Similar mixed news surrounds the camera. The 48MP main sensor of the Redmi Note 10 5G is capable of taking adequate shots at a reasonable price. However, the complete absence of an ultra-wide assistant, let alone a Telephoto lens, is somewhat disappointing. It is not worth the 2MP macro sensor.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 105G’s most notable feature is its endurance. It has a 5,000mAh battery and other modest specifications that can last for up to two days.
It’s a solid package overall, but potential buyers should be clear about their priorities before they commit. Xiaomi, like the Reality 8 5G has made key compromises in order to squeeze 5G under the $200/PS200 mark. You must be sure that next-generation network connectivity is an essential component of your life.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note10 5G is a great budget phone. This is undoubtedly one of the most affordable phones. However, it’s also one of the top Xiaomi phones. You can find a more complete alternative if you are willing to sacrifice 5G data speeds in exchange for another smartphone cycle.
Price and availability for Xiaomi Redmi 10 5G
- Announced March 4; hit UK shops April 13
- $199 / PlayStation199 (around AU$360 for 64GB)
- No word about Australia
Xiaomi Redmi 10 5G specs
Weight: 190g
Dimensions : 161.8 x 7.5.3 x 8.9mm
Display Size: 6.5 inches
Resolution: 1080 x 2400
Chipset – Density 700
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64/128GB
Rear camera 48MP + 2MP +2MP
Front camera 8MP
Pre-installed Software: Android 11
Battery: 5,000mAh
Charging: 18W wired
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G, which was first announced on March 4, 2021, became available in the UK for purchase at PS199 (around AU$360 for the 64GB model). A 128GB model is also available for $250 / PS209 (around AU$380).
Although the phone is readily available in the US and retailers are more difficult to find in the UK, it is still widely available. The 64GB model is not currently available in the US, so we believe you can only purchase the 128GB.
The Redmi Note10 5G is a very similar proposition as the Realme8 5G or the Oppo 5G. Both were launched at the same time and promised 5G connectivity for around $250/PS200.
We don’t know when the Redmi Note 10 5G 5G will arrive in Australia. However, we’ll keep this review updated as soon as we find out.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G: design
- The cheapest 5G phone on sale
- Very thick and heavy
- Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
One thing we can say about the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10, 5G is that it does not look cheap. It’s a much more pleasant phone to hold than the Oppo A54 5G and the similar-priced Realme 8 5G.
The phone’s front is not any different. The phone’s front features include a slimmer bezel, a large chin, and a centrally placed punch-hole selfie camera. It’s also free of distractingly shiny surrounds.
The phone’s back is a classy customer. At least, in the Graphite Gray color. Although it’s clear plastic, the phone has a matte finish that feels and looks nice. It’s not impervious to fingerprints but it beats most phones with glossy grease magnets.
The Xiaomi camera module looks far more expensive than its closest rivals. It has a black shiny finish and split metal effect that makes it seem more serious than it is.
This phone has a heavier feel to it that supports this professional-like appearance. It weighs in at 190g and has a thickness of 8.9mm. That’s a significant positive. If you are looking for something more simple, this is it.
The Redmi Note 105G uses a side-mounted fingerprint scanner instead of the more popular in-display system. This is a good choice for this market where in-display options are slow and unreliable.
This more functional system is not the fastest way to get into your phone. It’s still reliable enough.
The phone’s top edge has an IR blaster, which allows you to use it for remote control. It’s not unusual, as anyone who has been familiar with Xiaomi’s past work will know. However, it sets the phone apart from both the Realme 8 5G and the Oppo A54 5. G.
Display: Xiaomi Redmi note 10 5G
- Unbelievably High-Quality LCD
- Colors slightly washed out
Usually, with these cheap phones, you can only hope for a 120Hz refresh rate (like that of the Poco X3 NFC), or a bright OLED panel (like that of the Reality 8). The Xiaomi Redmi Note 105G does not have either.
Xiaomi has made the first compromise to reach that $200/PS200 ‘5G at 200’ short. It now offers a 6.5-inch FHD+ (1080×2400) IPS LCD with a refresh rate of 90Hz. It’s all quite disappointing.
It’s not a bad display, but it’s not very bright at 400 nits, which isn’t much for sunny days. The colors also look a bit washed-out, even when viewed head-on. The viewability of the phone will be significantly reduced if you tilt it to a great extent.
The implementation of a 90Hz refresh speed is not something that we are particularly concerned about. The top-of-the-line iPhone 12 Pro Max has a 60Hz refresh rate, while 120Hz phones are still hampered by performance limitations. This is not the best display for the money.
You only need to pay $279/PS249 for both OLED AND 120Hz, which is a slightly higher price. That phone’s identity is the Redmi note 10 Pro. Although this phone is not 5G-ready, you can start to see how important such a feature is to you.
Xiaomi Redmi note 10 5G: camera
- 48MP camera fine with bright, balanced lighting
- Struggles with high-contrast
- No ultrawide or telephoto
With the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G, 5G has prompted further compromises. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G’s camera setup is pretty basic. It has a 48MP main cam, a 2MP macro sensor, and a depth sensor.
This means that there is no dedicated telephoto or ultra-wide. While the former is not surprising for a phone this expensive, it is slightly more notable. We often criticize budget ultra-wides for taking up too much space. We’d be happy to accept one in exchange for the dodgy depth sensor and macro sensor.
The Oppo A54 5G has one, while the Realme 8 5G does not have one. It is possible to get a larger camera setup and 5G for this price.
The Redmi Note 10 5G performs well in the general shooting. It runs off the same Sony IMX 582 sensor as the Poco and Poco X3 Pro. Although neither of these phones produced spectacular photos, even at their respective prices, they were solid.
We were not impressed with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10/5G during our shoots. It struggles in bright lighting, completely obscuring highlights and skin tones on sunny days. HDR management is not the best thing about it.
Xiaomi’s AI scene selection tool does a great job when the lighting is not too harsh. The food photos of breakfast tacos and fried chicken looked delicious, even though the interiors were well-lit.
It’s a toss-up between the Redmi Note 10 and its budget counterparts when it comes to night mode. It was able to capture a series of identical shots of still-life in both full and low nighttime conditions. This proved to be comparable with the Realme 8 (4G), in low ambient lighting, and better in full nighttime conditions.
Night mode photos of the Redmi Note 10 5G turned out better than those of the Oppo A54 5G in both cases. They were also louder than the Realme 8 5G’s in full-night conditions but had better clarity in low ambient lighting.
The 2MP macro sensor is absolutely terrible. We were unable to find any useful examples of close-ups of flowers using the 2MP sensor. The blurry, noisy blur of colors produced by the camera failed to pin its subjects.
The AI of Xiaomi does a decent job with the portrait mode on the phone, at least for a budget smartphone. The algorithm is not perfect. There’s a slight blurring of the subject and certain elements (such as hats) are lost to it. The subject got plenty of attention and the skin had plenty of detail.
This is certainly true when compared with similar selfies taken using the Xiaomi Redmi Note 105G’s 8MP front-facing camera. Even with the terrible beautifying effect turned down, skin looked dull and highlights were blown out.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G: camera samples
HDR is not too hot for the Redmi Note 10 5G.
Although the scene was captured fairly well, it is difficult to see because of the lighting.
Night mode is more effective than its rivals in low ambient light. It produces less noise and has better color.
Night conditions can be a bit more murky than normal, but they are still not the worst for the price.
Xiaomi Redmi 10 5G specs and performance
- Modest MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity700 5G chipset
- Only 4GB RAM
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10/5G uses a MediaTek Dimensity 700 7G chip, which is exactly the same 7nm chip as the Realme 8 5G.
The processor is not fast and the RAM of only 4GB does not help. Realme 8 5G, the aforementioned chip, offers a choice between 6GB and 8GB RAM. This gives more room for app switching and such.
Although it isn’t what you would call the main component, Density 700 can run day-to-day apps quite well. It is quite capable in CPU-heavy tasks as shown by a Geekbench 5 multicore score (1,677) – although that is a little less than the Realme 8 5G’s (1,765).
However, it’s equally capable of running games. It can run 3D games such as PUBG Mobile or Genshin Impact at a playable level. However, you shouldn’t crank up the graphical settings too much.
PUBG Mobile defaults, like the Realme 8 5G to HD and high frame rates settings. This is a few notches higher than the minimum. Everything runs fairly smoothly when you jump into Battle Royale – although the Redmi’s mono speaker won’t give you stereo sound.
With these affordable phones, you can choose between 64GB and 128GB storage. You can also expand your storage with the microSD card slot.
Redmi, a sub-brand under the smartphone giant Xiaomi, uses MIUI 12 on top of Android 11 to create its smartphones. It offers the same experience as the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra or the massively-slaying Poco F3 smartphones.
MIUI has brought us a level of comfort, we have to admit. The UI is highly customizable, and it has the potential to have a split notification panel and a theme store.
However, it is still quite busy and difficult to discover its full potential. You also have to deal with things like three web browsers and a folder containing third-party apps.
Battery life of Xiaomi Redmi 10 5G
- 5,000mAh battery
- 18W charger
A 5,000mAh battery powers the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5.G. This is a big cell, even by smartphone standards. However, it’s the same size as the Oppo A54 5G or the Realme 8 5G batteries.
To understand why you only need to look at the common nomenclature between these three handsets. 5G modems can be among the most energy-hungry parts in modern smartphones.
Although most of us won’t be using 5G networks often, the Redmi Note 105G has long battery life.
We found that the phone lost less than 50% after a 3-hour 40-minute screen-on time. This would be a day of moderate use for most people. This basically means that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G can be used for a couple of days if you aren’t too heavy.
We ran our usual battery test to test media performance. This involves downloading a 90-minute looped video and setting the screen brightness to maximum. The Redmi Note 105G lost 10% of its full charge. This places it between the Poco F3 (7%)and the Xiaomi Mi 11 Light (11%), two much more powerful and energy-efficient phones.
It should be noted that the display of the Redmi Note 105G was set at 90Hz in all these discussions. It’s worth noting that if the display is set to 60Hz, you will get more mileage from a single charge. AdaptiveSync technology allows the display to adjust its refresh rate according to the task.
This 18W charger is not the most generous. The Poco X3 NFC comes with a 33W charger. The Realme 8 5G charger has the same provision but it is more efficient than the Oppo A54 5G charger (10W).
To get from 0 up to 50%, you will need to wait for an hour. This is not a fast process by modern standards.
