Jumping straight.
According to the rumour mill, there have been suggestions that Xiaomi is working on an updated version of the Redmi K40 called the RedmI K40s. If you can recall, the Redmi K30s was launched globally as the Mi 10T series, so no wonder this rumour took off. However, according to the latest report on Mydrivers, the company has confirmed that it won’t be launching a Redmi K40s, and is instead working on the Redmi K50.
Evidence from reliable leaker Digital Chat Station also revealed that no devices named “Redmi K40s” were ever certified in China, further proving that the device won’t launch in the country. Moreover, at this point, there’s no phone under the Redmi K40 series that could be released now that would be powered by the Snapdragon 870 and 888.
Digital Chat Station did claim that Xiaomi is now working on the successor of the Redmi K40, the Redmi K50 which would be the device using the SD888. He also said that this phone might be released alongside the next flagship, the Xiaomi 12 series.
Source: GizmoChina, Weibo (in Chinese)