Xiaomi has built its reputation around killer flagships — offering smartphones with flagship specs at a cheaper price. The tradition continues with the Redmi Note 10 Pro which was launched in Q1 of 2021.
Here is why we like the Redmi Note 10 Pro
- Good battery
- Budget-friendly
- Mature design
- Good camera for its budget
Let’s take a look at its specifications and review it.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Specification
- Main camera: 108MP (main), 8MP (ultrawide), 5MP (macro), 2MP (depth sensing)
- Front camera: 16MP
- Display: 6.67-inch AMOLED, HDR10, 120Hz
- Network: LTE / HSPA / GSM
- Memory: 6GB/8GB RAM (dedicated SIM slot)
- Storage: 64GB/128GB ROM
- Software: Android™ 11, MIUI 12
- CPU/GPU: Snapdragon 732G, Adreno 618
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, GPS, WiFi 6, USB-C, OTG, Infrared
- Battery: 5020mAh Li-Po (33W fast charging)
- Sensors: proximity, gyroscope, accelerometer, fingerprint (rear-mounted)
- Colors: Gradient Bronze, Glacier Blue, Onyx Gray
- Weight: 198g
- Price: $220 – $280
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Review
-
Design
Xiaomi hasn’t had the best devices in terms of design. But it seems they’re beginning to take aesthetics into consideration and that’s evident with the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s design. At 6.67-inch, Xiaomi offers a much better-looking device.
The rear of the device features a frosty finish with the rear quad camera and flashlight. Below all of that you get the nicely-placed Xiaomi branding.
Flipping over to the front, you get one of the best features of the Redmi Note 10 Pro — the AMOLED display. Just like the rear, the display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Don’t get it twisted, this is an all-round polycarbonate finish with Gorilla Glass protection.
It also spots an IP53 certification which should make it stand tall against tiny bits of splashes and also dust. This is a much better-looking device when placed alongside its predecessor, the Redmi Note 9 Pro.
Despite the huge battery, Xiaomi tries to keep this device as lightweight as possible but you might have a hard time navigating with a hand, especially if you’ve got small hands. At 193g, plus over 6-inch is just too much to handle.
-
Display
Most smartphones at this price point end up with an LCD display at best. But Xiaomi has taken things a notch higher with an AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080×2400p.
It’s a huge 6.67-inch panel that also comes with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10 to give it that fast feel and good color representation. You get those deep blacks and punchy colors which are great for media consumption as well as gaming.
Quite surprisingly, we also get an Always-On display on this device. You might want to play around with it. I’m not a fan of the Always-On feature due to how I go around using my device daily, but you can go ahead and activate yours if you fancy it.
It has nice viewing angles with its 20:9 aspect ratio which makes you want to binge your favorite Netflix series all day long. This is something we rarely see on mid-range smartphones, but yet again Xiaomi keeps defying the odds.
-
Software
Moving over to the software side of things, the software on this device tends to stand out among previous iterations of Xiaomi software. But it does retain similarities such as the over-bloated interface and those annoying ADs.
Obviously, not one of Xiaomi’s strong points, but the subtle changes to MIUI 12 from 11 is pretty much appreciated. MIUI 12 gives you a ton of new features to play around with. It looks more like an iOS device than an Android. But that’s it, most of these Chinese brands have been looking to Apple for inspiration on their custom skins.
The likes of Oppo do also have some similarities with iOS as well as other Chinese brands. Back to the Redmi Note 10 Pro, we’ve also got Android 11 and are also guaranteed to receive the next version of Android.
If you’re coming from stock Android, then the Xiaomi skin might not give a good first impression. But you can remedy that with a custom launcher to switch things to your taste. At least, you get to enjoy the performance of this device.
-
Performance
The Redmi series have been known to perform greatly in relation to their respective price ranges and you also get the same thing here. All round performance looks good here with the 8nm Snapdragon 732G SoC.
You get smooth gameplay on the likes of Call of Duty and other high-graphic games in medium settings. The 120Hz refresh rate also adds to the all-round performance but you won’t be getting those scroll speeds and pretty animations you get on flagship processors. But it’s much better than what you get on other devices at this price range.
You might still go ahead and take things lower to 60Hz from the settings if you care much about battery life. The difference in battery life isn’t that significant when compared, so you might want to leave things at 120. But if you want to squeeze out every bit of juice, then go ahead and take it down.
-
Storage
You get just about enough storage for the average user. But you can still get expandable storage of up to 256GB if you’d be needing more storage.
For the RAM, you get two options — the base 6GB and the 8GB variants for those who want something bigger. For the primary storage, you get 64GB and 128GB options of UFS 2.2 storage.
These are solid storage options for anyone out there. They should be enough for all your images and video which should take up quite a lot of space.
-
Battery
In terms of battery life, Xiaomi has continued to deliver adequate power for its users. And to top it up, you also get fast charging up to 33W which should get you up to 50% juice in half an hour (30 minutes).
The 5020mAh battery on this device could last you a full day on both light and heavy usage. If you do a lot of gaming in between, you would be needing to refill before the day runs out.
You should have no worries about this device as far as battery life goes. You should be getting nothing less than 6 – 8 hours of on-screen time each day. But the SoC does heat up when gaming or during heavy usage which could have a toll on the lifespan of the battery in the long run.
-
Camera
The Redmi Note 10 Pro shines in the camera department also with a quad camera setup at the rear and a single-hole punch shooter at the front of the display.
We’ve got an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens to capture your wide-angle shots and also, a 5MP macro lens to capture those close-up details. It’s all complemented by a 2MP depth-sensing camera.
But the star here is the 108MP main lens. A huge number just like we’ve been used to on the previous Redmi devices. The Redmi Note 10 Pro doesn’t just pack the numbers, it also delivers the goods, especially in well-lit areas.
The colors come out looking close to natural but it does get washed up in some instances. It’s a pretty decent camera for the price. They’re lots of shooting modes to pick and choose from, whether it’s for taking still images or moving pictures.
The same goes for the secondary camera. It produces great selfies in bright environments since there’s no flash to support night or low-light shots.
As far as videos go, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is capable of 4K recording at 30fps, and it does shoot 1080p videos at 30/60fps. The selfie camera doesn’t support 4K, however, you can capture moving images in 1080p and 720p at 30 and 120fps respectively.
Price of Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
Xiaomi Note 10 Pro costs $280 on Amazon. In India, Redmi Note 10 Pro costs Rs 19,000, and Xiaomi Note 10 Pro costs between N110,000 to N140,000 in Nigeria.
- AliExpress: N110,000
- Banggood: N140,000
- Amazon: $280
- Flipkart India: ₹19,000
Kindly note that prices can be affected by local exchange rates, so it is advisable to convert the rate in dollars to your local exchange rate.
Is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Worth Buying?
Yes, Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro is a good smartphone. And it’s worth buying.
Xiaomi decided to tease us with some flagship features on this device. This definitely sets this device apart from other devices in this price range. Great design, above-average camera, and good performance make this device stand out. It’s good value for money and highly recommended!
