Qualcomm is splitting its flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 into two tiers for the first time, and Redmi’s upcoming K100 Pro will be the first phone to ship the lower “V Series” variant. The chipset, model number SM8850-1-AB, scores 4.095 million on AnTuTu V11 in Redmi’s own lab testing — roughly 10% below the 4.555 million the standard chip achieves in the K100 Pro Max, according to Xiaomi president Lu Weibing’s earlier Weibo disclosure.
The tiering matters because it’s happening against the backdrop of Qualcomm’s confirmed double-digit price hikes taking effect September 1. A binned variant of the same silicon lets Qualcomm and its OEM partners offer flagship-tier performance at a lower component cost — a predictable move when chip prices are about to climb industry-wide. Notably, Redmi’s own teaser confirms the K100 Pro keeps the same dedicated AI gaming GPU (the D2 graphics chip) as the Pro Max, so the cut appears to be in CPU and GPU clock binning, not feature removal.
Redmi K100 Pro: What We Know So Far
Redmi has confirmed the following through a series of official Weibo teasers ahead of the August 11 launch event at 19:00 China time:
- Chipset: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V Series (SM8850-1-AB) with dedicated D2 AI gaming GPU
- Display: 6.59-inch AMOLED, 185Hz refresh rate — the same panel spec confirmed for the K100 Pro Max
- Cooling: 3D circulating cold-pump system
- Audio: Bose-tuned speakers
- Colors: White and “Firefly Chasing Light” (流萤追光), a green finish with a luminescent material sandwiched between the glass back and ink layer that glows in the dark and doubles as a light-painting canvas
- Camera: Triple rear camera setup
Pricing remains unannounced, though coverage from GSMArena and Notebookcheck places the K100 Pro at around CNY 4,000 (~$592). Redmi itself has not confirmed a figure, so treat that estimate with caution until the August 11 event.
V Series vs Standard: What Buyers Should Watch
The ~10% benchmark gap between the V Series and standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is unlikely to be noticeable in daily use, but it raises a question for buyers comparing the K100 Pro and K100 Pro Max side by side: how much cheaper does the Pro need to be to justify the silicon downgrade? The K100 Pro Max also has a larger 9,070 mAh battery and a bigger 6.9-inch display. Whether the Pro’s smaller form factor and lower price point make it the better value will depend on where Redmi sets the gap on August 11.
Source: Redmi’s official Weibo teasers, via GSMArena
