro.
The chipset (SoC) is the ‘brains’ of a smartphone and therefore, determines the performance of a smartphone. The Snapdragon 855 chipset is a top-shelf chipset and is
By the K20 Pro having the same chipset as the Samsung Galaxy S10+ it therefore means that the masses can get the flagship smartphone experience at a fraction of the cost.
This is significant because whereas the pricing of the S10+ starts at Ksh. 95,000, the base version of the K20 Pro costs about Ksh. 40,000.
It’s common for most people to use the price of a smartphone as the yardstick to determine value. This is in most instances a superficial metric as the ‘true’ value should be based on the components used to build the smartphone.
Like in this instance, whereas the Galaxy S10+ goes for $900+ USD, it is estimated that it costs $420 USD to build the phone (BOM Cost). The premium price charged accounts for the Samsung’s margin, and other expenses.
On the other hand, Xiaomi has razor thin margins and minimizes its operating costs by selling its smartphones through ecommerce platforms.
The K20 Pro is currently available exclusively in China but it’s most likely that the device will find its way to the Kenyan market.
Kevin is a tech enthusiast and the lead writer at MobiTrends.co.ke. He has been writing about smartphones and tech related topics since October 2012. About Us | Contact Us
