Redmi K50i review: Unparalleled performance at unrivalled price

The back panel has the Redmi branding on the back and a small camera island on the top with three lenses. When it comes to the build, the Redmi K50i’s display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 on the front but opts for a plastic frame and back. The K50i has volume buttons and a power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader on the right and a SIM tray on the bottom. However, the most welcome addition is the headphone jack on the top.

The handset also features an IP53 rating for a small degree of splash resistance. The Redmi K50i features a thickness of 8.87 mm and weighs 200 grams. However, the Redmi K50i does make some concessions in the build quality but the phone prioritising comfort when design is concerned. Overall, it doesn’t really look and feel all that premium but is rather comfortable to use.

Display

Apart from the build, Xiaomi has also made some concessions on the Redmi K50i’s display by using an LCD panel over an AMOLED screen. To that end, the Redmi K50i sports a 6.6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD screen with a 20.5:9 aspect ratio. However, this is far from your average LCD panel as Xiaomi has received a DisplayMate A+ rating for the screen on the Redmi K50i. Additionally, the display supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision content and OTT and YouTube platforms can run HDR content.

The panel on the Redmi K50i also boasts a 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut and 500 nits of typical brightness. Moreover, the display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5, which comes as close to flagship-grade as possible. Lastly, the Redmi K50i boasts a 144Hz refresh rate and a 270Hz touch sampling rate, which is highly responsive and excellent for gaming.

The screen can switch between 60Hz, 90Hz, 144Hz, and a Default option that dynamically switches refresh rate depending on the task at hand. The display gets plenty bright under direct sunlight and offers good viewing angles, although it isn’t quite as bright as some of its competitors. What the Redmi K50i loses in display technology, it more than makes up for with its feature-rich and vibrant LCD screen.

Performance

Performance is where the Redmi K50i tends to excel with a MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC. Accompanying the 5nm chipset is up to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The phone also features Liquid Cool Technology 2.0 with a huge VC cooling system and seven layers of graphite. Moving on to some real-world testing! In Geekbench 5, the Redmi K50i managed a single-core score of 1,045 points and a multi-core score of 3,930 points. In AnTuTu, the Redmi K50i managed an overall score of 80,401 points.

We also tested several games on the Redmi K50i, including Call of Duty: Mobile, Apex Legends, BGMI, and Diablo Immortal. I was able to max out the settings in both Call of Duty: Mobile and BGMI. Additionally, Apex Legends ran on Ultra graphics with frame rates to the max, while Diablo Immortal ran on High settings at 60fps without a lot of effort. The phone also stayed relatively cool after a 40-minute gaming session. In my experience, the Redmi K50i definitely performs better than expected, punching above its price.

Cameras

For optics, the Redmi K50i features a triple-camera setup with a 64 MP Samsung GW1 primary sensor. The main camera is paired with an 8 MP ultrawide unit that has an f/2.2 aperture and a 120-degree FoV and a 2 MP macro unit. For selfies, the Redmi K50i boasts a 16 MP front camera with an f/2.5 aperture. Now, let’s look at real-world camera performance. Here are some real-world results:

The main camera on the Redmi K50i does a decent job in daylight, reproducing images with good dynamic range and ample amounts of sharpness. Exposure was also handled well, while the sensor was quick to focus. Images shot on the main camera had a good amount of detail and were quite sharp. On the flip side, images taken from the primary sensor did look a bit oversaturated at times, while colours weren’t that accurate. Additionally, background objects, particularly trees, looked softer than images in the foreground.

Moving to the ultrawide camera and results weren’t quite as good with a noticeable dip in sharpness and detail. While images looked visibly softer, particularly on the edges. On the plus side, colour temperature was well maintained, and dynamic range was decent. The macro camera on the Redmi K50i was more than decent provided there was enough light. However, it does tend to stumble at times, taking too much time to focus that can make it hard to get that perfect close-up. Too much trial and error for my liking.

In low light, users can switch to night mode, which results in decent shots. Night mode does add some detail to shots taken in lower light, while keeping noise levels in check. However, overexposure tends to be an underlying issue and detail is not quite as good on many of its competitors. On the front, the 16 MP selfie camera does a decent job capturing natural skin tones. Images also tended to be sharp, but shots could use a little more detail.

The camera can also record 4K video at 30fps and 1080p video up to 60fps, although it is only limited to EIS on the primary sensor. 4K video captures videos with good colours and solid details. Overall, the camera setup on the Redmi K50i is decent but could use some work and is far from the best in the segment.

Battery

The K50i packs a large 5,080 mAh battery that can easily get you through an entire day under normal to heavy usage. In my time with the phone, I got as much as six hours of screen-on-time under some pretty heavy usage, including gaming, entertainment, browsing social media, and running benchmarks. The phone also comes with a fast 67W charger that can deliver 50 percent charge in 30 minutes. So even if you head into the next day with 10 percent of battery life, you can charge up the phone in no time to get enough battery life for the rest of the day.

Software

On the software side, the Redmi K50i runs on Android 12 with Xiaomi’s MIUI software on top. Xiaomi has also promised two years of major OS updates and three years of security updates with the K50i. MIUI does have its share of bloatware but a lot of it can be uninstalled, although you’ll have to get used to first-party Xiaomi apps. Xiaomi has also implanted a lot of excellent Android features like the new and improved Privacy Dashboard. Overall, the MIUI skin on the Redmi K50i is riddled with bloatware, although you can remove most of it and there are tons of customisations to enhance the experience. But I’d prefer a cleaner UI experience.

Verdict

At a starting price of Rs 24,999, the Redmi K50i aims to offer the best value in the segment, just like the last K series phone to debut in the country, the Redmi K20 Pro (Review). And the Redmi K50i accomplishes this when it comes to performance, punching above its price. Add to that an excellent battery, super-fast charging, customisable software, a versatile display, and a comfortable design, and you’ve got yourself one of the most attractive propositions in the segment.

However, the Redmi K50i isn’t without its flaws, particularly in terms of its design and cameras. It almost seems like the Redmi K50i has taken two steps back with camera quality as compared to the Redmi 20 Pro. Daylight photography results were decent enough, but lowlight performance was well-below average, not something you usually experience on Xiaomi phones at this price.

And when it comes to design, the Redmi K50i looks nothing out of the average, unlike the K20 Pro that came out in 2019. If you are looking for raw performance and gaming prowess in the sub-25K segment, then the Redmi K50i isn’t just worth considering but should be your go-to device. However, the overfocusing on performance has left some aspects of this phone worst off than before. It is worth noting that the Redmi K50i has been discounted several times since its launch, making it an excellent value proposition.