Will Redmi K20 Pro Be Able To Overtake OnePlus 7, Samsung Galaxy S10? Is Redmi K20 Pro A Flagship Killer? (Opinion)

Xiaomi is all set to bring in a flagship killer to the country to take on the ex-killer, OnePlus. A company which long held a tag of bringing in smartphones that steadily take on the heavyweights from Apple and Samsung.

The game has changed, and OnePlus has slowly moved up the curve.

And interestingly, now Xiaomi plans to kill OnePlus and other higher-priced flagships with its recently launched Redmi K20 Pro.

Can Xiaomi actually hit OnePlus that hard?

Well, Poco F1 is your answer.

The current cheapest Snapdragon 845 smartphone did bring OnePlus down. OnePlus lost the top spot in the premium smartphone segment, a crown it held for over three straight quarters. Not only did it lose its spot, it was then forced to a launch its latest OnePlus 7 at a 6 percent lesser price compared to the predecessor.

So, let’s find out why Redmi K20 Pro pose a huge threat to OnePlus and other big flagship manufacturers.

Affordable Flagship vs Premium Flagship: Understanding The Difference

Many would argue that OnePlus originally defines a true flagship, while Xiaomi only has just pulled off a budget flagship high on features. If you can own a flagship at half the cost, is it worth going for a higher priced smartphone just because Robert Downey Jr endorses it?

At the end of the day performance matters.

Many would still argue that OnePlus is far more premium compared to any Xiaomi flagships.

Can’t deny that at whole.

But, we do need to appreciate what Xiaomi is doing. Redmi K20 Pro could be an entry-level flagship, but it does pack in features which OnePlus is offering at double the price.

Value-for-money doesn’t make any sense?

It does actually.

If you dig in a little, the sense of premium will not be able to override the features Xiaomi brings to the table at half the price with Redmi K20 Pro. But yeah, they don’t have RDJ.

Redmi K20 Pro have the similar features as OnePlus 7 Pro, like Snapdragon 855, notch-less display, pop-up sensor, 48MP Sony sensor inside a three camera setup, in-display fingerprint sensor and such more.

Redmi K20 Pro & OnePlus 7 Pro: What’s So Similar?

Let’s break down where both the smartphones have very matching features.

Performance

Both Redmi K20 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro will be powered by the current best Qualcomm flagship chip, Snapdragon 855. Built on an 7nm architecture, the chip couples with Adreno 640 GPU.

On paper both the smartphones offer similar levels of performance.

The only advantage OnePlus has over the Redmi K20 Pro is its OxygenOS UI.

OnePlus truly does bring a commendable UI offering almost stock Android experience asus. In comparison, MIUI can’t match up the similar experience.

Gaming

Again, OnePlus 7 Pro and Redmi K20 Pro come with an advanced cooling system featuring a liquid cooling architecture to take on heat issues by offering a enhanced overall gaming performance.

They have dedicated gaming modes which optimizes the smartphone for gaming. It enhances headphone/sound quality while gaming, optimizes WiFi/ mobile network and specially improves the touch mode to enhance gaming.

Also, the K20 Pro optimizes the dark areas of the screen while gaming to offer a better viewing experience during gameplay.

Software: Android Q Access

Both the devices support the current Android Q beta program out of the box. So, both Redmi K20 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro gives you instant access to the latest Android Q.

In terms of user experience and  smartphone performance, both stand on the almost same line.

Each company has its own share of software tweaks for performance enhancement.

Rear Camera

Both Redmi K20 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro come with the same Sony 48MP IMX 586 primary sensor as their primary lens inside a three camera system. Both the devices sport a triple camera setup at the back.

K20 Pro features the 48MP Sony IMX 586 camera as primary lens with an f/1.75 aperture coupled with a 8MP telephoto secondary sensor with an f/2.4 aperture and a tertiary 13MP wide-angle sensor with an f/2.5 aperture and a 124.8 degree field of view.

While, OnePlus 7 Pro has a triple rear camera setup comprising of the 48-megapixel Sony IMX 586 primary sensor with an f/1.6 aperture supported by OIS, 8-megapixel secondary lens with an f/2.4 aperture and a tertiary 16-megapixel telephoto lens.

Redmi K20 Pro has EIS and no OIS.

In terms of photography performance, you won’t experience any big difference. OnePlus 7 Pro will do a bit better definitely, but both the smartphones will be able to deliver top flagship level photography experience.

Pop-Up Sensor

Both OnePlus 7 Pro and Redmi K20 Pro come with similar pop-up sensor camera technology to offer full-screen displays with the same three camera systems at the back.

Up front, Redmi K20 Pro comes with a 20MP selfie sensor inside the pop-up machine.

On the other hand, OnePlus 7 Pro has a Sony IMX 471 16-megapixel sensor. Both can capture wide angle shots with almost accurate details.

Battery & Fast Charging

Finally, Redmi K20 Pro and OnePlus 7 Pro comes with a similarly sized 4,000mAh battery. Both the devices support again support fast charging technology. There’s no support for wireless charging on both.

OnePlus 7 Pro pack in 30W Warp Charge, while Redmi K20 Pro has 27W fast charging technology onboard.

Again, both end up on the same line.

Where Will Redmi K20 Pro Make A Big Difference?

Price. It’s the most important part. India being a price sensitive market, the price plays a really important role here. We look for products which offer the best of quality and value for the price we are paying.

Redmi K20 Pro starting at INR 25,200 (converted) not only challenges the OnePlus 7 Pro (starting at Rs 48,999), but also kills off regular OnePlus 7 (starting at Rs 32,999) single-handedly with the set of features in bag.

Surprisingly, Redmi K20 Pro is cheaper even than the regular OnePlus 7 model with downgraded features. The K20 Pro features directly matches up with the OnePlus 7 Pro model.

Starting at Rs 48,999 for the base model with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, it hardly stands a chance against Redmi K20 Pro in terms of price.

Redmi K20 Pro has been launched at a starting price of Yuan 2499 (INR 25,200) for the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. The India prices are not yet, but it may cost somewhere around 25,000 rupees in the country, according to the latest rumours.

Redmi K20 Pro is a lot cheaper than OnePlus 7 Pro, and even the regular OnePlus 7. While OnePlus 7 Pro still has an upper hand with a superior display and the seamless OS, Redmi K20 Pro is more or less the same on the other fronts.

The OnePlus flagship is definitely better, but only ahead by a thin margin.

Redmi K20 Pro on the other hand, being more affordable makes a more sensible purchase. So, we can safely presume that Redmi K20 Pro will affect the OnePlus 7 series sales badly in the entry-premium segment in the country.

Given Xiaomi’s track record, it be pulling off an aggressive pricing strategy again against OnePlus to bring in the cheapest Snapdragon 855 smartphone in India.

The recent rumours say that both the Redmi K20 smartphones will be priced lower than the Chinese variants. So, that’s a bigger threat for OnePlus and other flagship brands.

Redmi K20 Pro and Redmi K20 India launch will happen in mid-July.