As expected, Xiaomi went ahead of the usual schedule to present the new Redmi K60 series. Instead of a Q1 launch window, the company is bringing the new family a few weeks after the unveiling of its Xiaomi 13 series. The Redmi K60 series brings a vanilla, a Redmi K60 Pro, and a K60E variant. These devices come to fill the gap between mid-range phones and flagship devices. They offer compelling specifications with an attractive price tag. Without further ado let’s see what they have in tow.
Redmi K60
The family starts with the vanilla Redmi K60. The new phone packs the familiar 6.67-inch AMOLED screen, but we have a 1,440p display which is not common among phones in this category. The device also has a 5,000 sq. mm cooling system with a vapor chamber. The display is flat and sticks with the usually centered punch-hole for the selfie camera.
Under the hood, we have the excellent Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. This is a very interesting choice since it puts the vanilla phone on par with most of the 2022 flagship devices. It is paired with either 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM and has up to 512 GB of Storage.
The Redmi K60 brings a rectangular camera island with a fancy new design. It’s a major departure from the design language that began with the Redmi K40 series. The phone has a triple camera setup led by a 64 MP shooter with OIS. It also has an 8 MP Ultrawide snapper and a 2 MP macro sensor. The selfie snapper is a 16 MP unit.
The phone has a huge 5,500 mAh battery keeping the lights on. It comes with 67W fast charging and 30W wireless charging.
The Redmi K60 will sell in Black with Carbon, Blue Leather, Green, and White color options. The price begins from CNY 2,499 ($360) for the 8 GB/128 GB option. The highest model with 16 GB/512 GB will set you back by CNY 3,599 ($515). The sales will start on December 31 through Xiaomi’s China website.
Redmi K60 Pro
The true king of the series arrives to compete in the 2023 flagship-killer category. As a result, we have impressive specifications that put it close to regular flagships. Similarly, there are some shortcomings to justify the lower price.
The Redmi K60 Pro packs a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with 2K resolution, that’s is the term used by Chinese brands for 3,200 x 1,440p displays. The phone can reach 1,400 nits of peak brightness, and also has the same centered punch-hole. The panel offers a 120 Hz refresh rate, 480 Hz touch-sampling rate, and HDR10+. The display also houses a fingerprint scanner underneath. The company also introduces a new Auto-Brightness 2.0 feature. It consists of a new algorithm that learns and adapts to your use.
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Under the hood, we have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC with up to 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of Storage. With that chip, the phone gets the same performance as costlier 2023 flagships.
A powerful main camera with OIS
The phone also brings a decent camera setup, the design is similar to the vanilla. The main camera is a 50 MP Sony IMX800 shooter with OIS and EIS. There are also some smart AI features such as object recognition and filters. The executives say that the experience and quality are similar to using a film camera. The other sensors are an 8 MP ultrawide shooter and a 2 MP macro camera. There is no Telephoto or Periscope shooter for advanced zoom. As usual, the camera department is what set this phone apart from other premium devices.
The phone draws power from a 5,000 mAh battery with 120W fast charging. The battery is slightly smaller than the one in the vanilla, but you get faster charging. The phone also gets 30W wireless charging. On top of everything, We have the Xiaomi Surge P1 chip that protects the phone as it fills up to 100% in just 19 minutes. The Redmi K60 Pro comes with a charging pad offering the same speed.
The phone sells in Black, Champion Performance Edition, Green, and White colors. You might be curious about the one with the mouthful name right? Well, it resembles the “Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team” partnership with a teal design, but this time around, there is no partnership.
Pricing
The Redmi K60 Pro costs CNY 3,299 ($475) for the base 8GB / 128 GB option. The high version costs CNY 4,599 ($660) with 16 GB/512 GB. The sales will begin on December 31 on Xiaomi China’s website.
Redmi K60E
The Redmi K60 is the entry-level offering in the family, maybe that explains the “E” in the name. It’s a first for the Redmi K-series. The device has an obvious performance difference, but the other aspects make this a very decent offering, especially when we look at the price.
The Redmi K60E brings the same 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate and 1440p resolution. The panel has 1,200 brightness, and 10-bit colors. It comes with the same punch-hole design and has a Corning Gorilla Glass Victus layer on top.
The main camera is a downgraded 48 MP shooter, but that still packs OIS. The other two sensors are an 8 MP ultrawide snapper and a 2 MP macro camera. The battery of the Redmi K60E is the same 5,500 mAh with 67W fast charging. There is no wireless charging though.
Under the hood, the Redmi K60E has the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 SoC. It has UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR5 RAM, while the other two get the newer UFS 4.0 and LPDDR5X standards.
The Redmi K60E sells in Black, Green, and White color options. The price starts at CNY 2,199 ($315) which puts aside some mid-range phones. This one is already up for sale on Xiaomi’s website and with authorized partners.
