Rating： 5
I purchased a Xiaomi Redmi K50G.
The Redmi K50G (Redmi K50 电竞版) is a smartphone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Android 12.
The previous model was called Redmi K40 Gaming (Redmi K40 游戏增强版), but this time Redmi K50G is the official name, not Redmi K50 Gaming.
It has an AMOLED flat display with 120Hz refresh rate, a 4800mAh battery that can be fully charged in just 17 minutes, and a 4860mm² vapor chamber for better heat dissipation.
This review is done on the MIUI 13.0.3.0 (SLJCNXM) version, 12GB+128GB version.
- Flat Display
- AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.1
- 4800mAh battery that can be fully charged in 17 minutes
- Relatively low heat generation
- Stowable shoulder button
- Symmetrical JBL stereo speakers
- L-shaped USB Type-C cable included
- Slightly heavy
- Shoulder buttons are almost useless outside of games
| Redmi K50G 21121210C | |
|---|---|
| OS | Android 12 |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB UFS 3.1 |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| Display | 6.67″ FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED |
| Size | 162.5 x 76.7 x 8.5mm |
| Weight | 210g |
| SIM | nano SIM + nano SIM |
| Main Camera | 64MP (SONY IMX686) + 8MP (Ultra-wide OmniVision ov8856) + 2MP (Macro GalaxyCore gc02m1) |
| Front Camera | 20MP (SONY IMX596) |
| Battery | 4700mAh |
| USB Port | USB Type-C (USB 2.0) |
| Bands | 5G ：n1/ n3/ n5/ n8/ n28a/ n38/ n40/ n41/ n77/ n78 4G：FDD-LTE ：B1/ B2/ B3/ B4/ B5/ B7/ B8/ B18/ B19/ B26 TDD-LTE：B34/ B38/ B39/ B40/ B41/ B42 3G：WCDMA：B1/ B2/ B4/ B5/ B6/ B8/ B19 2G：GSM：B2/ B3/ B5/ B8 ; CDMA 1X : BC0 |
Index
- 1 Gaming phone with 120W charge and shoulder button
- 2 Flat display with 120Hz refresh rate
- 3 Fingerprint-resistant metallic back
- 4 A camera that can take a reasonably beautiful picture
- 5 Ultra-fast charging at 120W
- 6 Symmetrical stereo speakers
- 7 Equipped with a shoulder button for storage
- 8 Volume buttons & SIM tray on left side
- 9 Moderate heat generation even when playing Genshin at 60 FPS
- 10 Play Protect Certified
- 11 Conclusion
The box design is elaborate and gaming-like, with HIGH ENERGY WARNING, etc. written on the inner box.
Included is a 120W charger, USB Type-A to C cable, protective case, and instructions.
The USB Type-C cable is L-shaped, making it less likely to get in the way when charging while playing.
It is a small detail, but it is very thoughtful.
The protective film is attached from the beginning.
It is a type of charger that can properly output 120W even at 100V.
Flat display with 120Hz refresh rate
Redmi K50G has a 6.67″ FHD+ resolution AMOLED display.
It has also received an A+ rating in 15 categories from DisplayMate.
The touch sampling rate is up to 480 Hz, while the Touch Sampling Rate Checker result was 250 Hz.
Refresh rate can be selected from automatic or 60Hz/120Hz priority.
The panel is made by TCL.
The colors are good, and by default, the colors are on the cold side.
You can increase the saturation and change the color temperature in the settings.
Widevine is L1 and can stream in HD quality on Amazon Prime Video (beta) and others.
Frame interpolation in MEMC is also supported.
Although it cannot be used in conjunction with other upscaling, etc., it provides a smooth display for applications registered in the video toolbox.
Fingerprint-resistant metallic back
The back of Redmi K50G is metallic and processed to resist fingerprints.
The black lines are made of a different material and can be seen to be uneven to the touch.
The weight was 212.7g.
It does not feel that heavy since I’m used to the Pixel 6 Pro, but I wanted it to be under 200g.
A camera that can take a reasonably beautiful picture
Gaming smartphones often reduce the price by reducing the performance of the cost-sensitive camera, and Redmi K50G is also equipped with the same one used in mid-range smartphones such as the Mi Note 10 Lite.
The flashlight resembles a blitz symbol, and there are also LED lines around the camera lens for notifications.
The photos taken are stored here.
In particular, red tends to be strongly emphasized, with magenta being a darker shade of red.
Flare/ghosting sometimes appeared in backlit conditions.
It is not a camera-specific phone, so it is not an option.
In night view mode, the camera was able to capture images bright enough to reveal illuminated branches even when it was pitch black to the naked eye.
I think this is an acceptable level for a smartphone that specializes in gaming.
Ultra-fast charging at 120W
At the bottom of the Redmi K50G, there are a USB Type-C port and speaker.
The battery can be charged at 120W and can fully charge a 4800mAh battery in as little as 17 minutes.
It has a JBL-tuned speaker with a logo, but it is printed at a slight angle…
The actual 120W charge took 22 minutes to charge from 10% to 100%.
The temperature only rose to 36.1°C at maximum.
Xiaomi says we can take advantage of the low heat generation while charging during game play, and it is good to play without worrying about running out of battery.
120W charging can be enabled from the settings.
There is also an optimization mode that stops charging at 80%.
Symmetrical stereo speakers
The top of the Redmi K50G has speakers in the same position as the bottom speakers.
The bass to treble is well balanced, and bass and hi-hats are heard well and clearly without being crushed.
The back of the unit did not vibrate even when the volume is turned up.
There is infrared port on the top, which is said to be so enhanced that it can reach devices 10 meters away.
It also has Dolby Atmos support.
On the right side of the Redmi K50G is a power button with a built-in fingerprint sensor and a shoulder button.
The shoulder button can be hidden when not in use.
If you open the shoulder button settings while in game mode, you can set which position will be considered a tap when the shoulder button is pressed.
It is quicker to operate than moving your finger, and the screen is not covered by your hand, making it difficult to see.
It also responds properly and quickly to a series of hits.
The shoulder button can be set as a toggle button for the camera or silent mode when not in game.
However, when set to camera, it simply launches the camera application and cannot be used as a shutter button. Too bad…
Unusually for a Xiaomi phone, the volume buttons are on the left side.
They probably could not take up space due to the shoulder buttons.
Two nano SIM cards can be inserted and supported bands are:
- 5G ：n1/ n3/ n5/ n8/ n28a/ n38/ n40/ n41/ n77/ n78
- 4G：FDD-LTE ：B1/ B2/ B3/ B4/ B5/ B7/ B8/ B18/ B19/ B26
- TDD-LTE：B34/ B38/ B39/ B40/ B41/ B42
- 3G：WCDMA：B1/ B2/ B4/ B5/ B6/ B8/ B19
- 2G：GSM：B2/ B3/ B5/ B8 ; CDMA 1X : BC0
Moderate heat generation even when playing Genshin at 60 FPS
In the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test, the score was 9681, with a temperature increase from 19°C to 43°C (24°C increase) and 31-71 FPS.
Stability was 80.9%, similar to realme GT 2 Pro and more stable than Xiaomi 12 and motorola edge X30.
It is a little lower than other Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered models, so it is probably a policy to make the high performance last longer by restricting performance.
PCMark Work 3.0 had a score of 13420.
In Geekbench 5, it is 1225 single-core and 3700 multi-core.
With UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR5 memory, the memory copy speed is particularly top class.
The benchmark results in CPDT were not so impressive for the inclusion of IO Turbo, an algorithm that claims to enhance storage performance, but this may be due to the fact that it is difficult to measure in benchmarks that use average values as an indicator.
Sequential reads averaged 4.47GB/s (maximum 12.41GB/s) on one occasion, so it is possible that the speedup is instantaneous at certain times to prevent heat generation.
Running Genshin with the highest quality and 60FPS settings and the highest load, and measuring with WeTest PerfDog, the average was 51.4FPS.
Average consumption was 877mA and 6645mW, so fuel consumption does not seem to be very good.
The battery temperature only rose to about 32.5°C at maximum, and the side frames did not get hot, so it was comfortable to play longer.
Play Protect Certified
The Redmi K50G is for China, so the Play Store is not preinstalled, but you can download and install APKs from APK Mirror and other sources to use it.
It is Play Protect certified and Netflix can be installed.
The Chinese version of MIUI has more features than the global version.
Menus that were previously independent in the video toolbox game turbo are now integrated into the “Smart toolbox”.
Conclusion
- Flat Display
- AMOLED with 120Hz refresh rate support
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 + LPDDR5 + UFS 3.1
- 4800mAh battery that can be fully charged in 17 minutes
- Relatively low heat generation
- Stowable shoulder button
- Symmetrical JBL stereo speakers
- L-shaped USB Type-C cable included
- Slightly heavy
- Shoulder buttons are almost useless outside of games
Redmi K50G has relatively low heat generation despite its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and it also has a 120W charge that can be fully recharged within 30 minutes, symmetrical stereo speakers, and shoulder buttons that are useful for gaming and make game play more comfortable.
If the shoulder button could have more of a role outside of gaming, it would be even more useful, and I hope that future updates will address this issue.