Xiaomi's new Redmi K40 Pro is a Galaxy S21 rival that costs less than $450 - Android

The Redmi K40 Pro is the most affordable Snapdragon 888-powered phone yet.

What you need to know

• Xiaomi's Redmi K40 series is now official.
• The K40 series includes three models: K40, K40 Pro, and K40 Pro+.
• The Redmi K40 Pro+ comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 processor, a 108MP camera, and a 4,520mAh battery.

Xiaomi's Redmi sub-brand today unveiled a trio of affordable flagship phones powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 800 series chips. The new Redmi K40 series phones have a similar design to the Mi 11, but offer even better value.

The Redmi K40 Pro+ is the most impressive of the three new Redmi flagships. It features Qualcomm's 5nm Snapdragon 888 chipset, paired with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The phone has a triple-camera setup on the back with a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP tele macro lens. For selfies, the phone has a 20MP camera housed within the tiny hole-punch cutout at the top of the display.

Like the Redmi K40 Pro+, the Redmi K40 also has the Snapdragon 888 under the hood, paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. In the camera department, the K40 Pro is slightly less impressive than the K40 Pro+, as it comes with a 64MP Sony IMX686 main sensor.

Redmi's vanilla K40 is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 870 processor, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. It has a similar triple-camera setup on the back as the K40 Pro, but with a 48MP Sony IMX582 main sensor.

All three Redmi K40 series phones feature 6.67-inch FHD+ Samsung E4 AMOLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 360Hz touch sampling rate. They also pack identical 4,520mAh batteries with 33W fast charging. Some of the other highlights include support for sub-6GHz 5G and Wi-Fi 6, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, as well as an IR blaster.

The new Redmi K40 series phones will be available to purchase in China from March 4. While the company hasn't revealed any plans regarding global availability yet, the Redmi K40 is rumored to launch in global markets as a POCO phone to compete with some of the best Android phones in the value flagship segment. The Redmi K40 starts at 1,999 yuan ($310) for the 6GB/128GB version, while the K40 Pro starts at 2,799 yuan ($435). Redmi K40 Pro+, on the other hand, will be available in China from 3,699 yuan ($575).