Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro launch, Samsung M40 price in India details, Oppo Reno India release, and OnePlus 7 sale date were some of the biggest tech news stories this week.
In a week filled with smartphone launches, Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro’s debut in China and Samsung Galaxy M40 dominated the conversation. The India launches of Oppo Reno series, BlackShark 2, Vivo Y15 (2019) also made some noise. Additionally, we saw teasers for the upcoming Mi 9T smartphone, announcement of the India release date for OnePlus 7, and some updates on the availability of Realme X in the country. This is not all, Moto Z4 finally became official and HMD Global sent out invites for two events on June 6.
Starting with the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro first, the two phones made their debut in Beijing this week after month of anticipation, rumours, leaks, and teasers. While the Redmi K20 Pro will be first flagship for the Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand, the Redmi K20 will fill the space between Redmi Note 7 Pro and Redmi K20 Pro in the company’s portfolio. While the Chinese smartphone has said that the two phones will be released in markets outside China, the specifics are a mystery at this point.
As more and more leaks and rumours pop up, it seems more likely than ever that Redmi K20 Pro and Redmi K20 will be rebranded for the international markets. The Redmi K20 is reportedly going to be called Mi 9T, whereas the international branding for Redmi K20 Pro is unclear right now, however the phone might end-up being Poco F2 for some markets and something else for the others.
Talking about the two phones, the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro feature a 6.39-inch full-HD+ AMOLED screen with an in-display fingerprint sensor, 4,000mAh battery, Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10 operating system. The phones also come with a triple rear camera setup, which houses 48-megapixel primary shooter, 13-megapixel secondary wide-angle shooter, and a third 8-megapixel shooter. There is a 20-megapixel pop-up selfie camera onboard as well.
While the Redmi K20 is powered by octa-core Snapdragon 730 SoC, the Redmi K20 Pro will pack the octa-core Snapdragon 855 SoC. Both phones also get up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. In terms of differences apart from the processor, the Redmi K20 doesn’t get the hardware DC dimming support and 27W fast charging support, instead there is just 18W fast charging.
Redmi Note 7S Review
Meanwhile, Xiaomi India has started teasing the impending launch of Mi 9T in the country. If it indeed turns out to be a rebranded version of the Redmi K20, it will be a fairly mid-range smartphone. There is no word on the pricing at the moment, however the Redmi K20 starts at CNY 1,999 (Rs. 20,200) in China, which is a good indicator of the India price of the phone.
In other Xiaomi news, RedmiBook 14 debuted as the first laptop under the Redmi brand. It packs a 14-inch display and is powered by up to eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor. Other highlights of the laptop include DTS audio support, a new cooling system, and Intelligent Unlock 2.0 feature.
The RedmiBook 14 has been priced starts at CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 40,300) for the base variant with Intel Core i5 processor and 256GB SSD storage, while its 512GB SSD model comes at CNY 4,299 (roughly Rs. 43,300). There is also the top-end model with eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor and 512GB SSD at CNY 4,999 (roughly Rs. 50,400). It goes on sale in China on June 11, however there is no word on the global availability.
The company also launched the 16GB variant of its Redmi Go smartphone in India earlier this week. It joins the already available 1GB + 8GB variant. The new variant also houses just 1GB of RAM, which is not surprising considering that Redmi Go is an Android Go smartphone. The 16GB variant of the Redmi Go will retail at Rs. 4,799.
The Chinese smartphone has also started the open sales for the Redmi Note 7S smartphone. The smartphone was only sold via a flash sale two times before getting the expanded availability. The phone carries a price tag of Rs. 10,999 for the 3GB + 32GB variant and Rs. 12,999 for the 4GB + 64GB variant. It can be purchased via Flipkart.com, Mi.com, Mi Home Stores, Mi Studio outlets, and Mi partner brick-and-mortar stores.
Moving on the Samsung Galaxy M40 news, Samsung announced this week that it will be introducing the fourth smartphone in its India-first Galaxy M-series this month. Dubbed as Samsung Galaxy M40, the smartphone will be launched on June 11. It will be joining the Galaxy M10, Galaxy M20, and Galaxy M30 smartphones in the company’s portfolio. Samsung Galaxy M-series has gotten decent amount of traction and the company revealed that it has managed to sell 2 million units of the Galaxy M-series phones since launch.
Samsung M40 will be the most expensive smartphone in the Galaxy M-series until now and it will carry a price tag around Rs. 20,000, Samsung India’s Asim Warsi told Gadgets 360. He also revealed that the Galaxy M40 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC, run on Android 9 Pie, and will pack a triple camera setup with a 32-megapixel primary shooter. Additionally, Warsi noted that the Samsung M40 will pack the company’s Screen Sound technology, which enables the AMOLED screen to act as a speaker.
In the run up to the June 11 launch, Samsung has published various teaser websites for the Galaxy M40 and in one such website, the company published a full render of the phone, giving us a look at what we can expect later this month. The teaser revealed that the Samsung M40 will spot a hole-punch (or Infinity-O camera). In other specifications, the phone is said to be coming with a 3,500mAh battery and a 16-megapixel selfie camera.
As it prepares to unveil the Galaxy M40 with Android Pie, the Seoul-based company started rolling out the Android 9 Pie update for all of its existing Galaxy M-series – Galaxy M10, Galaxy M20, and Galaxy M30 – smartphones. The update for each phone is now live over-the-air and will gradually reach all units. The Android Pie update brings the company’s One UI, among other changes.
OnePlus revealed this week that OnePlus 7 will be available in the Indian market beginning June 4. The phone was announced alongside the OnePlus 7 Pro but has not gone on sale until now.
