Redmi K80 Series In-Depth Review: A Mid-Range King with Flagship Specs?

Redmi K80 Series In-Depth Review: A Mid-Range King with Flagship Specs?On November 27th, Xiaomi held a launch event for the Redmi K80 series, unveiling the Redmi K80 and Redmi K80 Pro. The biggest upgrade in the K80 series is its completely redesigned appearance

Redmi K80 Series In-Depth Review: A Mid-Range King with Flagship Specs?

On November 27th, Xiaomi held a launch event for the Redmi K80 series, unveiling the Redmi K80 and Redmi K80 Pro. The biggest upgrade in the K80 series is its completely redesigned appearance. Unlike the somewhat rugged design style of previous K series phones, the K80 series boasts a refined and compact aesthetic, feeling comfortable and natural in the hands of both male and female users. Its design is somewhat reminiscent of the Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro, but even more refined it's hard to believe this comes from the Redmi lineup. It's undeniable that Redmi phone designs are becoming increasingly pleasing to the eye.

The entire Redmi K80 series features a 6.67-inch 3200x1400 resolution 2K 120Hz Huaxing Optoelectronics M9 display. It supports 12-bit color depth, 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, and a peak brightness of up to 3200 nits. Furthermore, it adopts the same ultra-narrow four-sided bezel design found in Xiaomi's flagship models, leading to a first impression that it's an enlarged Xiaomi 15.

In terms of eye protection, the Redmi K80 series has also undergone a significant upgrade. It features new full-brightness DC dimming technology, achieving a near "0-flicker" display effect. Utilizing circularly polarized light technology, screen color reproduction is closer to natural light, resulting in a comfortable and healthy viewing experience. The AON intelligent eye protection function constantly safeguards users' eyes, minimizing screen-related eye strain.

Notably, the Redmi K80 series is equipped with ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking, a feature usually found in flagship phones. While not the expensive wide-area ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, its unlocking speed and accuracy far surpass mainstream optical fingerprint unlocking solutions.

The core configuration of the Redmi K80 series is even more impressive. The Redmi K80 Pro boasts the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform, paired with a Gaming Display Enhancement Chip, up to 16GB of 8533Mbps LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. In terms of cooling, it employs a 5400mm dual-loop three-dimensional cooling system. Its configuration level already reaches the top tier of flagship phones in the latter half of 2024. According to Xiaomi's official data, the Redmi K80 series can achieve benchmark scores exceeding 3 million, surpassing most Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powered phones. This is thanks not only to Redmi's years of accumulated "Crazy Engine" algorithms but also to its powerful cooling system. In terms of power consumption and frame rate, the Redmi K80 series also significantly outperforms competitors, demonstrating Redmi's confidence in its gaming performance. For detailed gaming performance of the Redmi K80 Pro, please refer to Lei Technology's Redmi K80 Pro initial review. The Redmi K80 is equipped with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor.

The Redmi K80 series also features a significant battery capacity increase compared to its predecessor. The Redmi K80 Pro boasts a 6000mAh battery, while the Redmi K80 has a staggering 6550mAh battery. Coupled with lower-power processors, both phones have significantly improved battery life. In terms of charging, the Redmi K80 Pro supports 120W wired fast charging and 50W wireless charging, while the Redmi K80 only supports 90W wired fast charging. This strategy is similar to the recently released OPPO Reno13 series, with the Pro version supporting wireless charging and the standard version only supporting wired charging.

In terms of cameras, the Redmi K80 series continues to use the well-known OmniVision OV800 sensor. The Redmi K80 Pro features the same floating-lens telephoto lens as the Xiaomi 15, offering excellent performance in macro and medium-to-long-range shooting scenarios. The biggest upgrade is the "High-Quality Lightning Fast Shot 2.0" function, a feature that phone manufacturers are actively pursuing this year, as "capturing the moment" is often more important than "image quality." Additionally, the entire Redmi K80 series supports IP68, IP69K, and IP66 dust and water resistance ratings, a standard feature for new phones this year.

Finally, the pricing, which is of utmost concern:

Redmi K80:

• 12GB+256GB: 2499

• 16GB+256GB: 2699

• 12GB+512GB: 2899

• 16GB+512GB: 3199

• 16GB+1TB: 3599

Redmi K80 Pro:

• 12GB+256GB: 3699

• 12GB+512GB: 3999

• 16GB+512GB: 4299

• 16GB+1TB: 4799

• Champion Edition (16GB+1TB): 4999

The Redmi K80 Pro's price has increased compared to its predecessor, but considering its flagship processor, ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking, larger battery capacity, and enhanced camera configuration, the 400 increase is acceptable. The Redmi K80's cost-effectiveness is unquestionable; at 2499, you get a phone with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, a 2K high-refresh-rate screen, ultrasonic fingerprint unlocking, and a massive 6550mAh battery a truly worthwhile purchase.

The mid-range smartphone market is currently fiercely competitive. Manufacturers' products are almost devoid of significant weaknesses, and many flagship features are now available in mid-range models. However, simply piling on specifications is no longer enough to differentiate from competitors, as this is a strategy employed by all manufacturers. Therefore, even mid-range products need to achieve top-tier performance in design, performance, cooling, battery life, network connectivity, durability, imaging, and system across multiple dimensions, excelling where competitors do and offering unique differentiating features. So, has the Redmi K80 series achieved this? That's for users to judge.