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Redmi K40 review: budget flagship killer in 2021

We previously reviewed the Motorola Edge S, the first phone with the Snapdragon 870 processor. You may not be quite happy with the overall specs of this phone. It was the only Snapdragon 870 phone on the market at the time, so you had no choice.

But now Redmi offers you a completely new option - Redmi K40... Without further ado, let's see how Redmi's breakthrough model, the K40, performs in real life.

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Redmi K40 review: design

The Redmi K40 comes in a standard size box. The charger and cable missing from the Mi 11 box reappear in the K40 box. The kit includes a 33W charger, we will talk about charging later.

Redmi k40 Review 01

At first glance, you know that the K40 is much more advanced than the K30. It weighs only 196g and is 7,8mm thick. The whole rear part is a continuation of the Mi 11 design. The camera module is lengthened, the elements are more evenly distributed. This makes the rear look much better than its predecessor.

The red and blue gradient is the main color of K40. It refracts blue and red in different light. While this isn't the first time we've seen this color, if you're someone who loves eye-catching designs, you'll definitely love it.

Redmi K40 Featured
Redmi K40

The side fingerprint sensor built into the power button is slightly raised. This differentiates the phone from previous phones with fingerprint recognition, in which the sensor was located in a groove on the side.

The advantage is that it is more integrated into the frame and looks like a regular power button. And it makes it easier to tap with your finger. Overall, the design of the K40 is definitely an improvement. It's even better than the Mi 11. This should be the first time Redmi is on par with Xiaomi in terms of design.

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Redmi K40 review: image quality

This year, the K40 series uses an E4 OLED flat screen, 1080p, 120Hz refresh rate. The screen is one of the main strengths of the K40 series. With a maximum brightness of 1300 nits and a contrast ratio of 5: 000 while consuming 000% less power, performance is truly outstanding.

And with support for 360Hz touch sampling rate with three fingers, multi-finger control should be more responsive than other phones. But the improvement in perception is more obvious to the perception of the user than the improvement in parameters.

Redmi k40 display 02
Display Redmi k40

There are two obvious improvements in the K40's screen quality. The first is a tiny 2,76mm hole punch and the second is the Adaptive Color Display. This is one of the smallest hole punchers we've ever seen, allowing you to virtually ignore the front camera and immerse yourself in the joy of video.

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As far as "Adaptive Colors" is concerned, this is not an odd concept for iPhone users. It adjusts the color temperature of the screen according to the color temperature of the surrounding light. This feature can help reduce eye strain.

Redmi k40 Review 05
Redmi k40 Review 05

Apart from the plastic frame and wide bezels, the screen is excellent for this price point.

Redmi K40 review: performance and gaming

As you may have already seen in our Motorola Edge S review, the Snapdragon 870 is a very well balanced chip. Will Redmi, as a longtime Qualcomm client, be able to customize the Snapdragon 870 better?

Let's take a look at the results of conventional tests first.

In our benchmarks, the phone scored 662,201 in AnTuTu, 3 in 4192DMark, 5 in the GeekBench 1034 single-core test, and 3485 in the multi-core test. We see that the K40 is the peak. Performance tuning similar to Edge S.

Redmi k40 Review 05

Now let's take a look at optimizing the tuning for consistent performance. In the half-hour Genshin Impact stress test, the phone achieved 50,45 frames per second, which is slightly higher than the Edge S. Although, judging by the frame rate curve, the gaming performance of the Redmi K40 and Edge S looks about the same. But if you look at the lag rate, the K40 seems to be tuned more consistently.

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Redmi k40 Review 06 Now let's take a look at the 20-minute BrightRidge benchmark, in which the K40 averaged 42 frames per second. This is lower than the Edge S. And there have been a few times when the frame rate was only about 20 frames after down-throttling. The experience was not very good.

It seems that for games optimized for the Redmi model, the phone offers a better gaming experience than the Edge S. And the temperature never went above 50 ℃. But if there were no targeted optimizations, the gameplay would have been worse than the Edge S.

Redmi k40 Review 07

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Redmi K40 review: camera specifications

Redmi k40 Camera Featured 08
Camera Redmi k40

Given its price segment, we knew the cameras would be mid-range. Let's see how well he photographs.

Please note that the galleries below feature full sized samples from the K40 and a few samples from the K40 Pro for comparison. If you want to compare with the Motorola Edge S check out our video review.

Main camera

The main camera of the K40 is the IMX582 sensor introduced a year earlier, without optical stabilization. The ultra-wide-angle sensor is 8MP and the telephoto lens with the 5MP macro is the same type as the Mi 11.

In real life, the main camera of the K40 underexposed samples in daytime conditions. Dynamic range also leaves a lot to be desired, with severe loss of detail in dark areas. The colors are also not bright enough. The resolution is also inadequate. Aside from slightly better control over the purple edging issue, the K40 loses out in all daytime scenes.

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Night camera operation

At night, K40 exposure returns to normal. While highlights still bleed, there is much less noise than around the edges at almost the same resolution.

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There is also more detail in dark areas than in Edge S. This was also true when Night Mode was on. Although the Edge s improved exposure in very dark lighting conditions, the noise did not decrease. So the quality of the camera at night is a small victory for the K40.

Super Wide Camera

The ultra-wide-angle lenses of both phones work the same way as the main camera in daylight. K40 did not succeed and was defeated in this department. Since the results were the same, I will not repeat myself. At night, the K40 returns again.

It wins in all respects, except for a small range of suppression of glare, which sometimes was not very good. If you turn on night mode, the gap will widen even more.

Macro photography

The K40 uses a separate dedicated macro lens. Thus, the focusing distance is much shorter than that of the Edge s. This is why the results are particularly impressive. In terms of video, I just want to remind you that the K40 does not have 6K video on the main camera. 4K only supports 30fps. Both the Edge S and K40 only support up to 1080p 30fps from their ultra wide-angle camera.

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Redmi K40 review: battery life

The K40 comes with a 4520mAh battery. After our tests, half an hour of Tiktok and half an hour of 1080p internet video consumes only 5% of the power. 30 minutes on Genshin Impact consumes 18%. 20 minutes on BrightRidge consumes 20%. This battery optimization is still good.

Redmi k40 Charging Speed ​​10
Redmi k40 Charging speed

Although the K40 still uses 33W of charging, this time they have optimized it heavily. It charges up to 69% in half an hour and can be fully charged in 54 minutes. So it's faster than 40W charging from many other brands. So you don't have to worry that 33w k40 is not enough.

Redmi k40 Battery Life
Battery life of Redmi k40

Redmi K40 review: conclusion

In conclusion, if you are looking for a phone with high performance, low heat and a less demanding camera, the K40 is perfect for you. There are even a few surprises, such as the E4's excellent screen and thoughtful design. Considering its flaws, this is not the best phone, but it will be the most user-friendly phone you can buy in this price range, at least for now.

Redmi k40 Review 01

Lots of new phones have come out lately, so the competition will definitely intensify in the coming months.

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