Xiaomi Mi 10 with 108 MP camera from $624.08

Even though Xiaomi has many top models in its ranks, strictly speaking there is only one flagship: the Mi Smartphone. The Xiaomi Mi 9 was introduced in February 2019 and has received many modified versions over the year, such as the Mi 9T or Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite. Now the new flagship smartphone has finally been introduced. The Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro are supposed to finally bring the manufacturer into the high-end segment, even if the more price-conscious customers are slowly being put off. Is the Mi 10 worth its money or should we rather wait for the Pro version?

• Xiaomi Mi 10 (8/128 GB)
  • at TradingShenzhen for $624.08
• Xiaomi Mi 10 (8/256 GB)
  • at TradingShenzhen for $679.60
• Xiaomi Mi 10 (12/256 GB)
  • at TradingShenzhen for $701.81 
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (8/256 GB)
  • at TradingShenzhen for $768.43 | Banggood for $949.99 (coming soon)
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (12/256 GB)
  • at TradingShenzhen for $846.16
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro (12/512 GB)
  • at TradingShenzhen for $846.16

Technical data of the Xiaomi Mi 10 & Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro

First hole punch design for Xiaomi

The Flagship series is traditionally conservative, leaving the experiments like pop-up cam or front camera at the bottom of the screen to other series. With the new Mi 10, however, Xiaomi presents itself from a relatively new side. The Xiaomi Mi 10 works with a hole punch design, which means that the front camera sits in the display, but not under the display. For this purpose, there is a hole in the display, like for example in the Samsung Galaxy S20, in which the front camera sits. This makes it the second smartphone with a hole-punch design under the Xiaomi flag. In contrast to the first one, the Redmi K30, the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro only uses a front camera in the hole-punch hole in the upper left corner.

Xiaomi has pleasantly implemented the hole punch design. The front camera sits slightly asymmetrically on the upper left and integrates surprisingly well into the overall appearance. Because you only have one camera, in contrast to the Redmi K30, and have made it considerably smaller, you quickly fade out the camera. Of course, the fact that the standard wallpaper is quite dark in this area helps. However, the actually visible sensor is much smaller than the black ring surrounding it suggests. At least the camera is integrated into the display much cleaner than on the K30.

The most pleasant curved display to date

The curved display is not as curved as on the Mi Note 10, the sides are visibly curved, but the curvature is not as strong. So it doesn’t look as if you’re wasting valuable display surface. If you’re afraid of unwanted touch input because of the curved sides, you shouldn’t worry. The MIUI 11 operating system offers a setting where you can define a red area where the touchscreen doesn’t react – very good Xiaomi!

The Mi Note 10 model also had to be used for the back, the arrangement of the cameras strongly reminds of the 108 MP smartphone. There is a difference between the two versions: both are equipped with four cameras, but the Mi 10 Pro also integrates a laser focus sensor. For protection, Xiaomi Gorilla takes glass for the back, which is also slightly rounded towards the sides. The housing frame, which holds both glass sides together, is made of metal and offers the usual stability.

The color options of the Mi 10 are limited to a gray-blue Titanium Silver-Black, a green-blue Ice Blue and a pink-red Peach Gold version. We like our blue-grey version very much, but it’s probably the most boring Colorway of the series.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is available in two colors: dark blue Starry Blue and a Pearl-White Colorway, which we have never seen before on Xiaomi.

Handling & Processing

The fact that the Xiaomi Mi 10 is a high-end device that you can and want to establish yourself in the high-end segment becomes apparent the first time you hold the device in your hand. The curves fit the tenth Mi smartphone very well, it lies comfortably in the hand, but is also really big. Even after many 6.2″ to 6.5″ phones, the almost 6.7″ are enormous and remind a bit of Xiaomi’s Mi Max 3. This takes getting used to, but doesn’t change the good look and feel of the Xiaomi Mi 10 – a real treat for the hand.

This is of course because Xiaomi brings its full expertise to bear here. No gap is too big, the transitions are smooth and the sides are pleasantly rounded. The cut-outs are also cleanly milled, of course, and there are no edges where you could potentially cut yourself.

Only the quad camera is a problem. There is a relatively hard edge here, which is not as sharp on the Mi Note 10, for example. As with almost every Xiaomi smartphone, the module also sticks out relatively far. In my opinion, the phone could also be made a bit thicker to avoid this. But with a weight of 208 g and a thickness of almost 9 mm, you probably didn’t want to add another one.

Finally also with 90 Hz display

Since the Xiaomi Mi 8, the manufacturer has consistently relied on AMOLED panels for its flagships, so of course the Xiaomi Mi 10 is also equipped with an AMOLED display – the strongest ever. The display offers a screen diagonal of 6.67″, which means it is the same size as the Redmi K30/Pocophone X2. The AMOLED panel offers a high contrast ratio of 5000000:1. Since AMOLED displays, unlike LC displays, can illuminate each pixel individually, you have a “real” black, which is the reason for this high contrast ratio.

The maximum brightness is extremely high with 1120 nit. For comparison: the iPhone 11 Pro Max offers a maximum brightness of 1200 nit. The average brightness here is 800 nit. The comparison to the new iPhone is also provided by Xiaomi itself, but in terms of the JNCD value. This stands for just noticeable color difference and indicates that you can’t see any difference in color rendering at a value of <1. The OnePlus 8 is supposed to offer a value of 0.8 in this regard, but the Xiaomi Mi 10 is currently the industry leader with a value of 0.55.

This is the first time that a top smartphone from Xiaomi is equipped with a higher refresh rate. The current Samsung Galaxy S20(+), however, already relies on a 120 Hz refresh rate. This also offers a touch sample rate of 240 Hz, whereas the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro “only” offers 180 Hz – still a high value. The refresh rate indicates how often the image is updated per second. The current standard is still at 60 Hz, but the higher rate makes animations and mobile phone operation look more fluid.

Xiaomi’s best display yet

Many numbers that in the end do not matter on paper. In practice, the panel has to be convincing; after all, you’re constantly looking at it when using your mobile phone. The Xiaomi Mi 10 offers the best display of a Xiaomi smartphone so far, which is mainly due to the 90 Hz refresh rate and the setting options of MIUI.

I was surprised by the brightness, which is undoubtedly very bright at maximum setting and also puts a Realme X2 Pro or OnePlus 7T in your pocket. It also scores better in comparison to the Mi Note 10, at least at maximum setting. Because if you set the display to medium brightness, the Mi Note 10 suddenly has the edge and offers the slightly brighter display. This is especially noticeable when the brightness is further reduced. This can be a small problem outdoors, especially in strong sunlight, at which point you have to manually turn the Mi 10 up. But Xiaomi can easily improve this, with a MIUI update this unusual distribution could easily be put into perspective, after all the panel is generally better.

However, it is precisely the 90 Hz refresh rate that improves the operation of the device the most. This is roughly comparable to the switch from HDD to SSD back then. That you can quickly get used to this high refresh rate is noticeable when you switch back to 60 Hz, which is easily done in the settings. However, a smart adjustment depending on the event would have been desirable.

MIUI offers many options

My tip here is the Dark Mode, which looks very good due to the enormous contrast ratio and almost makes the punch hole disappear. But even beyond that, the MIUI operating system offers enough setting options and even more than usual! As usual you can adjust the color scheme and use presets via the color palette, but now you can also adjust the color space. Original, Enhanced, P3 and sRGB are available for preselection, but you can also adjust everything with a slider. This is even more extensive than in the Oxygen OS of the OnePlus 7T, for example.

In order to avoid accidentally touching the touchscreen display on the sides and thus making unwanted entries, the operating system has a setting to prevent this. Among the additional settings, there is this point where one can preselect a small or large area or determine the area by means of a slider.

Fingerprint sensor in the display

The Explorer Edition of the Xiaomi Mi 8 already relied on a fingerprint sensor in the display, so since the last generation, this has been a must and no longer a free skate. That’s why we’re also pleased that the fingerprint sensor in the display reacts reliably and quickly, although I would have liked a few percent more speed. But there’s a plus point for the cool, new animation!

Xiaomi Mi 10 with Snapdragon 865 CPU & New Memory

The Xiaomi Mi 10 smartphone works with the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, which Xiaomi has already officially confirmed in advance. This was to be expected, but it’s nice to see that Qualcomm is one of the first companies to offer this CPU to the still quite young company. The Octa-Core processor consists of a “Prime Core” with a clock frequency of 2.84 GHz, three more clocks with 2.42 GHz. The other Cortex A55 Quad-Core Cluster clocks “only” with 1.8 GHz.

But more interesting is that the Xiaomi Mi 10 (Pro) together with the Samsung Galaxy S20+ is one of the first smartphones with the new LPDDR5 memory. This RAM is faster and more efficient than the LPRR4X memory, which has been established as standard for quite some time. In addition, there is also fast UFS 3.0 mass storage, which is also used in the OnePlus 7T, for example. The memory configurations are once again diverse: 8/128 GB, 8/256 GB and 12/256 GB were expected. The only question is which configuration is possible with the Global version.

There is no faster way

The Xiaomi Mi 10 is as fast as an arrow and that in almost every situation. Together with the 90 Hz refresh rate of the screen, this results in extremely smooth operation. No matter whether you’re playing a round of Call Of Duty at the highest settings or in normal applications, the speed is great fun. The only shortcoming I still see is the image processing. From the hardware I really wanted a direct processing of the photos. This is mostly the case with “normal” 27 MP photos of the main sensor, but 108 megapixel photos still need almost two seconds.

As an additional speed test we compare the Xiaomi Mi 10 with the weaker Mi Note 10, an iPhone 11 and the OnePlus 7T. As was to be expected, it is a bit faster than the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 in almost all situations and in many situations it is even marginally faster than the OnePlus 7T. The iPhone 11 can also put it in your pocket in some situations, but sometimes the iPhone is also ahead. But we are really talking about milliseconds. So the speed is impressive, but you don’t notice it in practice.

Benchmark results

We wanted to have our impressions of the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G confirmed by the benchmarks PCMark, AnTuTu 3D and Geekbench 5. With more than 10,000 points, the Mi 10 is clearly ahead of last year’s Mi 9, and the AnTuTu benchmark is strangely low. According to media reports, it actually has a value almost twice as high.

With 30W Qi charging & 66W wired charging?

The Xiaomi Mi 10’s battery is particularly large. While the predecessor “only” came on the market with a 3,300 mAh battery, the Xiaomi Mi 10 is even blessed with a 4,780 mAh battery. The Xiaomi Mi 10’s battery can be quickly charged with 30W, a full charge takes 56 minutes. The Pro version is only equipped with a 4,500 mAh battery, but can be quickly charged with up to 50W.

Even if 30W fast charging doesn’t sound as spectacular as 50W, the normal Xiaomi Mi 10 5G charges from 17% to 100% in a proud 45 minutes, so a full charge takes about an hour. This is especially remarkable considering the large capacity.

The battery life is excellent for a flagship. In the benchmark test, the device reaches a runtime of 15 hours, which is a big step especially in comparison to the predecessor. The Huawei Mate 30 Pro still occupies the pole position in terms of battery life, but the Mi 10 makes itself comfortable on the podium. In practice, the drain was really very conservative, despite the activated 90 Hz display. The runtime can still be exhausted with 60 Hz, but that misses the point of the smartphone.

With the Mi 10 Pro a complete charge should take only 45 minutes. There is even a faster 65W USB charger included. This is also the case with the new Realme X50 Pro, which can also be charged with 65W.

Once again the fastest wireless charging

Wireless charging is also possible again. This time you can charge the phone wirelessly with 30W, this charging technique also falls under Xiaomi’s Mi Charge Turbo and can already be found in the Xiaomi Mi 9 Pro. This is another 10W more power than in the Xiaomi Mi 9, for which the manufacturer has also developed its own peripherals, a corresponding Qi charge stand is available separately.

It is also interesting that the phone can charge other Qi-capable devices like the AUKEY EP-T10 TWS in-ears wirelessly. In fact, this even works with a maximum of 10W power, which is probably the strongest reverse charging on the market. Even current iPhones, for example, can only be charged wirelessly with 7.5W. Here, there seems to be no difference between the normal and the pro version.

The third smartphone with 108 megapixel camera

The Mi 8 came with two, the Mi 9 with three and the Xiaomi Mi 10 with four cameras. This was no big surprise, already cheap smartphones like the Redmi Note 8 appeared with a quad camera. The Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro now use the new 108 megapixel Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX, which already made headlines in the Xiaomi Mi Note 10. After the Mi Note 10 and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, it is now the third smartphone with this sensor. It’s interesting to see how the actual competitors Xiaomi and Samsung work closely together.

In contrast to the Mi 10 Pro, the equipment looks a little more sober. Next to the 108 MP main sensor, a 13 megapixel ultra wide angle camera with a 123° angle of view and ƒ/2.4 aperture sits at the very bottom. Furthermore, there is a 2 megapixel macro sensor with a close-up limit of 2 cm and a 2 MP portrait sensor for additional image information. Both work with an ƒ/2.4 aperture.

Before we get to the actual photo quality: I think it’s an outrage. The flagship shares almost the same camera configuration with the $150 Redmi Note 8, also the cheaper Mi Note 10 is better equipped.

Main camera with 27 MP photos

The photos of the Xiaomi Mi 10 are good, there is no doubt about that. However, I’m a bit disappointed or expected too much for combining a very large 108 MP sensor with the latest hardware and taking first place in the DXOMark benchmark, at least with the Pro version.

Excellent is the sharpness of the photos in the focus area. The details that can be partially brought out are remarkable. Unfortunately, the focus area is very small in most situations, which means that, for example, in flower photos, the actual flower is very sharp, but the rest is already very blurred. So the natural bokeh “starts” quite early and is very strong, while current iPhones get a little softer.

The colors are also somewhat restrained, especially skin tones tend to be paler. In a direct comparison with the iPhone 11, two different profiles can be seen: Xiaomi with cool, slightly pale colors, the iPhone with richer, warmer colors. Probably the answer to the question of which is better lies somewhere in the middle. But in comparison to the Mi Note 10, a much more vivid colour profile can be seen. You can write in the comments what you like better.

The processing time has improved. “Normal” photos with the main camera are still not processed directly, a 108 MP photo still takes a good ~2 seconds. On the other hand, some small errors have crept in; why Tim’s hand is now so red on the photo is inexplicable to us, but fortunately it is the absolute exception.

108 Megapixel mode

After the Mi 10 and the Mi Note 10, I’m quite convinced that the 108 MP sensor was one of Xiaomi’s biggest mistakes so far. In favor of the large megapixel number, which says almost nothing about image quality, you have to make a lot of compromises. One of them is the long processing time, another, for example, is the relatively large file size.

The bottom line is that what we’ve been preaching since the Xiaomi Mi 9‘s 48 megapixel sensor applies here again: it’s superfluous. The increase in quality is in the single-digit percentage range and is not in proportion to the compromises just mentioned. One hopes to be able to decipher fonts from a distance, thus getting details that the “normal” mode with the same sensor doesn’t offer. But as shown in the example, this is not the case.

Ultra wide angle camera

Unfortunately, Xiaomi does not officially give the exact designation of the ultra wide angle sensor. But as it’s a 13 megapixel resolution with ƒ/2.4 aperture, it’s probably the Samsung S5K3L6 sensor from the Mi 9T Pro, so there’s no further development here and you can see that. The ultra wide angle photos are okay, but in some situations like here in the sky (see photo) the camera works unreliably. The effect is there, even if the shooting angle of the iPhone 11 is still a bit larger.

But what I find interesting is that you can also film in ultra wide angle mode, even in 4K. But the quality doesn’t look like 4K and unfortunately you can’t switch between the sensors.

Portrait photos

Xiaomi’s great strength are the portrait photos, which are supported here by a 2 megapixel depth sensor. Strangely enough, you have to lose a little bit of sharpness in the portrait photos, but the edge detection and the natural bokeh is once again exemplary. Nevertheless, it is essential that the object is really very still, which is more difficult to achieve with photos of a dog, for example.

Xiaomi Mi 10 main camera portrait mode

The Xiaomi Mi 10 allows 2 megapixel macro photos with a close-up limit of 3 cm, which provide the desired effect, but the quality is inadequate for a flagship. The graininess is very pronounced, and a violet shimmer can always be seen at the edges of the image.

Why exactly a cheap 2 MP sensor is integrated here remains unexplainable to us. So why not use a good sensor here and not one that is found in every middle class smartphone? How about a 13 megapixel sensor like in the ultra wide angle camera?

Video mode

Xiaomi also knows how important video is for the future. Accordingly, they even integrate an 8K video mode here, which isn’t very convincing, but at least is played back relatively smoothly. However, the stabilization is simply missing here. There is also the VLOG mode, which was introduced with the Mi Note 10, as well as the possibility to film in 4K 60 fps. The quality of the pictures is also very satisfying, especially the colors are strong. Furthermore a stabilization is also possible, but then the resolution is limited to 1080p at 30 fps.

Front camera

The selfies of the Xiaomi Mi 10 do a very solid job, but they are not my favorite selfies so far. Apparently, the same 20 megapixel Sony sensor is used here as on the Xiaomi Mi 9, but I like the colors pretty much, and the detail would still be expandable. But there is an excellent portrait mode and also a movie mode, which simply adjusts the aspect ratio.

MIUI 11 + Android 10

The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 has already been released with MIUI 11, and so is the new flagship with Xiaomi’s new system interface. After all, this is already available for older models like the Mi 9T Pro. Xiaomi has redesigned the look a little bit, the interface looks lighter and more modern, even an app-drawer is now integrated.

The MIUI 11.0.7 operating system based on Android 10 runs smoothly and stable, but also offers some smart features. Most interesting, however, is that we have a certified Google Play Store despite the Chinese version, which is actually unusual for a Xiaomi China version. All we had to do was download the Play Store from the Mi App Store, a Google framework was somehow pre-installed, although we reset the phone. Furthermore, the Xiaomi Mi 10 in the China version has Widevine Level 1, so it can play video streaming content in Full HD.

MIUI, like the Mi 9, unfolds its full potential with the top models. The mentioned feature for the display edges is very helpful and well implemented, and there are also new settings for the color space of the display. Since MIUI 11 you can also hide the notch again, although this doesn’t look very good on the Mi 10, the App-Drawer is finally a permanent feature and the notification problem has been solved and the corresponding settings are now available.

In the China version tested here, the Mi 10 is unfortunately only completely usable in English or Chinese, the multilingual interface appears with the global release. So if you’re new to the “Xiaomi Smartphone” theme, we recommend the global version.

Xiaomi shows herself to be future-oriented

The Xiaomi Mi 10 is also 5G compatible due to the Snapdragon 865 processor from Qualcomm. Both 5G standalone and 5G nonstandalone is possible. 5G is not yet so common, but in China it is. Nevertheless it is nice to be on the road with the Mi 10 in a future-oriented way. Xiaomi himself has confirmed that they plan to release more than 10 new 5G smartphones in 2020. Unfortunately we don’t have a 5G test contract at the moment and unfortunately we couldn’t test it. If possible we will pass this on later.

Another exciting feature is that the Mi 10 uses WiFi 6, the new standard for local networks. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to test this too, our home network is not WiFi 6 compatible. But that only proves that Xiaomi is a little ahead of its time. The MIUI operating system offers a wide range of settings for local networking.

For local internet and mobile data, we have to rely on LTE band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12 and 17 as well as 802.11 ac-WiFi in this China version. Although LTE bands may be missing in this China version, we have no problems with the Internet, YouTube streams start immediately in the O2 network, the download of the Twitter app with 18 MB takes about 12 seconds.

In addition there is of course NFC for mobile payment, an infrared blaster for remote control of e.g. in our case LG TVs and a dual SIM slot, which unfortunately leaves no room for memory expansion. Also Dual GPS is on board again, this was already integrated for the first time with the Xiaomi Mi 8. In the office we get a quick fix of one second with an accuracy of 5 m, outside it hardly gets better, a direct fix provides an accuracy of 3 m.

Finally also with a good stereo speaker

A surprise is definitely the stereo speaker. Music comes out of one speaker at the top and one at the bottom, the sound is very spatial and correspondingly loud. Especially low frequencies also get a relatively deep bass. Xiaomi doesn’t put the loudspeaker in the auricle, but on the top of the device. The positioning can cause problems when holding the device horizontally, as the speakers can also be easily covered. Apart from that, the Bluetooth speaker can also be left out.

The versions at a glance: Will Xiaomi be more expensive?

Xiaomi has always been known for its excellent price-performance ratio, and that’s why it’s so popular. Even the Xiaomi Mi 9 was available for a “bargain price” of about $400 from China relatively soon after its release. Especially after the Mi Note 10 and the news that one cannot keep these cheap prices forever, many feared a price increase. This is also given, but not as high as many feared in the run-up.

In China, the Xiaomi Mi 10 costs 3999 Yuan for the 8/128 GB version at release, which is about $571. The 8/256 GB version costs about $629, the most expensive 12/256 GB version costs about $689. The Pro version is a bit more expensive. The smallest version of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro with 8/256 GB costs 4999 Yuan, which is the equivalent of $714. For more memory you pay a corresponding surcharge, 12/256 GB are available for about $804 and 12/512 GB cost a smooth $877.

The official global release was originally announced for February 23, 2020, but was postponed due to the MWC cancelled by the coronavirus. So there is no global version yet, but it will be made up for in spring. We expect a starting price of $650, but $700 would also be possible. This is noticeably more expensive than the predecessor, but also not as exorbitantly high as initially assumed.

Conclusion: Rather buy the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro?

The Xiaomi Mi 10 is once again a strong smartphone from Xiaomi, there’s no doubt about that. I also like it better in relation to the Mi Note 10, but in my opinion it’s not as big a step as between the Mi 6 and Mi 8 or the Mi 8 and Mi 9. In my opinion, owners of a Xiaomi Mi 9 don’t need to upgrade and Mi 8 owners can certainly still be satisfied with their phone. The only noticeable weakness of the previous two generations is the battery, which is now perhaps the greatest strength of the Xiaomi Mi 10.

A battery life of easily two days, the fastest wireless charging and the fastest reverse charging on the market are announcements – announcements that Xiaomi itself doesn’t even focus on. There’s Xiaomi’s 108 megapixel camera, which I still don’t like well enough in the Xiaomi Mi 10 to talk about THE camera smartphone. It is good, but nothing more. In my opinion the other three sensors are really outrageous for a flagship. If you want the maximum of camera, you should either wait for the pro version or look around at other manufacturers.

Apart from that, the Xiaomi Mi 10 offers a modern design, which certainly doesn’t appeal to everyone, but has been damned well implemented. In combination with the best Xiaomi display so far, absolute top hardware, the other features and the modern operating system, we have an all-round good smartphone. I think you have to put it in relation to the Samsung Galaxy S20, for example, to emphasize the price advantage. Without this comparison, the Mi 10 Xiaomi is probably too expensive for fans of the first hour. I appeal to them to keep an eye on Redmi and Poco, who continue to represent the original Xiaomi idea in the flagship segment.

What do you think of the Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro?

Total score of the Xiaomi Mi 10