Redmi Note series has always been immensely popular in the under INR 20K market. It also happens to be the most important smartphone line-up for Xiaomi in India. From the days of the Note 7 to the Note 9 series, the brand has introduced some nifty features.
Following the same principle, the new Redmi Note 10 series offers so much for the amount you’re paying that it’s hard to miss this series. The new Note 10 line-up sport sAMOLED panels, refreshed design, quad-cameras with a sweet price tag.
We have been using the Redmi Note 10 for a little over a week now. While on paper, the phone looks promising and blows the competition out of the water. So, is it worth putting money into the new Note? Let’s check out the same in our detailed Redmi Note 10 review.
Redmi Note 10 Specifications
Before we hop on to the review, let’s have a brief look at the technical specifications of the device and the things you get inside the box.
- Display: 6.43-inch AMOLED, Full-HD+, 20:9 ratio, 409 PPI density | Corning Gorilla Glass 3
- CPU: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 processor
- GPU: Adreno 612
- RAM: 4/6GB LPDDR4X
- Storage: 64/128GB UFS 2.2, Expandable via microSD
- Software: Android 11 (MIUI 12)
- Main Camera: 48MP primary (f/1.8, 0.8µm, PDAF) + 8MP Ultra-wide (f/2.2) + 2MP Macro (f/2.4) + 2MP Depth (f/2.4)
- Selfie Camera: 13MP (f/2.5)
- Connectivity: USB Type-C, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, FM Radio
- Cellular: Dual SIM, Dual 4G VoLTE
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, side-mounted
- Battery: 5,000mAh, Li-ion Polymer, non-removable with 33W Fast Charging
Redmi Note 10 Box Contents
Below is a complete list of items you get inside the retail box:
- Redmi Note 10
- Sim Ejector Tool
- 33W Fast Charger
- USB Type-C Cable
- Silicon Case
- Warranty and User Guide
Redmi Note 10 Design
The Redmi Note 10 features a refreshed design language. The brand has emphasized the design and it shows. Though the phone is made out of polycarbonate and glass, there doesn’t seem to be any cost-cutting done in this regard.
Starting with the back, we get to see a rectangular quad-camera setup. The module isn’t flushed but sticks out a bit. The phone is being offered in three colors with a matte surface. The back looks clean for the most part. Moving to the button placement, the power button and the volume rockers are located on the right side of the device.
The power button also doubles as a fingerprint sensor which is a nifty touch. A SIM tray on the left-hand side, followed by the speaker grill, micro-USB port, microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom.
Turning the phone reveals the moderately sized 6.43-inch Full HD+ display. Redmi listened to the users, and finally shipped the Note 10 series with sAMOLED panels. The bezels all around have been kept to a minimum except for the chin which is still quite large. The phone weighs in at 179g and feels quite light, making it ideal for single-handed use.
Redmi Note 10 Display
The Redmi Note 10 comes with a 6.43-inch sAMOLED panel with a Full-HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. It further flaunts a 20:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 409PPI.
Now, the display looks quite good with vibrant colors, good sunlight legibility, and great viewing angles. The display has a sustained brightness of 450nits and a peak brightness of 1100nits. It is sharp with deep blacks and gets a centered-punch hole to make up for a really immersive experience.
That being said, there’s a standard 60Hz panel. But given the price and other specs, this can be overlooked.
Redmi Note 10 Software
The Note 10 like other Xiaomi smartphones, runs on the company’s custom skin. The phone is shipping with Android 11 with the latest version of MIUI 12 on top. Though MIUI 12.5 was also announced a few weeks back, it is still in beta with a planned stable for late Q2.
MIUI is known to offers tons of customization options and is loaded with features including system-wide dark mode, dynamic sounds, built-in screen recorder, Mi Share, Quick Replies, and more. While Xiaomi has scaled back on the bloatware amid the tough response from the user base, you still get some bloatware pre-installed here. Thankfully most of these can be uninstalled quite easily.
As for the ads, yes, they are present here as well and you should be able to cut some of it when setting up the phone, just opt out of all the data sharing and feedback programs. Since it’s a phone with an sAMOLED panel, you get access to some nifty features like an always-on-display which can be customized as well. Other than that, the phone provides the standard MIUI experience that most of us are familiar with now.
Redmi Note 10 Performance
The phone comes with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 chipset- an octa-core SoC making it the very first smartphone in the country to ship with this particular chip. The heavy lifting in terms of graphics is done by Adreno 612.
The phone is being offered in a variety of RAM and storage options and perhaps the highlighting feature here is the use of UFS 2.2 storage across the whole Note 10 series. In terms of day-to-day performance, the Redmi Note 10 holds its ground.
In our stress tests both the CPU and GPU performed well, giving the competition a deadly blow. We did try some gaming, and games like Call of Duty Mobile ran well on Medium to High settings and there wasn’t much noticeable lag or battery drain. While on the other hand low graphics-intensive games were a treat on this model.
Redmi Note 10 Camera
The Note 10 comes with a quad-camera setup on the back with the main 48-megapixel Sony sensor which is assisted by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle shooter, 2-megapixel macro shooter, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, you get a single 13-megapixel camera upfront.
Coming to the image quality, Redmi has used a tried and tested Sony sensor here which has been well optimized by now. By default, the phone shoots pixel-binned 12MP images which are crisp, vibrant, and have plenty of detail on offer. The dynamic range and color reproduction are decent for the most part. When you do enter into the 48-megapixel mode, the images come slightly sharper and have a good amount of detail in them.
As for the low light performance, this is where the camera struggles a bit. Night mode and stable hands can do wonders here. Being an above-chip, the ISP works overtime to produce excellent shots, which are somewhat better than the competition.
The wide-angle camera doesn’t perform as well as the primary sensor but gets the basics right. There is a slight color shift between these sensors, something that the brand should address in the upcoming updates. The other two 2-megapixel sensors as expected are of no particular use other than for bragging rights.
The selfie camera on the other hand left us impressed. The exposure balance, sharpening, skin tones, everything was apt for the most part, and the Portrait mode to works fluently with uniform blurring.
Redmi Note 10 Battery
The massive 5,000mAh battery on the Redmi Note 10 makes it one of the longest-lasting phones in the segment. The battery is well optimized and, in our tests, the phone lasted two days with moderate usage, which comprised web surfing, social media, texting, and occasional gaming.
The phone comes with a fast-charging brick and supports up to 33W fast wired charging which topped up the phone quite quickly.
Pros
- Beautiful Design, Solid Build
- Bright AMOLED panel
- Excellent Battery Life
- Decent camera performance
Cons
- Ads and Bloatware
- The camera needs certain fixes
Verdict – Should you buy it?
For someone who has been tracking the Redmi Note series for quite a while, you would notice that the Note 10 doesn’t bring a wow factor to the table. What it does is provides you with the most necessary features while managing all this at a tight budget.
With the skyrocketing parts costs thanks to the jacked-up taxes, Xiaomi did manage to deliver a product that will be appreciated by the masses. It will also prove to be a headache for the competition. That being said, there are still some shortcomings that the brand needs to address.
Given Xiaomi’s flash sale model, if you are one of those lucky folks that do manage to get one in the sale, you won’t be disappointed with the Note 10.
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