The Redmi K30i may be a cheaper version of the Xiaomi Redmi K30 5G

Rebranding is undoubtedly an effective method to cater to a large number of consumers with minimum effort. Xiaomi, for example, was able to take advantage of the hype around the “POCO” tag by presenting the 4G variant of the Redmi K30 as the POCO X2 in India. Interestingly, the 5G-capable Redmi K30 has remained exclusive to China so far. While we don’t have any knowledge of a potential global launch of the Redmi K30 5G, we now have evidence that Xiaomi may launch a cheaper version of the device called the “Redmi K30i”.

Redmi K30 5G XDA Forums

The Redmi K30 4G and Redmi K30 5G were launched together in China back in December 2019. Features like the 120Hz LCD display panel and quad cameras are present in both smartphones, but the most distinguished difference between the two is in terms of processing power and associated cellular technology. The Redmi K30 4G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G while the 5G variant is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G. Now, evidence of the existence of a cheaper Redmi K30 5G first appeared when Xiaomi updated the TENAA listing for the Redmi K30 5G with the model name “M2001G7AC”. Most importantly, the update mentions that they changed the camera specs to include a “48MP version”.

Next, XDA’s ever-reliable Xiaomi tipster, kacskrz, spotted a new string in the latest version of the MIUI Camera app:

<string name="back_picasso_48m">4:REDMI K30i 5G:AI QUAD CAMERA:48MP QUAD CAMERA</string>

For those not familiar with Xiaomi’s naming convention, “picasso” is the code-name for the Redmi K30 5G. The string also explicitly states that the “Redmi K30i 5G” has an “AI quad camera” with a 48MP main sensor. The company might have replaced the 64MP Sony IMX686 sensor from the original Redmi K30 series with a 48MP Samsung/Sony module to bring the cost further down. Xiaomi, in fact, made a similar move recently as they launched the global version of the Redmi Note 9 Pro with a downgraded front camera (16MP) compared to the Indian model (32MP in the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max).

Hopefully, we will learn more about this new 5G phone from Xiaomi as it comes closer to launch. Right now, we do not have information on which markets this new phone will be arriving in.

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