Since my OnePlus 7 conked off out of nowhere one fine day, I was forced to scout for a new phone on a very short term basis. Because of this, I had to move from a phone in the budget premium segment to a higher trim phone within the midrange segment. I will be writing this review from this perspective. I have been using this phone as my main device since the 4th of July, and I've written this review after using this phone for a little under two weeks.
One of the biggest things that got my eye was the beautiful Samsung AMOLED display. It is on par with, if not better than my older OnePlus 7. The blacks are beautiful and I could tell that MI did not skimp out on this segment. However, I do feel that their touch sensor could use some improvement, as I find myself mistouching a lot of buttons on it. Also, the screen tends to have a significant flashing problem, especially during the night. While I don't think this is a very frequent issue, do keep this in mind when making a purchase. Another great thing about the screen is the refresh rate. While 120 Hz does make a noticeable difference to the speed at which images and frames move, over time it didn't feel too prominent. Also, most websites do not have the silky smooth scrolling, thus, making it feel a bit alienating. That being said, the refresh rate is very noticeable for sure.
The build quality of the phone is quite good for the price. While the phone does have a plastic back, it doesn't feel cheap and feels quite sturdy in the hand. The aluminum sides give it a very premium look, even when coupled with the glass back. That being said, having seen the durability tests on youtube, which seemed to highlight that the phone has a lot of vulnerabilities in the build sturdiness. So I'd recommend treating this phone and putting a case on it if using it.
The software experience is not too bad. I love the amount of customisation MIUI offers, from the huge selection of user made themes available, to the smaller quality of life changes from the ability to hide the notch to the ability to go as far as changing the phones font. However I did notice that the phone forces apps to go an dark mode when dark mode is turned on, which causes some images appear incorrectly on the apps. Also, there are times when the screen goes completely unresponsive, and forcing a shutdown is the only way to get the phone back to normal. Other than this, the software is good. A major plus is the fact that the phone comes with Android 11 out of the box, and the phone doesn't have any heating issues. The only time I noticed heating issues is when the phone was running a video call in windowed mode. Since this puts the phone under a considerable amount of load, I would give it a pass. Another thing I would like to bring to light is the fact that flashing an custom ROM will take a few days, as MI seems to have a weird approval system.
A major positive about the phone is the camera. The camera works wonderfully, whether the app being used is the stock camera or GCam. When compared to GCam, the stock camera seems to churn out more brighter images. However, I think that GCam churns out more "accurate" images. There is an beautification effect on selfies which is not very noticeable on the stock camera app, but when compared to images taken through GCam, which are a lot more accurate, it becomes very obvious. To sum up the camera performance however, it is excellent and extremely reliable. Definitely worth going for if you want to take great high quality pictures. The Wide Angle camera could use some improvement, but the Macro and the main 64 MP shooter are absolutely wonderful.
I cannot comment on the battery life yet as I haven't used my phone for a full day outside yet. But from what I can tell the battery has given me 8 hours SOT on light usage when going from 30-100, which is impressive. The battery doesn't discharge fast as well. However, it is to be noted that I mostly use my phone on the 60 Hz setting, so my results can vary greatly from the others. The phone charges fast enough, but since I rarely charge my phone to a full battery, preferring to do it in small spurts instead, I cannot say much about the charging speed other than saying that it charges fast.
One positive change that Xiaomi seemed to have implemented in the current set of phones is the fact that there are no ads inbuilt in important UI areas, like settings and the notification bar. Having used the Redmi Note 4 in the past, I can tell that this used to be the case for their older devices. This seems to have been done in response to pressure from users and influencers. That being said, their inbuilt preloaded applications do display many advertisements through notifications and can easily be turned off by stopping notifications from said apps. Once this is done, then you won't see advertisements in the phone at all. I must note that Xiaomi's business model for their budget devices revolves around these advertisements (they refer to it as services), it is to be expected in their Redmi line of devices. I am pointing this out to show that there is an extra cost the end user pays for due to the low budget margins of these budget devices, and that cost comes in the form of these advertisements in the UI. This business model is implemented so that they can offer better value as compared to their competitors.
While I am not a huge mobile gamer anymore, I have tried playing Battlegrounds India for around half an hour just to see how it was. The game worked well, and there didn't seem to be much of a difference in real time performance as compared to my older OnePlus 7. I did not notice any heating on the device. However, it is to be noted that the OnePlus 7 has a much higher AnTuTu benchmark rating as compared to this phone. While this phone is certainly not a slouch when it comes to gaming, I think that the POCO X3 Pro is a much better pick than the Redmi Note 10 Pro if gaming is a priority given its powerful SD 860 chipset.
The speakers are really loud and play music really clearly. They work significantly better than the speakers on my older OnePlus device. I was also happy to get the headphone jack back as well, and it works well with my current KZ Edx OEMs. I'm happy to note that the phone provides the option to expand storage which I definitely will be taking advantage of in the future.
So, to sum it up, the phone is a good pick in this price range, due to its well rounded offerings. The camera, the display, the speakers, and the battery life come together to make this phone a good package. There are minor hitches with the software that could be improved in the future, and the vulnerabilities in the build are a cause for concern. However, as long as used properly and carefully, I really don't think that anything will happen to the device.
Salient points from the above observations:
1. The phone has a good and premium looking design. However there are questions about the durability.
2. The phone has a great and reliable camera, human faces are given a "beautification" effect by the stock camera.
3. There are issues with the software, such as a flashing display and an aggressive dark mode, along with random freezes.
4. The battery life is quite decent and the phone lasts long.
5. Has an acceptable gaming performance, but there are better picks in this price range for this purpose, like the POCO X3 Pro.
6. Ads are only present in the pre-loaded apps, can be disabled by turning off all notifications from these apps.
7. The phone has a wait time before allowing the bootloader to be unlocked, to be noted if you want to flash a ROM on this device.
10. Has a beautiful display that competes strongly with my older OnePlus 7.
Note: I have not used the Fingerprint sensor as I don't want to store my biometric data on the device.
| OS | Android |
|---|---|
| RAM | 6 GB |
| Product Dimensions | 16.5 x 0.8 x 7.6 cm; 192 Grams |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Item model number | Exclusive_2020_1152 |
| Connectivity technologies | WiFi Bluetooth;USB |
| GPS | GLONASS |
| Special features | Dual Stereo Speakers for immersive audio experience, The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, 64MP AI Quad Camera Setup 8MP Ultrawide-FOV 118 degrees 5MP Macro Sensor 2 MP Depth Sensor Slow Motion Support - Up to 960 fps Portrait | Panaroma | Dual Mode | Vlog Mode | Clone Mode | Time Lapse | Long Exposure | Pro Mode | Night Mode | Short Video Mode | Ultra wide-angle distortion correction | Custom Watermark | Document mode | HDR | AI scene detection | Video macro mode | Movie frame | Time burst | Google Lens| AI Watermark, 3.5mm Jack, IR Blaster, Dedicated Micro SD Slot, Z-Axis Linear Vibration Motor, IP 52 Certified, 33W Fast Charger in box, 49% in 30 mins |
| Display technology | AMOLED |
| Colours displayed | 20:9 Aspect Ratio |
| Other display features | Wireless |
| Device interface - primary | Touchscreen |
| Resolution | 1280 x 720 |
| Other camera features | Quad Rear Camera (64 MP + 8 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP) | 16 MP Front Camera |
| Form factor | smartphone |
| Colour | Glacial Blue |
| Battery Power Rating | 5020 |
| Whats in the box | Redmi Note 10 pro, Power adapter, USB cable, SIM eject tool, Warranty card, User guide, Clear soft case, Screen protector pre-applied on the phone |
| Manufacturer | Redmi |
| Country of Origin | India |
| Item Weight | 192 g |
