Xiaomi has been on a roll this year! They launched some great offerings back-to-back here in Nepal. Speaking of which, the Redmi K20 and the K20 Pro are fine examples of these great offerings. Although the phones arrived a little late here, it had the people talking. Among the two, we received the K20 here at our office. And we are going to take a look at this bad boy and see what all it has to offer.
The Redmi K20 arrived at our office about a week ago and we have been using the phone ever since. The device comes with some good packaging with a white box and the picture of the product. There is also the “Redmi K20” branding in huge bold letters at the front of the box. On the flip side, you get the specs of the phone along with the RAM and storage of the phone. The unit that we received came with the 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM configuration. Cutting the seal and lifting the box, we are immediately greeted by another small box. Unhooking the box, we find the sim-ejector tool, some paperwork, and a protective case. Unlike other phones, the K20 comes with a high-quality rubber case with a dark accent.
Moving those to the sides, the next item inside the box is the phone itself in all its glory. And lord-oh-mighty does the phone look ravishing. Before we droll over the phones, let’s see what else we get inside the box. The last two items inside the box is a power brick and a USB Type-C cable.
Going back to the phone, on initial impressions, the phone looks gorgeous. Xiaomi has finally perfected the glass-clad phones! They also have nailed the color scheme of the phone. Although we received the less interesting Carbon Black color, the other two color options, the Red flame and Glacier blue look ravishing. The fiery dual-tone finish is highly addictive!
Sitting at the center of it all is a 6.39 inches Full HD (1080 x 2340 pixels) Super-AMOLED display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The panel is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 which is a great inclusion at this price point. But wait, what is this? There is no punch-hole or a big fat notch on the top side of the display. Then, where is the front camera? Well, fright not, as the front shooter is now enclosed in a pop-up mechanism. Yes, Xiaomi is offering a phone with a pop-up camera below the price bracket of 40k. I mean, how cool is that?
This gives Xiaomi the opportunity to fit in an edge-to-edge display at the front. Well, almost! There is a small chin at the bottom but it is not a big deal.
Moving on, at the software end, the K20 runs MIUI 10 based on Android 9.0 Pie. MIUI has always been my favorite custom UI! And the MIUI version on the phone just proves why that is. Everything works seamlessly with no signs of lags or stutters. Even visually, the UI looks more modern than any of the custom skins available on other phones.
In the camera department, the Redmi K20 packs a rear triple camera set up. This layout is made by an f/1.8 48MP wide, an f/2.4 8MP telephoto, and an f/2.4 12MP ultra-wide lens. These cameras work in conjunction to take some stunning looking images. And the star of the show, the front camera. Xiaomi for the K20 has packed in an f/2.2 20MP motorized pop-up selfie camera. The mechanism also has a led-light for a little burst of light while taking a selfie. The shooter also takes some great selfie just like its rear counterpart.
That said, due to my limited time with the phone, I can’t comment further on the cameras. I will cover them more vigorously in our full in-depth review which by the way is coming out real soon. Stay tuned!
And finally, powering the device all up is a large 4000mAh non-user removable battery. The battery life of the phone was amazing during my usage. I got somewhere around 6 hours of on-screen time with the phone. This without a doubt will be enough to get users through a day of usage on a single charge. The phone also comes with Fast battery charging capability at 18W.
Redmi K20 Initial Impressions: Verdict
The Redmi K20 is an amazing smartphone that has a lot to offer. It packs more or less the same set of features as its bigger brother the K20 Pro. That said, due to the fact that the K20 Pro is such a good phone, the K20 has not been able to receive the recognition that it deserves.
And let me be the one to tell you that the K20 is as good as the Pro version. It packs all the major features in a more affordable price tag. So for anyone looking for a good premium mid-tier smartphone under the price of Rs 40,000, the Redmi K20 is a great smartphone. We highly recommend it!
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