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Redmi K20 Pro Review

It doesn’t hurt that is it affordable as well.

The recently revealed Redmi K20 Pro, otherwise known as Mi 9T Pro, is basically the successor to the wildly popular Pocophone F1 by Xiaomi. The regular variant of the smartphone did quite well as well with a good screen, a reasonable battery, and a nice camera. However, it could have had better performance. This is exactly where the Pro version of the phone enters the game. The newer model has a flagship Snapdragon 855 chip, a good upgrade from the Snapdragon 730 that Redmi K20 had. The Redmi K20 Pro runs on the Poco launcher 2 based on MIUI 10 with Android Pie core.

Mi 9T Pro
Mi 9T Pro

The Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro has a 6.39″ notch-less Super AMOLED screen protected by Gorilla Glass 5. The 20MP selfies camera is housed behind the pop-up module. This is the latest solution for the notch issue and is being followed by many manufacturers. The rear camera module has a 48MP f/1.8 primary, an 8MP f/2.4 telephoto, and a 13MP f/2.4 ultrawide arrangement. It offers excellent value for money with an amazing processor, a splendid camera, and all the other features we take for granted on a flagship. It doesn’t hurt that is it affordable as well.

Design

The Redmi K20 and Mi 9T phones are designed to look extraordinary while featuring amazing specs. The smartphone boasts of an immersive screen with a durable body. The notch-less AMOLED, called by Xiaomi as Horizon AMOLED, makes for a great look. The pop-up selfie camera is the solution to a notch-less display. Now, the K20 Pro users will be able to enjoy using the 6.39″ Samsung-made OLED screen with 1080p resolution without any distraction.

The phone also features an under-display optical fingerprint reader at the bottom. It is reliable, accurate, and super-fast. The pop-up camera lights up in red as it comes up, making it appear very stylish. The pop-up contains the LED notification lighting. The back of the device contains the same texture as that of the all-Kevlar Pocophone, but it is a mix of gradient hues and patterns. The Xiaomi Redmi K20 Pro/Mi 9T Pro comes with a loudspeaker, a USB-C port, SIM/microSD card, and of course, the 3.5mm audio jack.

Display

The Redmi K20 Pro has a 6.39″ Super AMOLED screen that is fully made by Samsung. You may notice that the rounded corners eat up the pixels a bit. The resolution is 2,340 x 1,080 pixels with a 19.5:9 screen aspect ratio. It is one of the most common screens in the market, regardless of the notch’s presence. It covers the DCI-P3 colour space and is completely shielded by a Gorilla Glass 5.

Redmi K20 Pro Review
Redmi K20 Pro Review

With regards to the brightness, the screen’s OLED panel is about 450 nits. It can reach 643 nits in bright light, exceeding the company’s word of 600 nits. The minimum brightness is quite impressive. With pure white colour, it was 2.2 nits. Users can make use of the three contrast settings offered by Xiaomi – default, warm, cool. The standard contrast is as per RGB with an excellent setting for colour accuracy.

Battery Life

The Redmi K20 Pro is supported by a 4,000mAh Li-ion battery. It has a Quick Charge feature as well. Thanks to the 18W charger, the phone’s battery can reach 50% in just 30 mins. A full charge, on the other hand, will take about 100 minutes. The screen-on times are quite high and the phone offers nearly 20 hours in video playback. The standby was better with the Mi 9T/K20 variant than on the Pro model, but then the chipset is less power efficient as well.

Android 9 Pie, MIUI 10.3, and Poco launcher 2.0

The Xiaomi K20 Pro and Mi 9T Pro smartphone run on MIUI 10.3 ROM based on Android 9 Pie. One difference is that the K20 Pro comes with Poco launcher 2.0 pre-installed. It supports the Always-on display and you can choose if you want to enable, disable, or schedule it. There are also plenty of themes that you are likely to fall in love with. The launch adds a feature-rich app drawer.

Redmi K20 Pro Back Panel
Redmi K20 Pro Back Panel

Audio, Video, and Speakers Quality

The Redmi K20 Pro smartphone has a single bottom-firing loudspeaker which is quite loud. The output is appreciable at its rich sound, high volume, and detail. It also performed well with an active external amplifier by being extra clear at a very high volume. While the headphone was not nearly as awesome, the accuracy was good enough.

With regards to the video, the smartphone cam captures video up to 4K @ 60fps. Unfortunately, not all the camera can capture the video. You cannot use the ultrawide snapper for shooting in 4K @60fps. The 2X zoom toggle cannot switch to the telephoto camera at all, meaning you will have to stick to the main camera. The video is sharp, clear, and quite detailed, with no cause for concern.

Camera Quality

The Redmi K20 Pro or Mi 9T Pro have the triple-camera at the rear. The main camera has a 1/2″ 48MP sensor with f/1.75 26mm lens that takes 12MP pictures. Other sensors are 8MP (1/4″) telephoto snapper with f/2.4 52mm lens for 2x optical zoom and a 13MP (1/3″) sensor with an f/2.4 15mm lens for ultra-wide-angle shots. The primary sensor here is the Sony IMX 586 while the older one had the IMX 582. While both of them are pretty similar in most respect, the IMX 586 can take 4K video capturing at 60fps.

Redmi K20 Pro Camera
Redmi K20 Pro Camera

The 48MP main sensor has a Quad-Bayer colour filter which basically combines four pixels to help capture more light and reduce noise. The selfie camera is a 20MP one on a motorized pop-up module. The pictures are sharp, detailed, and rich in colours. Unfortunately, there is no autofocus available here. Despite the lack of a depth sensor, the camera takes pretty good pics with blurred backgrounds.

Verdict

Xiaomi’s latest Redmi K20 Pro / Mi 9T Pro smartphone is one of the best releases this year. While it is not called a Pocophone, it features everything and more than the phone would have. Redmi K20 Pro is what the phone is called in India while the other regions know it as Mi 9T Pro.

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Shilpa

With an experience of over 7 years in writing and translations, I combine my love of technology with writing. I love checking out new apps and smart electronics on the market, trying them out, and of course, writing about them!

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