- According to a model number and IMDA listing, it looks like Poco could rebrand the Redmi K40 for its own release.
- This would be the umpteenth time that Poco has rebranded a Redmi device instead of releasing its own.
- Poco announced it would become an “independent brand” in 2020, although it has released few unique phones since then.
In January 2020, Xiaomi subsidiary Poco announced it would become an independent brand. This was a welcome announcement as the brand was quite confused after the release of its very popular Poco F1 phone.
However, since that announcement, the so-called independent company has made a habit of releasing rebrands of Redmi devices. Redmi is another Xiaomi subsidiary. It is not clear how that equates to independence.
Regardless, evidence strongly suggests (via XDA Developers) that at least one phone in the just-announced Redmi K40 series could soon land worldwide as a Poco device. This would follow the Poco F2 Pro, Poco X2 and Poco M2 Pro, all of which were reformatted Redmi phones.
Related: We asked, you told us, most of you hate the new Poco logo and the new mascot
The evidence suggesting a Poco branded K40 phone comes from the device certification organization IMDA in Singapore. It shows a Poco branded phone with the same specs as the Redmi K40. In addition, it has a model number (M2012K11AG) that is identical to the Redmi phone, except for the last letter, which goes from “C” to “G”. We expect that the “C” stands for “China” and the “G” stands for “Global”.
While there is nothing wrong with Poco rebranding phones for global markets, it seems silly to make a big deal about independence when in practice it really isn’t. Anyway, if you want to grab the latest Poco branded phone anytime soon, the Redmi K40 is probably what you’re going to get.