Xiaomi Redmi K90 Ultra Debuts With Snapdragon 8 Elite and Active Cooling Fan

Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Redmi K90 Ultra in China, marking the latest addition to its K-series lineup and the successor to last year's Redmi K80 Ultra. The K90 Ultra brings significant upgrades to its display, processor, and battery while maintaining a focus on balancing photography and performance, unlike many other flagship gaming phones that prioritize gaming features above all else.

The Redmi K90 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, built on TSMC's second-generation 3nm process. Xiaomi has paired this processor with an AI Gaming Dedicated Graphics Chip D2, which assists with frame interpolation, AI-powered image upscaling, and HDR enhancement in supported games. The phone also integrates Xiaomi's "Game Rage Engine," which manages CPU resources, storage, and overall system performance to reduce sudden frame drops and maintain stable performance during demanding gaming sessions.

One of the standout features of the K90 Ultra is its active cooling system, which includes a physical cooling fan alongside a 6000 mm² vapor chamber and a larger graphite heat dissipation system. This setup ensures stable performance even during extended gaming sessions. Users can choose from Quiet, Smart, and Powerful cooling modes to balance cooling performance and noise levels according to their needs.

The device sports a 6.83-inch flat AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution, offering a smooth 165Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 3500 nits for excellent visibility even in bright conditions. The display supports 12-bit color depth, DCI-P3 color coverage, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDR Vivid, delivering vibrant and vivid visuals suitable for high-graphics games.

Despite being marketed primarily as a gaming phone, the Redmi K90 Ultra includes a decent camera setup for everyday use. It features a 50MP main camera with OIS, paired with an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and is capable of capturing 8K video at 30 fps and 4K video at 60 fps. The phone also boasts a 20MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.

The K90 Ultra is equipped with an impressive 8550mAh battery, supported by 100W wired fast charging and 22.5W reverse wired charging. Xiaomi claims that the device can last more than a day even with intense gaming sessions. Notably, a 100W GaN charger is included in the box.

In terms of design, the K90 Ultra features a horizontally placed rectangular camera island with a matte finish, available in Shadow Black, Space Silver, and Sky Blue color options. The phone weighs 227 grams and maintains a thickness of 8.2mm. It offers IP66, IP68, and IP69 dust and water resistance, along with Corning Gorilla 7i protection on the front.

On the software front, the Redmi K90 Ultra runs on Xiaomi HyperOS 3 based on Android 16. Memory options include up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.1 internal storage.

If the Redmi K90 Ultra launches in Nepal, the expected price for the base 12/256GB model is NPR 98,999, with higher variants priced accordingly.