I checked out Xiaomi’s upcoming K-line phone and the audio setup seems serious. The denim back and periscope lens are interesting touches.

If you think the smartphone scene revolves around Apple and Samsung, you might want to take another look. Xiaomi moved 43.5 million phones in the third quarter, grabbing a 13.5% share, which marks a nice bump from last year. That puts the brand in the same league as the biggest names out there. So how did Xiaomi pull that off? It gained ground in Europe and Latin America by banking on its Redmi Note and Poco lines. By the way, the Poco series is just Xiaomi’s K lineup with a new badge. And now, Redmi K90 Pro Max leaks make things even more interesting with a 2.1 audio setup in the works.

The upcoming Redmi K90 Pro Max aims to stand out with a serious sound boost—a 2.1-channel system featuring a Bose speaker. Sounds promising, right? Let’s dive into what’s coming for Xiaomi’s next big phone.

Design and display

Xiaomi just dropped a quick hands-on video showing the K90 Pro Max in 3 colors. I think these might be the only options, but you never know—Xiaomi could throw in a surprise.

Besides the usual black and white, there’s a standout denim-inspired color. I felt the same “yikes” moment when Motorola unveiled its Razr Ultra 2025 with a wood back.

Unlike most phones that stick to glass or plain leather, the Redmi K90 Pro Max sports a jeans-style back. It gives the phone a fresh, youthful vibe.

Phone designs often change very little over time. iPhones look almost the same for years, and other brands play with colors or tweak screen shape and camera blocks. So props to Xiaomi for thinking beyond the usual and giving design some attention.

For the display, the K90 Pro Max features a 6.59-inch 2K flat panel with R-angle corners. The bezels stay slim, though the bottom chin is a touch thicker. There’s also ultrasonic fingerprint recognition and a small hole-punch for the front camera.

2.1-channel audio system with Bose subwoofer

Phone manufacturers often don’t reveal what audio hardware they use, but the pieces that turn digital signals into sound play a huge role in how a handset sounds. The Redmi K90 Pro Max packs a special speaker unit powered by Bose, and it works as a proper subwoofer.

The Bose loudspeaker sits on the rear and carries the American company’s logo, says Digital Chat Station. It handles low-frequency sound in a 2.1-channel setup, giving the K90 Pro Max powerful bass. Instead of the flat, thin output from typical stereo speakers, the phone delivers richer, deeper audio, boosting games, movies, and music.

I care a lot about bass in action games with immersive settings. In FPS games like Call of Duty, the right bass makes the world feel real. Every footstep has layers of sound, but the low-end thump hits hard. I like to catch parachutes from miles away… even if I have zero clue which direction they come from. Console or phone, it makes the game pop.

Performance

The K90 Pro Max packs serious power under the hood. Reports say it comes with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. The Xiaomi 17 series and OnePlus 15 already run on Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor, and Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series should follow in early 2026.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 features a third-gen Oryon CPU and a fresh Adreno 840 GPU, giving major gains in performance and battery efficiency. It also boosts AI, camera functions, and connectivity.

Geekbench 6 scores show Qualcomm’s fifth-generation 8-series chip really shines. It hits 3,621 points for single-core and 11,190 for multicore. By contrast, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 only hits 2,203 and 6,714, making the new flagship around 66% stronger. That extra power makes a big difference for heavy tasks.

Camera

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a photographer’s dream. Its massive camera setup delivers a quad-lens system that takes great shots in almost any situation. So it’s exciting that the K90 Pro Max might get a periscope zoom lens—a first for the Redmi lineup. That would bring advanced zoom features usually reserved for Xiaomi’s top-tier flagships.

On the back, the K90 Pro Max packs a 50 MP super-large bottom triple camera setup, including Redmi’s first periscope lens, according to Digital Chat Station.

With the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, capturing landscapes, portraits, and nighttime shots feels effortless. If the K90 Pro Max can match even a portion of that capability, it could become a strong contender for photography enthusiasts.

Xiaomi Redmi K90 Pro Max: Release date and price

The Xiaomi Redmi K90 Pro Max drops in China on October 23 at 7 PM. We don’t have official pricing yet, but I expect it will go for over CNY 4,000 (around $560).

The global launch hasn’t been announced yet. Still, like previous Redmi K series models, Xiaomi might rebrand the K90 Pro Max under the Poco F series for markets outside China.