The much-hyped Redmi K20 was launched a few days back on July 17, 2019. The much-awaited smartphone was thought to be a flagship killer with its design leaks on the internet and the peep-in specs declared by the Chinese manufacturer before its launch.
The launch event on Wednesday gave a vivid picture of the phone with high-end specifications, creative design, firm build quality, flaming display and an amazing camera that fulfilled almost all the expectations of the fans. The shocker came at a time when the company declared the pricing for the phones. The price quotes for the phones have created widespread dismay and the fans have grouped to file a petition bidding to reduce the cost of the phone variants.
Here are the reasons that have caused the controversy:
Over-the-edge price for the base variant
Redmi K20 was launched with a price tag of Rs 21,999 for its base variant with (6/64 GB) variant and 23,999 for the (6/128 GB) variant. The price quoted for the specs and the storage by the device was at an upper hand leading to the public's disinterest.
Comparison with the competitors
Realme, the competitor of Redmi in the economy price segment, famous for producing high-spec-low-cost devices launched its latest device on 15 July. The device named Realme X created a tough benchmark for its competitors which was mocked by the Redmi loyalists favouring the upcoming launch of K20. But all the Redmi fans have turned around to favour the Realme X as a better option after Redmi declared its price quotes.
The petition to lessen the price
The Redmi loyalists have filed a petition under the link change.org (Link: chng.it/FSFJFLzm) bidding to cut down the price of the base model by Rs 2000. The Redmi fans plead the fans to add on signatures to the petitions so that the authorities can bend down to accept their demands.
The open letter by Manu Jain
Manu Jain, CEO of Xiaomi replied to the revolting crowd on Twitter stating reasons for the escalated pricing of the K20. He said that the device comes with the latest snapdragon 730 processor and is the first phone released in India with the processor. He added that the research and development of the raw unprocessed software have led to the price hike.
The Twitter catfight
There has been a feud over the petition and the price issue in Twitter where some of the supporters are actively abusing the reviewers and accepting the statements of Manu Kumar Jain's open letter. On the other hand, there are people who stand onto their decisions for not accepting the quoted price and in turn, are verbally bashing each other in the tweeting platform.
The backlash by famous reviewers
Major Indian tech reviewers have conveyed their disapproval of the price with the base variant, complaining about the low storage facility and the over-pricing of the device. Almost all the tech reviews who bashed Realme X after comparing it with the specs of Redmi K20 have changed their convictions accepting RealmeX as a better and affordable phone for the Indian market.
What to believe: The hype or the controversy?
With the entire confusion going on between the stiff minds understanding tech, the general public is in a confused state unable to figure if they should opt for the device or not.
The hype about the high-end features are not denied by any fan or reviewer and at the same time there is a controversy about the price and the high tech-intellectuals are stepping back to accept a lower-performing device because of the high price quote in K20.
Now it depends on the public to decide what their requirements are, high performing tech or are they okay with compromising a little with the performance for a to avail a lower-priced device.
There goes the catch that the company will be focusing on.
