Redmi K50 release date, specs: Improved water resistance and fast charging capabilities are reportedly in the works

Redmi’s next flagship series, widely dubbed K50, is rumored to launch with more than the common annual upgrades. The company is reportedly working on improving the protection and charging capabilities of the upcoming smartphones launching under the Redmi K50 series.

The latest report on the Redmi K50 series comes from noted Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station (via SeekDevice), who said the handset would be rated with IP68 protection. This is going to be an important upgrade, considering that the Redmi K40 Pro and Redmi K40 Pro+ only launched with an IP53 rating earlier this year.

It was not specified what the IP68 rating means for the Redmi K50. Generally, it means a device is designed to endure dust, sand, and being submerged in 1.5-meter water for up to 30 minutes. However, it would vary based on a smartphone maker’s testing if a phone’s underwater endurance applies in freshwater, seawater, and pool water.

Meanwhile, the leak was not clear if the IP68 rating is planned for all devices launching in the Redmi K50 series. In the case of Redmi K40, the water and dust resistance were only available on the Pro and Pro+ models.

Digital Chat Station also reported that the Redmi K50 series would launch with a 100W fast charging capability. This would be another major upgrade from its predecessors, which only offered 33W fast charging.

Earlier this year, the entire three-device lineup had the same fast-charging capacity. But a premium feature such as 100W fast charging is usually reserved for the higher-end models in a series. So it is yet to be seen if the rumored upgrade would be applied to some or all models in the Redmi K50 series.

The rest of the Redmi K50 specs are still unknown, which is not surprising since the series is unlikely to be announced until the first quarter of 2022. However, it is speculated that at least the high-end model Redmi K50 Pro+ would ship with an all-new SoC that could be Snapdragon 898 (or Snapdragon 895). For the Redmi K50 Pro, GSMArena presents the possibility that it could be equipped with the Snapdragon 888 while the base model might still use the Snapdragon 870. But note that Redmi has yet to provide official updates, so it is best to take these with a grain of salt.

Photo by Benjamin Raffetseder on Unsplash