Redmi is without a doubt the most popular smartphone brand this month. And today, let's take a close look Redmi K40 Pro Is a model that is likely to make a lot of brands nervous in 2021.
You might think that compared to the K40, the Pro model might be less cost effective due to the starting price of around $ 464. But among all the flagship models with the Snapdragon 888 K40 Pro chipset, it offers the best value for money without a doubt.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
Enough with the phone, I guess, let's see how this true flagship killer works and if there are areas where it doesn't work.
Redmi K40 Pro review: design
To begin with, the design of the K40 Pro is pretty much the same as the stock K40. Both of them have excellent weight and size control. Especially the Pro version, it is as light and thin as the K40, although the Pro has a better main camera and a slightly better chipset.
Since we have a lot to say about the Pro model, we don't pay much attention to design and display in this roundup. If you're curious about what's new in the design of the K40 series, just watch our K40 overview video coming out in a day or two. But it's pretty clear that the K40 is the first generation in the K-series lineup to take its design seriously.
Redmi has canceled the pure black version for the K40 Pro and replaced it with a damask version that is also exclusive to this Pro model.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
Take a look at the version of the damask pattern in our hands. In our opinion, this is the most beautiful Redmi model and even more elegant than the design of the Mi 11. But we noticed that the side frame is made of plastic and not metal, which makes it more prone to scratches and damage. Therefore, if you are going to buy a K40 or K40 Pro, we advise you to put on a cover to avoid damaging the frame.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
Redmi K40 Pro review: performance and games
One of the biggest upgrades to the Pro version is the Snapdragon 888 chipset. But compared to the Snapdragon 870, the performance improvement is not that significant. The benchmark results show that the gap is mainly due to single-core performance, which would theoretically lead to about 10% better performance in real-world games. On the other hand, the K40 is much closer to the K40 Pro in multi-core performance. Thus, in everyday use, we did not feel a gap between the two models.
What about Redmi K40 Pro gaming? Is the chip better optimized than the Snapdragon 888 on the Mi 11?
The K40 Pro was pretty easy to showcase the best gaming performance in PUBG Mobile without any issues.
We've seen the Genshin Impact game before causing problems with a number of phones powered by the Snapdragon 888 chip. But this time, the K40 Pro brought back the dignity of the flagship chipset and finally achieved a consistently high 58,2 fps frame rate without much hesitation. And during the entire 30-minute test, the K40 Pro did not drop its clock speed to control heat. However, the surface of the phone quickly warmed up to 50 ℃.
Does this mean the K40 Pro offers great optimization in all scenarios? What about other games?
Well, in Nimian Legends, smooth and enjoyable gameplay was surprisingly lacking. The familiar result returned for the 888 chipset. The phone suffered from frequent ups and downs in performance and a lot of stuttering issues. The frame rate ultimately remained at 36,5 frames per second. So, obviously the chip hasn't been optimized for this game.
In NBA 2K20, we were able to take full advantage of the 120Hz display. In the first 6 minutes, the K40 Pro stably ran the game at around 120fps. And then you can see the CPU temperature rises rapidly. When it climbed to 55 ° C, the frame rate and processor frequency began to jump up and down. A decrease in productivity occurs every minute and lasts for several seconds. However, an average frame rate of 101,4 frames per second is still not bad for this game.
In short, the K40 Pro's optimization is much better than what we saw on the Mi 11. But since the chipset remained the same, we still ran into overheating issues. So on the K40 pro, the chip would often slow down. But, thank goodness, the K40 Pro is doing much better now than the Mi 11.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
Redmi K40 Pro review: camera
The main camera of the K40 Pro is equipped with a Sony IMX686 sensor. It is a popular sensor that is mainly used on 2020 flagship phones.
Let's take a look at some samples captured from the main camera.
Day and night lighting scenarios
On the K40 Pro, the color style of the samples is pretty close to what we have on another Xiaomi model, the Mi 11. Both are more likely to present a cooler tone than what we actually saw with our own eyes. ... And the K40 Pro samples have a fairly high saturation with good contrast. But the Mi 11 still has a better overall exposure for brighter images. The Mi 11 is capable of capturing more detail with sharper edges, especially in dark scenes.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
And thanks to the native resolution of 108MP and 27MP for normal mode, the samples of the Mi 11 are sharper and sharper, while the samples of the 12MP K40 Pro look a little washed out when we enlarge them. Another disadvantage of the main camera of the K40 Pro is the lack of an OIS image stabilization system.
So when it comes to low light scenes, our handshake can easily ruin the photos we take. So you can see that some of the night samples are a little blurry and lose a lot of detail.
Speaking of night shooting, the Mi 11 was able to deliver sharper details in both dark and bright situations, regardless of whether we used normal mode or night mode. The K40 Pro does not seem to be stable enough to reproduce colors correctly.
And usually, when this happened, the image came out a little greenish. And the color style may be inconsistent when we switch from normal to night mode.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
High Resolution Mode
When it comes to high-res mode, the difference between the 108MP resolution on the Mi11 and the 64MP resolution on the K40 Pro isn't as significant as we expected.
Super Wide Camera
As for the wide-angle camera, the Mi 11 samples show slightly better image clarity, while the K40 Pro does a better job of image clarity with less noise. But when it comes to night shots, the gap is much more obvious. The performance of the K40 Pro is much lower than that of the Mi 11, whether you are comparing their exposure or image detail.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
Macro photography
Since the Mi 11 and K40 Pro use the same macro settings, their performance is the same. We don't see any difference from their samples, but they are both really good at shooting very close subjects and provide some interesting detail for close-ups.
In terms of shooting ability, the K40 Pro only supports videos up to 4k 30fps on the main camera and up to 1080P 30fps on the 8MP wide-angle camera. So, to be honest, for video filming, it's not that practical.
Overall, the Redmi K40 Pro has a pretty decent camera setup, especially in good light, but still not quite as good as the Mi 11. This is quite expected given the difference in their prices. In conclusion, while the cameras on the K40 Pro are decent, that's not one of its strong points.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
Redmi K40 Pro Review: Differences Between K40 and K40 Pro
Apart from the differences in cameras and chipset, there are also a few tiny differences between the K40 and K40 Pro. While both have fast charging up to 33W, the K40 Pro adopts a slightly aggressive charging strategy that can save a few minutes for a full charge.
Another difference is the used RAM. The K40 Pro can take full advantage of LPDDR 5 RAM and run at speeds up to 6400 megabits per second, while the K40's RAM can run up to 5500 megabits per second. But to be honest, in day to day use it is difficult to tell the difference.
The third is network support. K40 Pro supports dual SIM dual network 5G standby, while on K40 you can only have one 5G standby and another 4G as dual SIM download. But you still need to make sure the groups they support are accepted in your area.
Latest WiFi signal. Redmi claims the Pro has an improved WiFi 6 connection, which offers more stable and faster transmission when connected to a WiFi 6 wireless network.
Redmi K40 Pro review: battery life and stereo speakers
When it comes to charging and performance of the Pro's battery, we're not expecting anything surprising. The charging result is very close to what we got with the K40. The Pro was charged to 70% in 30 minutes and it took us just 50 minutes to fully charge the phone. The 4500mAh battery did not surprise us in daily use, and the battery life test result was close to what we got on the Mi 11.
Also, while the K40 series dual speaker solution has the same Dolby certification as the Mi 11, it still doesn't compare to the sound output on the Mi 11. However, the immersive stereo sound from the speakers is still pretty impressive.
That's about it for our Redmi K40 Pro review. The K40 series is definitely a revolutionary entry into the 2021 smartphone market. The biggest surprise is still the price, especially for the K40. And the K40 Pro is still the best option you can buy in your price range.
Compared to the K30 Pro released in the same period last year, the K40 Pro presented us with more surprises and even gave us the illusion that it is trying to challenge the flagship Xiaomi Mi series to some extent.
But it's worth mentioning that the Realme GT was launched a couple of days ago and it is also a super-powerful flagship killer that beats the K40 Pro, and more importantly, it is even slightly cheaper than the K40 Pro in China. These two models are made for those who prefer flagship features with decent cameras.
Redmi K40 Pro 256GB (black) for only 689,99
We will publish a review of the Redmi K40 soon, so stay tuned!
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