Poco’s entry back into the smartphone market has been nothing short of confusing. When the world was expecting an affordable flagship from the company, we instead got the Poco X2; a rebranded version of the Redmi K30. Although Poco had good reason for not slapping a flagship SoC on the X2, that’s exactly what’s expected from the upcoming Poco F2.
Folks over at XDA Developers had previously discovered evidence in the MIUI camera code suggesting the Poco F2 would be a rebranded version of the Snapdragon 865-toting Redmi K30 Pro. However, Poco was quick to dismiss that information and said that the F2 won’t be a rebrand like the X2. Now, new evidence begs to differ.
A phone called the Poco F2 Pro has appeared on the official Google Play support page, and it’s listed as the same phone as the Redmi K30 Pro. That’s no coincidence.
Somewhere, the Poco F2 series is closely linked to the Redmi K30 Pro series. Even as the company has denied this in the past, it’s not just this listing or the previous code that indicated an overlap. Even tipsters are certain there’s a connection between the two.
Last week, we heard from a trusted Xiaomi leaker who claimed the Redmi K30 Pro will launch internationally in May as the Poco F2. The leak suggested that the rebranding is only limited to the international version of the phone and that India, the home market of Poco, will get a completely different phone that’ll have features in common with the Redmi Note 9 series.
First Redmi, now Poco: What’s the deal with all the Xiaomi sub-brands?
With over 158 million smartphones shipped in 2019, India is indisputably the second-largest smartphone market in the world. As sales plateau in China, manufacturers have been looking at new ways to grow their market in …
It’s quite possible this Google Play listing is incorrect. We may also see it removed if Poco doesn’t want us poking into its business. But all signs point to some sort of a rebrand, at least for now.
We’ve reached out to Poco seeking clarification on the Poco F2 Pro listing on Google’s official support page for Play services. We’ll let you know when and if we get an explanation from the brand.
More posts about Poco
