Xiaomi has a history of making powerful phones with affordable prices, but they have rarely made a premium phone. There seems to be a change. Xiaomi launched their Mi 10, a phone that features a best-in-class design and some cutting-edge hardware. Xiaomi’s focus has been on four major components – the camera, display, processor and battery life. The Mi 10 is not exactly ‘affordable’. It is priced at Rs. 50,999* after all. The phone has features that go head-to-head with some of the world’s best phones. The Mi 10 might be a gem in the world of smartphones and that should justify its price.
A smartphone without a good camera is incomplete. The Mi 10 fits into a list of good camera phones. It has a quad camera setup on the back, that includes a 108MP primary camera, a big thing for people who want quality. It can capture bright photos with plenty of details, bright colours and clear textures. It also supports 8K video recording and optical image stabilization for clicking stable and clear photos. The primary camera is accompanied by three other cameras – a 2MP depth sensor, 2MP macro lens and a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera. These high-resolution cameras can capture incredibly sharp and clear photos even under low light conditions. For those who like clicking selfies, the 20MP front camera should be impressive. The Mi 10 also gives more control over captured photos with its professional camera tools such as AI Pixel optimization and RAW modes, that are built into the camera app. If you are a video blogger on YouTube, the Mi 10 supports 8K video recording at 30 frames per second. This is four times the resolution of 4K. The Mi 10 can shoot realistic and detailed videos and if you want the videos to look professional, there are 8 movie filters, colour focus filters, background blurring modes and lots of video enhancing features to play with.
The Mi 10 runs one of the flagship mobile processors around, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. It can deliver up to 25 per cent improved performance while consuming 25 per cent less energy compared to the previous generation of processors. This latest chipset supports 5G to deliver faster connectivity and higher data speeds. It is great to see the Mi 10 in the list of 5G-enabled devices, because we should soon see 5G connectivity becoming mainstream. Most phones these days demand high speed network and the Mi 10 not only supports 5G, but it also supports the Wi-Fi 6 standard. This is the most advanced Wi-Fi standard that offers faster upload and download speeds. It also reduces network congestion, when connected to multiple devices.
The chipset is paired with 8GB of RAM. It may sound low compared to other phones that feature 12GB and even 16GB of RAM, but Xiaomi claims that the latest LPDDR5 RAM allows 30 per cent faster speeds compared to older generations. This phone is available in two storage variants. The base model is equipped with 8GB of RAM + 128GB of internal storage to give a boost to the performance, whereas the higher-end model comes with 8GB of RAM + 256GB of internal storage. The storage is non-expandable, but these should be plenty for most users to store hundreds of photos, apps, movies, music and videos.
If you are planning to play PUBG or Fortnite on the Mi 10, the Adreno 650 GPU won’t disappoint. You’ll find games to be snappy and smooth. Most phones tend to heat-up on continuous gaming or during long-term usage, but that won’t be the case with the Mi 10. It is equipped with an advanced LiquidCool 2.0 Vapor Chamber along with 6 stacks of graphite and graphene to disperse heat and deliver peak performance.
Another notable thing about the Mi 10 is its 6.6-inch 3D-curved AMOLED display. This large full HD+ resolution screen can be set to a 90Hz refresh rate, which is slowly becoming the de facto for premium phones. All of this should make every transition, click and swipe smoother and seamless. There is no notch, but you will see a small punch hole in the screen for the front camera. The Mi 10 can ramp up brightness to as high as 1,120 nits so you can get some stunning images on the screen. The HDR10+ feature makes it hard to stop watching your favourite TV shows or a Netflix series on this large screen. The Mi 10 is equipped with dual super-linear stereo speakers to support and redefine your movie, music or gaming experience. These speakers are symmetrically placed at the top and bottom of the phone, which should deliver clear and loud sound.
Most phones have similar specs, but the thing that separates them is perhaps, the battery life. The Mi 10 has a massive capacity 4,780 mAh battery under the hood and that should ideally get you through a day on heavy usage. Xiaomi claims that the phone offers 30W wired and wireless charging, which should charge up the battery in minutes. This phone also supports 10W reverse charging, which means you can charge other compatible devices such as smartwatches, earbuds or even phones by placing them on the back of the Mi 10.
The Mi 10 runs Xiaomi’s MIUI 11 on top of Android 10. Overall, the software experience should be more fun with smooth animations and transitions, especially with the 90Hz refresh rate screen. MIUI is also very easy to get used to.
Xiaomi has been designing phones with a decent hardware at low prices. The sudden transition from an affordable package to a premium one has surprised many. The Mi 10 has every feature, one can imagine in a smartphone, in 2020. It has a display that can transition faster, cameras to capture impressive photos and a set of latest hardware makes it one of the powerful devices at this price range. Register your interest in the Mi 10 as pre-orders have already started at RelianceDigital.in.
