The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, the top-of-the-line model in the Mi 10T series, is the first of three new phones from China. It was released in late 2020 to compliment the Mi 10T line. The Mi 10T Pro is joined by the Xiaomi Mi 10T as well as the Mi 10T Lite in the company’s range of handsets.
The phone is typical Xiaomi in that it comes in a mid-range price range but has advanced specs such as a high-res main cam and a powerful processor. In 2020, Xiaomi released many of these phones under its various brands: the Poco F2 Pro and Black Shark3.
It is not the latest phone from the company. The Xiaomi 11T Pro was launched in September 2021. This is both a followup to the Mi 10T Pro as well as a mid-range version of the Mi 11. Just like the 10T Pro makes the specs more accessible, the 10T Pro takes them.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is still worth considering. However, the 11T Pro has a shorter battery life, a slower refresh rate and a processor more prone to overheating. It still has a great telemacro lens for close-up shots and faster charging.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is not without its strengths and weaknesses. We recommend that you carefully consider the features of the phone and ask yourself what your primary use is for your phone to determine if they are compatible with your priorities.
The Mi 10T Pro’s main camera is impressive, just like many Xiaomi phones. It has the same 108MP snapper as a few other Xiaomi phones. It is a brute force tactic to get on our top phones list. The sheer resolution of the camera puts it above any nuanced AI software, or large-pixel-size sensors. But, it does the job. However, the auxiliary cameras are not much.
This Snapdragon 865 processor is fast, making it ideal for editing super-high resolution photos or playing video games. This would be great with the high refresh rate screen. 144Hz is a great speed for gaming. However, few mobile games have been optimized for it yet.
There are a few other positive things we have to say about this phone. The fingerprint sensor was easy to use and the battery life was excellent. We also found that there were fewer third-party apps pre-installed than usual on Xiaomi phones.
The phone is not just fun and games. We were particularly unhappy with the design of a few parts. We think it’s too big and that some users might find it annoying. The back acts as a fingerprint magnet, which has a better record of accidental touches than a referee. Plus, the camera bump is enormous. We understand that some people might be concerned by the phone’s design.
The screen is also a slight downgrade to the Mi 10 series. It no longer has the AMOLED display with curved edges. Instead, the LCD panel is flat and boring. This phone is similar to the non-Pro model in that it has a lower resolution main camera, and is slightly cheaper.
Some people don’t mind flat or LCD displays and will not mind them. Others won’t like a high-resolution camera or 144Hz refresh rate and will not be able to see the important reasons to purchase the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. As we mentioned, you need to decide what you want in a phone. Then, read the section below to find out if the Mi 10T Pro delivers. There are many other options for you among thetop Xiaomi phones.
Price and availability for Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro
On September 30, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro was released alongside its cheaper siblings. It is currently available in Europe. We wouldn’t expect it to be released in the USA. However, there are often devices that Xiaomi launches in Australia.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is available for purchase at PS599, which is roughly $780, AU$1,100. This puts it between the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro (roughly $800) and the PS799 / AU$1,699 ($roughly $1,000). However, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, while the Pro has 8GB / 256GB.
Although the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro’s mid-range price is fairly low, it will appeal to those who don’t mind paying a premium for a phone. The newer Xiaomi 11T Pro is priced exactly the same.
Design
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro phone is quite large. It measures 165.1×76.4×9.3mm. It weighs 218g. It feels solid in the hands thanks to its glass front and back and metal frame.
The fingerprint scanner is located in the power button at the right edge of your device, near the volume rocker. The scanner was easy to reach and quickly picked up our finger. We were pleased with its performance. The fingerprint scanner is small, so people with smaller hands might have trouble reaching it.
You won’t find a 3.5mm headphone socket. If you use wired headphones, you will need an adaptor. The only port available is the USB-C.
We had to clean the back of the phone a lot because it was a magnet for fingerprints. You can’t place this phone flat on a table with it without the camera bump sticking out. It’s a massive chunk of metal. It looks almost like a cyclops looking back at you from the main camera lens.
Despite the fact that it doesn’t have a curved display (as described in our next section ‘Display’), the phone is quite comfortable to hold due to its rounded edges.
Display
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro’s 6.67-inch LCD screen has FHD+ resolution, HDR10+ refresh rate and 650 nits maximum brightness. Let’s now look at the display.
LCD technology is preferred over AMOLED. The former is more common in phones that are less expensive and has lower contrast and vibrant colors. Xiaomi justified this change by saying that OLED displays can be difficult to see for many people. This phone will also work well for those with vision impairments that might rule out OLEDs.
This is a valid reason to use LCD. However, the problems with LCD screen tech are that colors don’t look as vivid as other displays and that most things appear a little dimmer. HDR10+ can only offset this issue and the maximum brightness feels a bit low.
The default color scheme used by the display is much warmer than other devices. If you wish, however, you can change this in the settings menu.
The handset’s 144Hz refresh rate is one of its most appealing features. Other than a few gaming phones the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro was also the first mainstream phone with this type of high refresh rate display. It makes motion look smoother. At the moment, most media apps do not have 144Hz compatibility. This will make it useful for social media, menus, and gaming, but you may eventually enjoy smooth movies and gaming.
Battery life can be affected by high refresh rates. However, the Mi 10T Pro’s top mode is variable so that it will adjust the refresh rate to suit your activities. You can also choose to downgrade to 60Hz or 90Hz, depending on your preference.
We have mixed feelings after using the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. The 144Hz refresh rate elevates even basic social networking use and will only improve as more games are compatible. The LCD screen isn’t as sharp as the Mi 10T Pro, so those who don’t have good eyesight might not be able to benefit from this display.
Camera
The main camera of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has the same 108MP/1.7 sensor as the Mi 10 and Mi Note 10. If you believe that more megapixels are better, then Xiaomi is your best choice. These phones produce good pictures, but the brute-force approach to photographing is not enough. Apple and Samsung generally get better results with lower-resolution sensors.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro’s camera has nothing to be ashamed of, especially considering the price. We were able to get some great results in well-lit situations and got some excellent shots. The images were sharp and had good depth. Colors looked vivid. This 108MP sensor has the advantage of zooming in on a photo and still getting sharp results.
However, results were less impressive in low-light settings. But they are still very good. We were unable to pick up details in less-lit areas and the color accuracy was poorer for darker subjects. However, we have seen worse night performers at lower price points.
The two other rear cameras are the ultra-wide 13MP f/2.4 and macro 5MP f/2.4 macro snappers. However, they are very situational so you won’t be using them every day. The ultra-wide was good for wide scenes. However, the macro had issues with dynamic range. As the examples below show, the macro is not recommended. This macro snapper is not the worst we’ve ever seen.
Xiaomi normally saves telephoto lens for its top devices. However, there isn’t one on the Mi 10T Pro. All zooming is digital or via cropping the main 108MP image. It’s not a big problem up to 5x zoom. But beyond that, you lose a lot of detail and photos look grainy. This becomes most apparent when zooming to 30x. We felt that zooming was an essential feature to frame shots well.
The software that powers the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro’s photography capabilities is a big part of its success. It can tweak photos and add a few additional modes to enhance the experience. We like Xiaomi’s AI optimization. It can make photos look better and can even enhance them with filters. However, it isn’t as sophisticated as the AI optimization of Samsung, Apple, or Huawei. Sometimes, images can appear a bit too saturated.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has a number of fun camera modes, including Vlog (which allows you to shoot lots of mini-videos and then edit them together), Front and Back (so that you can simultaneously shoot from both the front and back cameras) and Vlog.
Clone allows you to take two photos or videos of the exact same scene and merge them (so people can move around and appear in the video or picture multiple times). Sky automatically detects the sky and lets you alter it. You can add weather effects, or change an overcast day into a sunny one.
These modes will not revolutionize your photography or videography, but they are fun to experiment with.
Videography is possible at 4K at 60fps and 8K at 30fps. There are also motion tracking and stabilization tools, but they work only at 1080p 30fps so we ignored them. The videos turned out quite well – we actually used the Mi 10T Pro for some TechRadar YouTube videos (opens new tab).
The 20MP f/2.2 self-portrait camera is very good. It captures enough detail to crop down your selfies without making them look low-res. This mode blurs the background and slightly alters the subject’s colors, so you will most likely use it with Portrait mode. It worked mostly well for us, but sometimes the bokeh background blur blur erroneously smudged hair or blurred nearby objects.
Camera samples
Performance and specifications
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is equipped with the Snapdragon 865 chipset. This was the best Android chip available until the 865Plus was released in late 2018. However, the 865 Plus has a significantly improved processing speed and many manufacturers are happy with the 865. The Mi 10T Pro is sure to benefit from its impressive processing power.
The phone scored an average multicore score of 3,292 when it was put through benchmarking tests. The fastest phones score above 3,000 so the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is right in line with the Oppo Find X2 Pro (33295), Motorola Edge Plus (33334) and the US version (3286) all of which share the Snapdragon 865 processor.
This high score means that the phone will not let you down when it comes to high-intensity tasks. Gaming feels effortless, with games automatically setting high graphics and high frame rates. We never felt any lag or slow loading during play. Even when using the 108MP high-resolution main camera, the handset was able to easily edit images.
This smartphone has 8GB RAM. Although it might seem small compared to the 12GB and 16GB available in other smartphones, the declining returns on extra RAM means that you don’t really require more.
Although the Xiaomi Mi 10 speakers are great for smartphones, it seems that Xiaomi hasn’t brought this technology back to the 10T Pro. The sound quality through the speakers isn’t terrible, but it’s not exceptional either. Higher volumes caused music distortion and the bass felt lacking.
Software
We are used to critiquing the pre-installed apps or bloatware that comes with Xiaomi phones when we review them. However, the Mi 10T Pro isn’t as problematic as other Xiaomi phones.
There will be some apps that you don’t want, such as WPS Office, eBay and LinkedIn. But there is no need to clutter your home screen with third-party apps.
Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro includes MIUI 12, the most recent software from Xiaomi. It is laid over Android 10. Although this is a major graphical overhaul, there are also some layout and option modifications. An app drawer is not enabled by default. However, you can turn one on or off. Three-button navigation is also enabled automatically, but you can change to gesture navigation using an option hidden within the menus.
The most irritating feature in MIUI is the one that seems to be inspired by iPadOS. If you swipe down from top left, you’ll see your notification list. And if you swipe right from the top right you’ll get quick settings. This is because most Android phones combine these into one menu you can access by simply swiping down from the top. If you haven’t used this feature before, it might be difficult to get used to.
MIUI offers a few tools that may be of use to smartphone users who are very busy, such as Cleaner which removes background apps that might be taking up too much RAM; Boost speed which improves gaming performance and a scanner function that scans for malware in apps when they are installed.
This feature is helpful for security-conscious people, however, the ‘all clear’ alert can appear over any other activity, which can be very annoying.
Android 10 features include a system-wide dark mode and digital wellbeing tools. You can also make use of MIUI 12 to get the best out of Android 10.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro’s high processing speed and high refresh rate made navigation easy and fluid. Additionally, the actual swipe animations of MIUI felt faster than other custom UIs, which adds to the feeling of speed.
Battery life
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro’s battery will last you for a long time. It has a 5,000mAh battery that is the largest you’ll find in any smartphone.
The Mi 10T Pro lasted for a full day regardless of how much we played video, music streaming, or gaming. The device often reached its second day with enough power, but it could not be trusted to last that long.
The long battery life can be attributed to some display features. LCD is less energy-intensive than AMOLED and the Auto refresh rate mode ensures that the phone doesn’t operate at 144Hz too often, which avoids the problem of excessive power drain.
It charges at 33W. This is slower than other Xiaomi phones or comparable competitors at this price. The Pro, however, has 65W charging and costs less. But that’s not what everyone will mind. The phone went from being empty to fully charged in less than an hour. This is still very fast.
The Mi 10T Pro does not have wireless charging, unlike the Mi 10 Pro. This means that those who want to use this free method of powering their devices will need to find another option.
Do I need to buy the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro or not?
It’s a good deal if…
LCD screens are your favorite
To help people with vision problems, Xiaomi used an LCD screen. The Mi 10T Pro might be the perfect choice for you if you have problems with flickering effects in OLED displays.
Do you want a great camera?
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is a great value for money. A 108MP camera phone would normally cost a lot more. While it might be more expensive than the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro in some ways, the extra features might make the Xiaomi phone stand out.
Your Screen refresh rate is important
The Mi 10T Pro is one of few phones that has a 144Hz screen. This makes motion look super smooth. While not all games or streaming services offer higher refresh rates, we believe that in the future, many will.
It’s not worth the risk if you…
A 108MP camera is enough.
The main difference between the Xiaomi Mi 10T model and the Pro model, is that the former has a 64MP primary camera. If you don’t require the high-resolution 108MP snapper, then maybe it’s cheaper sibling.
Need wireless charging
While wireless charging is an important feature on some Xiaomi phones, it’s not available on this model. You might want a different device if you prefer to simply lay your phone down on a stand or pad to charge it.
Have smaller hands
The Mi 10T Pro, like most Xiaomi phones, is quite large. If you have smaller hands, you may find it difficult to use the phone. You will need to be able reach the side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
