Redmi hints at MediaTek-powered flagship phone in the works

Xiaomi launched the Redmi K30 Ultra last year, and it mainly differed from the K30 Pro by swapping out the Snapdragon 865 processor in favor of the less powerful but still capable MediaTek Dimensity 1000 Plus flagship SoC. 

Now, Redmi general manager Lu Weibing has hinted on Weibo that a K30 Ultra successor is on the way. More specifically, the executive says that the K30 Ultra is reaching end-of-life status, adding that a new MediaTek flagship chipset is incoming. Check out the screenshot below.

It’s worth noting that the Xiaomi sub-brand has already confirmed that the Redmi K40 series is coming, adding that it will start at 2,999 yuan (~$463) and has Snapdragon 888 power. So this apparent MediaTek-powered Redmi device likely isn’t a K40 or K40 Pro, but could be another K40 series device or an all-new entry entirely.

There’s no word on what to expect from a Redmi K40 Ultra (or whatever it might be called), but we do know that the K30 Ultra was significantly cheaper than the K30 Pro. The Ultra model had a launch price of 1,999 yuan (~$288 at the time) in China, compared to the Redmi K30 Pro’s 2,999 yuan (~$430 at the time) launch price in its home market. 

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As for the new flagship chipset in question, a recent leak by tipster Digital Chat Station points to an upcoming MediaTek processor with a three-tier CPU layout (one Cortex-A78 at 3GHz, three Cortex-A78 at 2.6GHz, and four Cortex-A55 at 2GHz), a Mali-G78 MC9 GPU, and a 6nm manufacturing process.

We’re therefore expecting a less powerful experience on paper than the new Snapdragon 888, which packs a hefty Cortex-X1 CPU core and a significantly upgraded GPU. MediaTek is holding a launch on January 20 though, so all will be officially revealed then.

Nevertheless, we hope to see this future handset actually launch outside China, as the Redmi K30 Ultra was restricted to its home market. What would you like to see from a Redmi K40 Ultra? Let us know by taking the poll above!