Redmi K50i First Impressions: New gaming smartphone KING under Rs. 30,000?

Redmi K50i brings the power of Mediatek Dimensity 8100 under Rs. 30,000. A new go-to option for gamers in this price range? Know our first impressions here.

The Redmi K50i launched in India at a starting price of Rs. 25,999.  (Divya / HT Tech)

In recent times, the continuous wave of gaming smartphones in the sub-Rs. 30,000 segment have seen a surge. The iQOO Neo 6, Poco F4 5G, and Realme Narzo 50 Pro, are just a few amongst many that we all have been catered with lately. Main focus? Gaming. To give tough competition to all, Redmi came back with its K-series in India after three years, the Redmi K50i. Well, when you have a look at its specs, the most highlighted reason to consider this new Redmi mid-range phone will be the Mediatek Dimensity 8100. The same chipset that boosts the latest Oppo Reno 8 Pro and the Realme GT Neo 3, though, both smartphones jump the Rs. 35,000 price tag. On the other hand, Redmi K50i will set you back at just Rs. 25,999.

So, is the comeback of the Redmi K-series in India after a long time with a powerful Dimensity 8100 chipset under Rs. 30,000 leaps over other mid-range gaming smartphones? Well, this will be too early to say with limited usage, but still, there's a lot about the Redmi K50i to know.

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Redmi K50i Design and display

Redmi K50i (Divya / HT Tech)

Redmi K50i (Divya / HT Tech)

Another smartphone with colour gradient looks! This year, the trend of the shuffling of hues with light at the pack panel is something that is serving with almost every other smartphone. Redmi K50i follows the footsteps of the same trendy design while featuring a colour gradient finish at the back. It is entirely made of a plastic body including the frame, weighing around 200grams (amm.. quite heavy for a plastic body?) Well, the weight distribution and build manage it all, feels comfortable to use with subtle curves at the edges.

To my surprise at this price, I found an AMOLED display missing, as it features a 6.6-inches Liquid FFS Display with support of 144hz refresh rate and 270Hz touch sampling rate. Also, there is Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection for the display. It also supports Dolby Vision playback. So far, in indoor light settings, the display is apt to bring bright colours.

Redmi K50i specs and features

Look beyond its design and you will find a powerful performance-oriented smartphone that focuses on gaming and heavy tasks. With Dimensity 8100 chipset paired with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, I could manage to switch between apps effortlessly without any lags, and even for gaming, a short session of 30 minutes of Call of Duty: Mobile at huge graphics was impressive. Well, to know how it fairs out with extensive usage and heavy gaming, you have to wait for our full review. With a powerful processor, Redmi K50i also packs a large battery of 5080 mAh with 67W fast charging support. Talking about its UI, then the Redmi K50i brings Android 12-based MIUI 13 out of the box. Do you need to be concerned about pre-loaded apps? Sadly, yes! But those pop-up notifications from the bloatware are something that you feel extinct.

Redmi K50i (Divya / HT Tech)

Redmi K50i (Divya / HT Tech)

At the back, it boasts a triple camera setup helmed by a 64MP main camera, accompanied by an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a macro camera of 2MP. It is a 16MP lens that you get in the front and placed inside the punch-hole camera at the centre. With limited usage, the camera looks promising to manage photography with bright and sharp images.

Redmi K50i first impressions

Redmi K50i (Divya / HT Tech)

Redmi K50i (Divya / HT Tech)

The Redmi K50i seems one of those smartphones that has a lot of potential to be your performance-oriented smartphone. While bringing MediaTek Dimensity 8100 in the sub-Rs. 30000 segment, Redmi takes a step further to give tough competition to its rivals. Without any complaints so far, Redmi K50i manages to perform well with even heavy usage. But does it hold the power to beat strong contenders from iQOO, Realme, Poco, and Oppo in this segment while managing to impress with other factors too? We will share more in the full review soon.