Redmi Note 10 5G: With 90 Hz display – 5G over all?

The Redmi Note 9T has already shown this year that the new mobile standard 5G does not have to be expensive. The Redmi Note 10 5G is the quasi-successor, even relies on a 90 Hz display, but is somehow out of line.

Technical specifications of the Redmi Note 10 5G

Everything a bit different

It almost seems as if a different team at Xiaomi designed the Redmi Note 10 5G. It shares the punch-hole look of its siblings, but the diagonal is 6.5″. This places it between the Redmi Note 10/S and Redmi Note 10 Pro, which is also reflected in the case size of 161.81 x 75.34 x 8.92 mm and the weight of 190g.

The display in particular stands out: as in the Redmi Note 10 Pro, it is a higher refresh rate, in that case 90 Hz. However, it is an IPS LC display and thus the only LCD panel in the Note 10 series. It offers a FullHD+ resolution of 2400 x 1080p, but with 400 nits it is less bright than the AMOLED panel of the other three devices. It is also protected by Gorilla Glass 3 from Corning. The fingerprint sensor is also located on the side.

It is also the only Redmi Note that is available in four colors: Chrome Silver, Graphite Gray, Nighttime Blue and Aurora Green. The colors here are much richer than the other colorways, most of which use gradients.

5G > everything?

5G requires the right processor. In order to keep the costs low, an SoC from the MediaTek forge is implemented. The MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor has not yet been used in any smartphone, but we have generally had good experiences with the Dimensity chips. The slightly better 800U is found in the Redmi Note 9T, for example. Multitasking is taken care of by either 4 or 6 GB of LPDDR4X working memory, and 64 or 128 GB of UFS 2.2 mass storage is used.

The outsider role is also evident in the camera. The Redmi Note 10 5G is the only Note 10 device with a triple camera, with the main sensor being the same 48 MP sensor found in the Redmi Note 10. You combine that with a 2 MP macro camera and a 2 MP portrait sensor. No ultra-wide-angle camera, then, which is a shame! We already criticized that in the Redmi Note 9T. We also get 8 megapixels for selfies on the front, also noticeably less than on the other devices.

That’s not all. Although the 5G smartphone shares the generous 5,000 mAh battery capacity with the rest of the lineup, you can only charge it with 18W, not 33W like the others. In return, the included charger can handle 22.5 W – only a small consolation. The main argument for the Redmi Note 10 5G is the 5G compatibility. All important frequency bands for Germany are included with n1, n3, n28, n77 and n78. The same applies for LTE. You can also count on NFC and USB-C, after all.

Assessment

“5G at any price” is the motto of the Redmi Note 10 5G. Unfortunately, this reminds us too much of the Redmi Note 9T 5G; the Note 10 5G is basically just a Note 9T with a 90 Hz display. Thus, like the latter, it is likely to be the most boring device of the Redmi Note smartphones in this generation. 5G cannot make up for a missing ultra-wide-angle camera, slower charging and an LC display. Even though it is a 90 Hz display after all. Or do you see it differently?

The Redmi Note 10 5G starts at a price of $199 in the version with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of mass storage. In contrast, 128 GB of internal storage and 4 GB of RAM costs $229.