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"Xiaomi is mulling ways to keep the Redmi and POCO brands distinct from each other in terms of price as well as the value proposition"
Xiaomi launched its sub-brand POCO last year in the upper mid-range segment with an aim to replicate the success it has tasted with the Redmi lineup in the affordable category. However, since launching the POCO F1 (review) last year, the brand has been mum about its second-gen smartphone, which will most likely be called the POCO F2. With Xiaomi deciding to bring its Redmi K20 series in India, there are concerns about the POCO lineup in the market. Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro's price in India is expected to be under Rs 30,000, the same price segment in which the POCO F1 operates. Due to this, many in the industry, as well as several fans, are speculating that the POCO lineup may have been abandoned after just one generation. However, we have now heard from a reliable insider that discussions are still going on about the future of POCO in India.
A trusted source who wishes to remain anonymous told 91mobiles that Xiaomi has not discontinued the POCO series in India. The company is currently evaluating how the purported POCO F2 will co-exist with the Redmi K20 Pro; the latter is powered by Snapdragon 855 SoC and the former will likely run on the same chipset too considering its predecessor offered the then-flagship Snapdragon 845 in a mid-range package. If that's the case, we could expect that the company will ensure some distinction between the two, otherwise they would end up cannibalising each other's sales or create confusion among the prospective buyers.
One way to go about it would be to price the POCO F2 base variant in the middle of the Redmi K20 and K20 Pro. This would give a sufficient gap between these devices and provide a distinction between the two lineups. Design cues (such as using a display notch instead of pop-up camera on the POCO F2) could help distinguish the two smartphones as well. Of course, all this is speculation at this point but considering that Xiaomi has been able to achieve the same with its budget range. it doesn't seem too far-fetched. Its Redmi 7 series, Redmi Y3, and Redmi Note 7 series of smartphones overlap with each other in terms of the pricing. And yet, the brand has been able to maintain a distinct identity for each of them.
Xiaomi is scheduled to launch its flagship the Redmi K20 siblings next month in India. The handsets are expected to be priced around Rs 30,000 in the country and compete against likes of the other affordable flagships in the segment, including OnePlus 7 (review) and ASUS 6Z (review).
As for the specifications, the Redmi K20 Pro is driven by the Snapdragon 855 SoC, while its younger sibling Redmi K20 rocks the Snapdragon 730 chipset. Both the handsets feature 6.39-inch AMOLED displays with an in-display fingerprint scanner and pop-up selfie cameras. The duo come backed by whopping 4,000mAh batteries and the latest Android 9 Pie-based MIUI 10 takes care of the software side of things.
With inputs from Mukesh Singh