realme X2 Pro vs Redmi K20 Pro: Consumers are the real winners

The affordable flagship market has burgeoned in India in 2019, with seemingly every OEM getting in on the act. Xiaomi unsurprisingly set the tone once again, but the reply from the likes of OnePlus and realme has been nothing short of spectacular. How does one of the best affordable flagships in the country fare against the latest and greatest from realme? Here’s a quick look at the realme X2 Pro vs Redmi K20 Pro!

Design

Both the realme X2 Pro and the Redmi K20 Pro sport glass bodies, with the two panels sandwiching a metal frame. The dimensions are quite similar as well. The X2 Pro is a touch taller and wider to accommodate the slightly larger screen. Both are also on the heavier side, but are well-balanced and feel great to hold. The similarities in the design end with the build quality though.

realme continues to improve its design language with every phone it launches, with subtle refinements like a smaller chin and more tightly rounded corners around the screen this time around. The waterdrop notch returns though compared to the notch-less screen of the realme X. Overall, the X2 Pro is one of the best-looking phones the company has made, with the high-end build only adding to its premium feel.

The K20 Pro is certainly the flashier of the two, with the fiery red colorway guaranteed to turn heads. For those who prefer a more muted look, the blue and carbon black designs are the better way to go. On the other hand, the X2 Pro isn’t nearly as flamboyant but equally capable of attracting attention, particularly if you opt for the elegant Lunar White colorway.

Colorways and the look you prefer is all about personal choice, but neither phone is going to disappoint as far as the design and build quality are concerned.

Display

You get similar display specs with both smartphones, but the realme X2 Pro gets the leg up over its competitor with its 90Hz refresh rate. Of course, the Redmi K20 Pro’s screen is excellent in its own right. However, the extremely fluid experience available with the X2 Pro is a world apart. It also gets plenty bright and sharpness isn’t a concern either.

I still prefer the display design of the K20 Pro though. Housing the front-facing camera in a pop-up allows for a completely blemish-free front that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is fantastic when watching videos and playing games. That said, the waterdrop notch of the X2 Pro isn’t too intrusive, and its silky smoothness makes up for any faults.

Performance

The realme X2 Pro is unsurprisingly an excellent performer. With the latest flagship processor and up to a whopping 12GB of RAM on-board, the phone is able to handle anything and everything you can throw at it. There is one caveat with the X2 Pro’s spec sheet though — you only get UFS 3.0 storage with the 128GB and 256GB storage variants. It may be better to avoid the base version to prevent performance issues in the long-term.

The Redmi K20 Pro comes with an almost equally powerful processing package under the hood. The Snapdragon 855+ is an iterative update over its non-plus namesake, and you certainly won’t notice a difference in performance with everyday usage. You get the same storage and RAM variants here as well, with the exception of a 12GB RAM version.

Hardware

4,000mAh is the go-to battery capacity for a lot of mid-range and affordable premium smartphones and that’s exactly what you get with the K20 Pro and the X2 Pro. The Redmi device manages to squeeze a touch more battery life out of its unit, but both are quite impressive and don’t have any issues comfortably lasting through a full day of above-average usage.

Where the realme X2 Pro runs away with it is in the charging department. With 50W fast charging, the phone can be fully charged in just 30 minutes or so. On the other hand, the K20 Pro can be fully charged in over an hour with its fast charging capabilities. This would be impressive on any other day, but pales in comparison to the realme flagship. There’s also the fact that Redmi only provides a standard charger in the box and the fast charger costs extra, while you get a 50W charger with the X2 Pro.

Camera

It’s the age of the quad-camera setups and we’re also back to the megapixel wars, with OEMs pushing boundaries with every release. The X2 Pro takes the lead here with its 64MP main camera. You also get an 8MP ultra-wide camera, 13MP telephoto camera, and 2MP depth camera. realme has really packed a lot of versatility into this quad-camera setup.

Of course, Redmi isn’t far off in the game, with the K20 Pro coming with “only” a 48MP primary unit as a part of its triple camera setup. This is really mainly because the Redmi device launched earlier this year, since the company has recently-launched a 64MP camera-toting phone as well.

Numbers are only impressive if it has the quality to back them up though. Luckily, both smartphones are capable of taking some excellent shots, particularly in good lighting. Neither is admittedly without issue. The X2 Pro performs quite poorly in low-light conditions and the Redmi K20 Pro’s AI mode is far from perfect. However, they are certainly some of the better smartphone cameras you can get when compared to other competitors.

Software

Color OS has always been one of the biggest negatives of realme smartphones, but the company is slowly making improvements. realme has made some significant changes to the look of Color OS with version 6.1, including a tidier notification shade and reduced bloatware. The 90Hz display also helps to provide software experience that appears to be far ahead of where it was. It still needs work, but it’s headed in the right direction.

Ahead of the realme device but on the same path is the K20 Pro and MIUI 11. Xiaomi continues to improve and refine its software, and is even going to add an app drawer soon! There are no pesky MIUI ads as well to keep in line with the premium nature of the phone, making for a markedly improved experience.

MIUI and Color OS aren’t going to be for everyone, but they are both getting to a place where the software isn’t going to be considered one of the negatives of these phones.

Specs comparison

Pricing and final thoughts

It’s quite rare for Redmi to lose out on a head-to-head comparison, but the realme X2 Pro is the better smartphone of the two. You get a slightly faster processing package, more RAM if you want it, the arguably better camera setup, fantastic fast charging capabilities, and a beautiful 90Hz display. While I personally prefer the notch-free design of the Redmi K20 Pro, that’s not enough to give it an edge over the X2 Pro.

This is hardly surprising though, since realme has been gunning for Xiaomi’s crown since it launched in the country. Another factor to consider is that given the quick turnaround between devices, the Redmi K20 Pro is already “old.” Of course, Redmi isn’t going to be too far away from jumping back into the lead with its next affordable flagship offering. The Redmi’s price advantage is bound to play in its favour, and if you are okay with missing out on a few features, the K20 Pro delivers a fantastic package at a great price.

If there’s one absolute winner to pick here, it’s us, the consumers.