Xiaomi's affordable arm has released one of the most interesting additions to its line-up with the Redmi K30 5G. This is a phone of many firsts, using brand new Qualcomm hardware, offering 5G at an affordable price and debuting a new Sony camera sensor.

We'd heard that the Redmi K30 was going to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G at the launch of the new smartphone platform and Redmi, or rather Xiaomi, has been really quick of the mark to launch this phone.

The new hardware integrates 5G with a new X52 modem, supporting all the 5G standards - as well as 2G, 3G and 4G. Snapdragon 765G was designed to be an all-in-one solution, providing that superfast connectivity but at a more approachable price point.

But the Snapdragon 700 series is no slouch and there should be plenty of power - in this case it's the G variant of that hardware which is optimised for gaming. Pair that with a 6.67-inch display, with 120Hz refresh rate and you're looking at an impressive package.

There's a 4500mAh battery with 30W fast charging and Redmi even gives you a 3.5mm headphone socket.

But the other thing that has people excited is the new camera on the rear. It's the first to use Sony's new IMX686 sensor, a 64-megapixel main camera sensor for phones that promises great things. It's paired with a wide-angle camera, a macro camera and a portrait lens.

There will be various configurations of the phone available. There's a 4G version using the Snapdragon 730 instead, but there's mixtures of RAM and storage to suit a range of price points. 

The Redmi K30 5G will be available from late-January in China, priced at RMB 1999, which is about £215. There's no word on wider availability, but we expect it will launch in other regions.