Last year’s Redmi K40 Gaming Edition was equipped with a Dimensity 1200 processor, which discouraged hardcore gamers from the device. But finally, this year, Redmi decided to give the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition the most powerful Qualcomm chip.
So has Redmi made a real gaming phone? Let’s find out.
REDMI K50 Gaming Edition REVIEW – Design and Display
The one we have in our hands is the silver model. Like last year, it is called K50 Gaming Edition, but the design doesn’t feel very “Gaming”. The metal frame with the AG frosted glass back feels similar to last year’s K40 Gaming Edition. The lens module has been changed from an oval to a rounded rectangle.
The lightning-shaped flash and the RGB lights around the lens have also been retained from the Redmi K40 Gaming Edition. However, the RGB light only lights up when you receive a message or when charging, which means it can’t light up during gameplay. This is very un-Gaming.
There’s also no headphone jack, which is something gamers would expect. The difference with the other phones is that it has an extra microphone port on the side. Of course, there are also the Xiaomi family’s exclusive physical shoulder buttons, which we’ll talk more about later. The IR blaster power of Redmi K50 Gaming has been improved, which can be used to remotely control devices up to 10 meters away. If you liked last year’s K40 Gaming Edition. I am sure you’ll love this year’s K50 Gaming Edition too.
Although the screen used in this year’s Redmi K50 Gaming Edition is from the same screen maker as last year’s, and the specs on paper are similar. But I have to compliment the screen. You don’t get the problem of rainbow lines when you tilt the screen. The Adaptive Colors option has been added. And it adopts 1920Hz high-frequency PWM dimming, this dimming method can take into account the color accuracy and eye protection. That means you can say goodbye to DC dimming.
The screen protection glass has also been upgraded from the fifth-generation Corning Gorilla Glass to Corning Victus Glass. This screen is very good for gaming phones. Although the bezel is a little wider all around compared to the Redmi K40 Gaming Edition, the thicker bezel on the gaming phone prevents accidental touches. And it looks like its four sides are equal in width, so once you get used to it, you’ll think it’s still a beautiful screen.
REDMI K50 Gaming Edition REVIEW – Performance and Benchmarks
The Redmi K50 Gaming Edition finally uses the most powerful mobile chip in the Android camp at the moment, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Although it is said that even with the performance mode on, the scores on the various benchmarks are not as high as expected and even worse than some non-gaming phones. And unfortunately, the 3DMark stress test still cannot be completed successfully. So we did the CPU Throttling Test.
Compared to the Xiaomi 12 Pro, it’s hard to say who performs better. Of course, scores don’t tell the whole story. The gaming experience is the only way to judge a good or bad gaming phone, and the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition adds a very large X-axis linear motor for a good gaming experience. This motor gives quick and very powerful feedback and is really comparable to the motor of an iPhone. The experience is very good at typing and gaming. As for the upgraded shoulder buttons mentioned earlier. As with the K40 Gaming, it’s the same switch that allows the magnets to pop up the shoulder buttons.
In fact, it feels like there is no difference in the experience of the previous generation’s shoulder buttons. And it’s a shame that there are only a few customization functions, and they cannot be used in non-gaming apps, nor can they be used as a camera shutter button. But there is no denying that the physical buttons are more comfortable to press in gaming than the touch buttons of other non-gaming models. Compared to the Xiaomi 12 Pro Game Space, only the UI has changed. There are no changes in functionality. To hold down the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition has been custom-built with two special VC heat sinks using hexagonal boron nitride and graphene. That’s a lot of money for a heat sink.
PUBG Mobile Gaming 
Let’s get straight to the gaming performance of the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition. While a game like PUBG Mobile doesn’t have the slightest frame drop with 90FPS mode on, the maximum temperature doesn’t exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
Genshin Impact
The Genshin Impact, on the other hand, did not surprise us with its performance. The average frame rate is not as high as the Xiaomi 12 Pro and the stability is not as good as the OnePlus 10 Pro. The overall performance was moderate.
Brightride
Brightridge is not much different from the other two and even has a worse average frame rate. But the temperature was kept at 48 degrees Celsius. To be honest, although the Redmi K50 Gaming looks like a gaming phone, it plays like a normal flagship phone. Only the gaming temperature was well controlled, the gaming frame rate wasn’t as good as it should be. Given the cooling design of this phone, it should be able to perform better in terms of gaming. I can only hope for a better gaming experience later on with a system update.
REDMI K50G REVIEW – Cameras
No one should expect much from the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition in terms of photography. But in fact, it’s not as bad as one might expect. Even though it doesn’t use the same glass lens as last year’s K40 Gaming Edition for its main camera, it performs very well most of the time.
Especially at night, the performance was surprisingly good. There are some photos that aren’t even that much worse than the Mi 11 Ultra. Apart from the poorer image quality at the edges of the ultra-wide-angle camera shots, its camera performance is generally satisfactory. The main camera supports video recording at up to 4k 60fps and is full spec with EIS. Ultra-wide support up to 1080P 30fps. As for the Flicker Sensor, it does allow you to reduce the color ripple on the screen when shooting. But it doesn’t do much for recording video. When the frequency of the lights doesn’t match, there will still be the problem of flickering lights.
Main Camera
Ultra-Wide Camera
Did you see the JBL logo and the speakers that look like the grille? The Redmi K50 Gaming Edition is on par with the Xiaomi 12 Pro in terms of speakers and also uses four-unit speakers. Two speakers are responsible for the high-frequency part of the sound, and the remaining two are responsible for the low-frequency part. It’s a stunning device to play music on, so let’s give it a try.
REDMI K50 Gaming Edition REVIEW – Charging & Battery Life
The charger is included in the box. The Type-C charging cable is L-shaped and is longer than the ones given with other phones.
Charging power is 120W. Five minutes to charge 43%, ten minutes to charge 71% in, and only 19 minutes to fully charge. Thanks to the excellent heat dissipation design, the K50 Gaming Edition also has improved charging speed while playing games.
With the same 120W charging power, the Xiaomi 12 Pro can only be charged to 19% in five minutes while playing the game, but the K50 Gaming Edition can be charged to 33%. The battery capacity is not quite 5000mAh, but it’s not small either.
Tiktok and online videos both consume 6% and the three games consume 9%, 15%, and 15% respectively. While the Redmi K50 Gaming does consume quite a bit of power, considering this has 120w of charging power and the ability to charge while playing is also very fast. I am able to live with that.
REDMI K50 Gaming Edition REVIEW – Verdict
To conclude, the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition is indeed better than last year, with significant improvements in all aspects. It doesn’t quite live up to our expectations in terms of gaming, but its performance is average for Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phones this year. It is also very good in terms of audio and video.
Apart from the camera, which is weak in its price range, there are no other obvious shortcomings. This year, it is also finally possible to use GMS without any problems. I can recommend this phone to everyone, except for those who like to take very high-quality pictures and for those who hate its design.
