Mobile phones companies don’t seem to be much interested in the ₹20,000- ₹30,000 segments for reasons that are best known to them. Unlike the budget and other premium segments, this section sees less action. Consumers either prefer a higher-end version of a budget phone or just the base model of a premium phone. We do have to see a few sporadic launches now and then, and the latest to join this sparsely populated section is Xiaomi’s Mi 10i.
2021 has just started and Xiaomi has launched its newest mobile phone in India which happens to be the first device from the company this year. The newly launched mobile phones come out with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ plus a display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR, and even an HDR 10+ support. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor which is further coupled with 6/8 GB of RAM and a storage of 64/128 GB.
The price of the device starts at Rs.20,999 in India and it comes in three colour options that are Pacific Sunrise, Atlantic Blue, and Midnight Black. Is the Xiaomi Mi10i worth purchase? In this article, we are going to give you a brief Mi 10i Review.
Xiaomi Mi 10i Specifications
Before we move forward to review Mi 10i, let us look at some of the specifications.
- Display: 6.67-inch Full HD+ Screen, 20:9 look, 120Hz refresh rate, the brilliance of 450 nits, HDR, HDR10+ & Gorilla glass 5
- CPU: It is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G Mobile Platform
- GPU: GPU is Adreno 619
- RAM: Mi10i has 6/8 GB LPDDR4X RAM
- Storage: The storage is about 64/128 GB UFS 2.2
- OS: OS is Android 10-based MIUI 12
- Rear Camera: The rear camera is 108 MP Samsung HM2 primary sensor plus 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens plus 2 MP macro lens plus 2 MP depth sensor
- Front Camera: The front camera is 16 MP
- Connectivity: Interconnect discussions include 5G SA/NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac 2 x 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.1, L1+L5 GPS and Type-C cable.
- Battery: Battery is 4820 mAh with 33W fast charging
Design and display
The design looks very nice if you ask us. The model we had received, the Pacific Sunrise offers a blend of orange and blue. The frosted glass finish makes sure that it is not glossy and does not attract fingerprint smudges. There exists a circular camera module on the back, similar to the modules seen on old Motorola smartphones. There is a punch-hole camera as the front is regular.
But there is much more to the phone than meets the camera. It is a heavy yet thick phone. Its measurement is 165.38 x 76.8 x 9mm and it weighs around 214.5 grams. For the perspective, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra measures around 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1mm and it weighs 208 grams. If you have used larger-screen phone in the past or is currently using one, you will get used to Mi 10i’s layout soon enough.
Two positive sides of the smartphone are the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both front and back and the IP53 splash resistance.
The mobile phone comes with a 6.67-inch display with full HD plus resolution. However, the display is an LCD panel. Mostly, the screen fares well. It is a little bit reflective outdoors. When compared to AMOLEDs, the LCD experience does feel inferior. But Xiaomi has successfully made up for the cost-cutting with the addition of up to 120Hz refresh rate. The multimedia and basic browsing experience on the display are more than satisfactory level. The smartphone also has an HDR 10+ certification if you wish to watch high-resolution content.
Camera
Xiaomi Mi 10i review will be incomplete if we don’t talk about the smartphone’s camera. As we mentioned earlier, one of the highlights of the Mi10i phone is the 108-megapixel primary camera. The entire setup is 108-megapixel primary sensor (Samsung HM2), 8-megapixel of the ultra-wide-angle sensor, 2-megapixel of the macro sensor, and 2-megapixel of the depth sensor.
You should note that you have to manually enable the 108-megapixel camera if you want to take the high-resolution photos. The 108-megapixel camera photos that we shot came out as desired on most of the occasions. The camera may not be able to impress you much in the default settings
We observed that daylight shots are finer in comparison. But you are required to compose a shot properly to get the best results. In some of the photos, we also noticed little washed-out colours and lack of proper focus. The wide-angle and 2x zoomed photos shot from the camera are a bit underwhelming. We also observed that lowlight photos leave more to be desired, surprisingly. The indoor and the night shots were way off the mark.
We hope that Xiaomi enhances camera capabilities through its software updates in the future. The conclusion is that the 108-megapixel plus daylight conditions will give you the best results.
Performance
This is the point where Mi 10i does well. During our testing, the onboard Snapdragon 750G processor handled the multi-tasking that includes longer sessions of games such as Call of Duty Mobile very well. There was no problem seen while making Zoom or Google hangout calls either. Our average daily usage of the smartphone included long sessions of gaming, browsing, and even streaming. If you are a power user, it is most likely that you will be satisfied with the latest model of Xiaomi. If you are a medium to heavy usage user, the 4,820mAh battery will last you almost a day or longer. You can take more out of it if you make optimisations such as using lower refresh rate or battery saver modes, and so on.
Talking about software, MIUI 12 looks slightly leaner than its previous iteration. There are no visible pesky advertisements, fortunately. However, the software continues to grapple with the menace of bloatware. As several reviewers have pointed out, Xiaomi’s preloaded GetApps app store’s all the updates can get a bit pesky.
Other basic elements of the mobile are such as fingerprint sensors, speakers, and call quality are up to the mark.
SOURCE: NextPit
Conclusion
Mi 10i is a perfectly fine phone, but it hasn’t come without imperfections. Its lowlight photography could and should have been better. We won’t mind an LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate either. The smartphone does make it up with its near excellent and reliable performance. And let’s not forget that the android phone “It looks quite nice”, something which many people consider nowadays when they pick a phone to buy. We would like to recommend this phone to those who are looking for a phone with a budget of ₹20,000- ₹25,000.
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