Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G Summary
Key Specs
·
Display 6.67-inch
(1080x2400)
·
Processor Qualcomm
Snapdragon 750G
·
Front Camera 16MP
·
Rear Camera 108MP
+ 8MP + 2MP + 2MP
·
RAM 6GB
·
Storage 128GB
·
Battery Capacity 4820mAh
·
·
Xiaomi Mi 10i Summary
·
The Mi 10i
is relatively affordable but still offers a 108-megapixel primary camera, 5G,
an IP53 rating, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor. It also has some neat
touches including a notification LED, 3.5mm audio socket, and stereo speakers.
It's available in three variants, with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Performance in everyday tasks is good, and even gaming posed no problem. The
back of the phone doesn't get too warm when stressed. Camera performance was
somewhat disappointing in the daytime and at night, especially the fact that
the three secondary rear cameras are quite ordinary. 4K video came out looking
discoloured and there's no stabilisation. Battery life on the other hand was
impressive.
Xiaomi has surprisingly slowed down over the past year in terms
of smartphone launches, though of course the events of 2020 threw a lot of
things out of gear for everyone. While there have been fewer new models in the
fast-moving sub-Rs. 15,000 space than expected, the company revitalised its
premium Mi lineup with the ambitious Mi 10 and Mi 10T models, priced ranging
from around Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 45,000. According to the company, it had also
planned to launch another model called the Mi 10i, but it got delayed. Now,
Xiaomi says it's ready to complete the family.
The Mi 10i₹ 21,999 comes in at a lower starting price of just Rs.
20,999 but still features a 108-megapixel camera and 5G connectivity, which are
supposedly the hallmarks of the Mi 10₹ 54,999 series. Xiaomi tells us that the “i” stands for
India, because this model has been customised specifically for our market. That
might be a bit of a stretch, since there are only minor differences between
this device and the units sold as the Mi 10T Lite and Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G in
other markets.
It's
immediately clear that Xiaomi wants to put its stamp on the sub-Rs. 25,000
space here, and the Mi 10i is going to have to take on some heavy hitters
including the popular OnePlus
Nord₹ 29,999 (Review), Samsung Galaxy M51₹ 20,999 (Review), and Vivo
V20₹ 21,799 (Review). The camera specifications alone are
sure to grab some attention, but I'm going to examine the entire package.
Here's my full review of the Xiaomi Mi 10i.
Mi 10i price in India and variants
The base price of the Mi 10i in India is Rs. 20,999,
and you get 6GB of RAM plus 64GB of storage. This variant is not currently
listed for sale, and will be available later. Oddly, you can get the same phone
with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for Rs. 21,999 which is just Rs. 1,000
more, making the base variant seem quite pointless. If you want to step up to
8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, you can choose the third variant which is
priced at Rs. 23,999.
Xiaomi has managed to undercut the OnePlus
Nord (Review), but doesn't offer an option with
256GB of storage which is a little disappointing, especially considering that
you'll lose the space for a second Nano-SIM if you choose to use a microSD
card. With such minor price differences, many people will choose the top-end
variant.
Mi 10i design
Despite
its name, the new Mi 10i has
very little family resemblance to the Mi 10 (Review) or Mi 10T series, apart from the fact that these
are all large, heavy phones. The Mi 10i is 9mm thick and weighs 214.5g. One
thing that all the Mi 10 siblings have in common is their 6.67-inch screens,
though the Mi 10i has a completely flat panel without rounded sides. There's a
hole for the front camera at the top-centre of the screen, and it's slightly
larger and more distracting than what we're now used to seeing.
Three
finishes will be available – the glossy but understated Atlantic Blue and
Midnight Black, and the much more attention-grabbing Pacific Sunrise, which has a matte finish and
colour gradient that moves from blue at the top, through white, to orange at
the bottom. This is the version that Xiaomi will be using for its marketing
push, and it's what I have for review. It does look somewhat like a beach or
horizon landscape. I found that it isn't too susceptible to fingerprints or
smudges, but that might not hold true for the other colour options.
The
camera module on the rear is rather large but doesn't protrude much, which
Xiaomi says is due to its choice of sensors – more on that later. There's a
fingerprint sensor on the right, integrated into the power button. It's
slightly recessed and wasn't always easy to use when the Mi 10i was in the plastic case that
comes in the box. The volume buttons are above it, and weren't always within
easy reach. There's a hybrid dual-SIM tray on the left which means you'll have
to choose between a second SIM and extra storage.
One
of the most interesting little touches is the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio socket
for wired headsets, a feature that nearly all manufacturers these days seem to
think is dispensable for premium phones. Another rare feature is the tiny
notification LED next to the earpiece that lights up when the phone is charging
and you have call or message alerts. The earpiece works with the speaker on the
bottom to deliver stereo sound.
Although
this is a pretty bulky phone, it isn't too hard to hold and use thanks to the
rounded edges. A bit of shuffling in the hand will be necessary but at least
the rear isn't too slippery. There's Gorilla Glass 5 on the front, rear, and
camera module. Another point worth noting is the IP53 water and dust resistance
rating, which you don't often see at this price level. It isn't the best in the
industry, but the OnePlus Nord in
particular lacks any sort of official water resistance. My review unit also had
a pre-applied adhesive screen protector on the front.
Mi 10i specifications
Front
and centre, we have a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1080x2400) 120Hz HDR10+ LCD display.
Some people might be disappointed that Xiaomi didn't go with an AMOLED panel.
The maximum brightness is only 450nits and colour reproduction is limited to 84
percent of the NTSC gamut, which isn't too great. Still, I didn't have any
trouble with everyday use and the display is of a high enough quality for
enjoying videos and games on. You probably won't feel that you're losing out on
too much, especially if you don't like very saturated colours.
One
neat feature is the adaptive refresh rate, which can scale between 30Hz and
120Hz in six steps. According to Xiaomi, the panel will automatically match
whatever content you're playing, for example it will switch to 48fps if you're
watching a 24fps movie. There's TÜV Rheinland certification for blue light
emission, and you can not only choose your preferred level of colour saturation
but also set the white balance manually.
The
Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G is a relatively modern SoC, and the only other phone
in India that uses it so far is the Moto G 5G. This chip is newer than the
Snapdragon 765G and has some advantages in the form of more modern
high-performance Kryo 570 cores based on the ARM Cortex-A77 design rather than
Kryo 475 cores based on the Cortex-A76. There are two of these cores plus six
more efficiency Cortex-A55 cores. In terms of graphics power, the integrated
Adreno 619 GPU is a step lower than the Snapdragon 765G's Adreno 620. Both
chips have the same integrated Snapdragon X52 5G modem.
The
4,820mAh battery might not seem like much by today's standards, but real-world
use will depend on multiple factors including the efficiency of the SoC. The Mi 10i supports the USB-PD standard,
and a 33W fast charger is included in the box. The battery is actually two
cells in parallel, which Xiaomi says will allow for a 100 percent charge in
under an hour, and a 68 percent charge in 30 minutes.
One
feature that all Mi 10 models
have in common is 5G. The Mi 10i works
with sub-6GHz networks as well as all the usual 4G, 3G and 2G bands. There's
support for dual-band GPS and also the Indian NavIC positioning system, plus
Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi ac. Xiaomi also says it has added custom hardware to
support both Google Assistant and Alexa, but this will be enabled with a future
software update.
The Mi 10i comes
with Android 10 and Xiaomi's heavily customised MIUI 12.0.3 interface. My unit
had the November 2020 security patch, but received the December update which
retail units should ship with. The initial setup process is fairly
straightforward, and you can adjust all preferences later no matter what you
choose.
Xiaomi
does go heavy on the bloatware and promotional content (despite promising a
“clean MIUI 12 experience with Google apps”). The lock screen shows sponsored
content by default and it takes a bit of digging in the Settings app to turn
this off.
I
was pleased to see that there were no attempts to make people download promoted
apps during the setup process, but the very first thing you'll see when the
phone is ready to be used is a big prompt to use Xiaomi's GetApps app store,
plus there were several notifications from it in the first few days of usage. I
also counted multiple Mi and third-party apps preloaded on the phone, though
thankfully many of these can be uninstalled.
MIUI
12 has plenty of neat features and customisation options. You can choose
whether or not to have an app drawer, which has tabs for different app
categories. The search bar is at the bottom, within thumb's reach, which is
convenient. The home screen grid spacing and icon size can be tweaked. If you
want to do something simple like change the wallpaper though, you have to go
through Xiaomi's Themes app which is packed with options.
There's
more to discover in the Settings app – battery saver modes, shortcuts and
gestures, a secured Second Space for private data, a simpler Lite Mode UI, Game
Turbo optimisations, a floating Video Toolbox with assorted picture and sound
enhancement options, and Google's parental controls and Digital Wellbeing
features.
Mi 10i performance
There's
really no question about whether today's mid-range and premium phones perform
well – the Mi 10i is well
beyond the point where this is even in doubt. Usage is extremely smooth and you
shouldn't have any trouble at all in day-to-day use. The screen refresh rate is
set to 60Hz by default, and switching to 120Hz does make a slight noticeable
improvement when scrolling and swiping around. The only impediments are the
bulk and weight of this phone. I definitely felt a little wrist fatigue after
holding it in one hand for a few minutes.
The
fingerprint sensor is pretty narrow, and the size of this phone makes it very
awkward to use if you're left-handed. I only rarely had a problem when using my
right thumb, but my left forefinger just never lined up comfortably. Face
recognition was also quick, but the setup UI warns users that it's less secure
than using a PIN or pattern, and that a photo of you could potentially be used
to unlock the phone.
Benchmark
performance was a mixed bag. The Mi 10i managed to post an impressive score of 3,29,286
in AnTuTu, but Geekbench 5 crashed despite repeated attempts to run it.
Graphics benchmarks also simply refused to run. These issues are perhaps due to
pre-release software on review units. Xiaomi has used fast UFS2.2 flash, and
Androbench's storage benchmark showed sequential read and write speeds of
929.54MBps and 459.47MBps respectively.
As
for gaming, I got through a few rounds of Call of Duty Mobile and while the Mi 10i did get a bit warm, it wasn't
too much to handle. The game ran smoothly at the High quality and frame rate
settings. Metal Madness was also quite enjoyable, and ran well.
The
screen is fairly bright and vivid, despite misgivings thanks to the spec sheet.
Videos and photos look good enough, and colours are quite saturated even at the
“natural” display setting. Sound is a bit tinny and muffled but having stereo
speakers somewhat makes up for that.
Battery
life didn't prove to be a problem, as the relatively low battery capacity might
have suggested. The Mi 10i ran
for a day and a half with ordinary use before it needed to be recharged. Our HD
video loop test ran for a very respectable 18 hours, 22 minutes. Charging is
also very quick, and Xiaomi's claim of a 100 percent charge in under an hour
proved to be roughly accurate.
Mi 10i cameras
The
108-megapixel primary rear camera is of course the star of the show, with its
Samsung HM2 sensor and f/1.75 aperture. On the other hand, it's quite
disappointing that the other three are so pedestrian. The 8-megapixel f/2.2
ultra-wide camera, 2-megapixel macro camera, and 2-megapixel depth sensors are
more like what I'd expect to see on a phone that costs roughly Rs. 10,000.
These seem to have been shoehorned in only because “quad camera” is such a
selling point these days. Video recording goes up to 4K 30fps and slow-motion
video goes up to 960fps but at 720p.
Photos
are shot at 12 megapixels by default, with the sensor combining nine pixels in
one. Shots taken in the daytime with the primary rear camera were decent,
though detail seemed a little lacking sometimes and there was evidence of
oversharpening. Exposures weren't always right and textures came out looking
odd. It's possible that these issues will be ironed out with software updates,
but quality overall was somewhat disappointing. Portrait mode didn't seem to offer
better quality than just taking a close-up in the default photo mode, but you
can at least adjust the background blur at any time in the gallery app.
It
takes a second or two to save each shot in 108-megapixel mode, and photos
aren't displayed at full resolution unless you specifically tap to see them,
just to ease the load on the phone. The sheer size of these shots by is pretty
remarkable, but don't expect super crisp details at maximum magnification. The
primary advantage of shooting at this resolution is that you get more freedom
to crop photos as you like, but it isn't a replacement for optical zoom. The
ultra-wide and macro cameras take decent enough shots but there isn't much to
get excited about. Colours are duller and detail is poorer.
Photos
taken at night were less sharp and even slight hand shake tended to cause some
blurring. Night mode definitely increases brightness and contrast, but objects
at a distance don't come out looking very natural.
Video
recorded while standing still was smooth enough at full-HD and 4K, but there
was a lot of jerkiness when moving. 4K video had a very warm tone and
oversaturated colours, and this was especially distracting and unnatural in low
light. Stabilisation is lacking, which is a big disappointment. You can't
switch between cameras while shooting.
For
selfies, there's a 16-megapixel f/2.45 camera, and results are fairly good.
Skin smoothening is enabled by default and there are some other filters and
options to play with. Quality isn't fantastic, but you can share these photos
to social media without any problems.
Xiaomi's
camera app has a lot of options and customisations. There are plenty of modes
including short video and vlogging modes for creating quick social-media-ready
packages, alignment and framing guides, and more. It can be hard to find
exactly what you need, and some of the modes need better explanations.
Verdict
Xiaomi
is clearly being very aggressive about the premium price band. All three variants
of the Mi 10i are priced under Rs. 25,000, and the company clearly has
the OnePlus Nord in its
sights. On paper, the specifications are highly competitive, and when you start
using the Mi 10i, you'll notice lots of convenient features and design touches.
There's more than enough power for entertainment and gaming, plus battery life
is great.
However
the main selling point here is the 108-megapixel camera, and it's in this
department that things slightly fall apart. I hope that software updates can
improve overall camera performance, but in my experience, I found Xiaomi's
choices to be limiting. The secondary cameras are all weak, and even the main
one is disappointing in many situations. This review will be revised if
camera performance improves following software updates.
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