2021 just started and Xiaomi has launched the Mi10i in India which is the first device from the company this year. The smartphone comes with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR, and HDR 10+ support.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor which is further coupled with 6/8 GB of RAM and 64/128 GB of Storage.
The device starts at Rs.20,999 in India and it comes in three color options — Pacific Sunrise, Atlantic Blue, and Midnight Black. Is the Xiaomi Mi10i worth your money? Let’s find out.
Xiaomi Mi 10i Specifications
- Display: 6.67-inch Full HD+ LCD display with 20:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, 450 nits brightness, HDR, HDR10+, Gorilla Glass 5
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G Mobile Platform
- GPU: Adreno 619
- RAM: 6/8 GB LPDDR4X RAM
- Storage: 64/128 GB UFS 2.2 storage
- OS: Android 10-based MIUI 12
- Rear Camera: 108 MP Samsung HM2 primary sensor + 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens + 2 MP macro lens + 2 MP depth sensor
- Front Camera: 16 MP
- Connectivity: 5G SA/ NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) 2 x 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS (L1+L5), and USB Type-C port
- Battery: 4820 mAh with 33W fast charging
Design, Display and Build
When it comes to design, Xiaomi loves to experiment with their phones and it’s the same case with the Mi10i. The device is available in three colors and we got the Pacific Sunrise variant to play around with. It comes with a beautiful gradient finish on its Corning Gorilla Glass 5 back and weighs about 217 grams. The device looks and feels premium when you hold it in your hands, however, it’s a little heavy when you compare it with the OnePlus Nord and some other smartphones available out there.
Since the glass back comes with a gradient finish it doesn’t attract many fingerprints and you can easily use the device without the case. It has a circular camera module on the back that bulges out and makes the smartphone wobble when you keep it on a flat surface. Along with this, the smartphone also comes with the Mi branding on the bottom and that’s what differentiates it from the Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G that was launched in China.
Just like most of the Xiaomi smartphones out there, the Volume Buttons and the Power Button is placed on the right. The Power Button on the device doubles up as a fingerprint scanner and helps you to unlock the device in a second. On the bottom, there’s a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a speaker grill. The Mi10i comes with Dual Stereo Speakers and the sound output from these speakers is top-notch.
Moving on, you get the SIM Tray on the left but it isn’t a triple card slot which means that you can either use a MicroSD Card along with a SIM Card else you can use two SIM Cards in the device. On the top, the device comes with the signature IR Blaster by Xiaomi that can be used to control your TV and other home devices straight from your smartphone. You can have a look at the Mi10i below.
Talking about the Display, the Mi10i comes with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ LCD display with a 20:9 aspect ratio. It’s a 120 Hz display that comes with 450 nits brightness, HDR, HDR10+, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the top. Even though this is an LCD Panel we had no problems while we were using it. The display is super bright and you won’t have any issues when you are using it in direct sunlight.
The 120Hz refresh rate makes the device feel smooth and there is no lag when you are switching between apps or launching new things on your device. Gaming also gets better because of the higher refresh rate and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G handles every game with ease which makes the overall experience enjoyable.
The colors on the Display are Vivid and punchy, thanks to this the media streaming experience gets better. The blacks aren’t as good as what we see on AMOLED Panels, however, most of the regular users won’t notice much difference. You can watch HDR Videos and since the device comes with Widevine L1 certification you can enjoy your favorite movies and series on Amazon Prime and Netflix and the best streaming quality. Overall the Display on the Mi10i is good for its price and gets the job done well. We would have loved to see an AMOLED Panel in this price range and it’s time Xiaomi starts offering that because almost every other brand offers that with their smartphones.
User Interface and Software
The Mi10i runs on the latest MIUI 12 which is based on Android 10 straight out of the box and as a result, it brings in a lot of additional features. MIUI is known for its customization options and with the MIUI 12 on Mi10i, you can change your icons, animations, and the overall theme when you get bored with the default look on your device.
In addition to this, several important features like Dual Apps, Second Space, App Lock, Floating Window, and Game Turbo are already present in the device which means that you won’t have to install third-party apps to use them. Apps like Mi Browser, Mi Message, and Mi Dialer are removed from the device and now you get Google Messages and Phone app instead of that. The browser is also replaced by Google Chrome and this helps to remove some of the Ads that users were getting with Mi Browser.
Mi10i also gets the new Control Centre that gives you quick access to shortcuts and allows you to make changes to your WiFi, Bluetooth, and more. Since all the shortcuts have moved to the Control Centre users now get a separate space for their Notifications. Users get the complete Control with the Control Centre which means that if you don’t like using it, you can disable it from the settings and get the old notification panel back.
The preinstalled apps include some games, Mi Apps, WPS Office. Amazon, Linked In, and more. There are no Chinese apps on the device however you still see some ads here and there, You can have a look at the MIUI 12 below.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
Xiaomi Mi10i is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset which is coupled with an Adreno 619 GPU and 6/8 GB LPDDR4X RAM. It comes with 64/128 GB UFS 2.2 storage and thanks to this it gets faster read/write speeds when you compare it with the competitors.
We got the 8GB RAM Variant to play around with and there were no issues with the everyday performance even when we were using the device with Refresh Rate set to 120Hz. The smartphone handles every app you throw at it, the app load speeds are pretty good and In addition to this, you can multitask with ease on the device.
When it comes to Gaming, we tried running Call of Duty Mobile, PES 2021, and a few other games on the Mi10i and the device didn’t disappoint. Call of Duty can run on graphics set to Very High with Frame Rate on Very High or you can play it with Graphics set to High and Frame Rate set to Max if you want more FPS. In heavy games like Call of Duty, there are minor frame drops after long hours of Gaming however that doesn’t affect your overall gameplay experience. Casual games like Among Us are playable without any issues.
On the connectivity side, the Mi10i comes with support for 5G SA/ NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) 2 x 2 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.1, and GPS (L1+L5). There are no issues with the connectivity on the device as Signal strengths are good and you won’t face any WiFi drops even after hours of usage. I have an area at my home where most of the smartphones even some flagship devices have problems searching for my WiFi network however with the Mi10i that wasn’t the case and surprisingly I was able to use WiFi while sitting there.
Talking about the Benchmarks, we tried running a couple of benchmarking apps on this device including Geekbench 5, 3DMark, AnTuTu, and Androbench. The device performed well and you can have a look at the detailed benchmark scores below.
Camera
The Mi10i packs a quad-camera setup on the back and a single camera on the front. The backside has a 108 MP Samsung HM2 primary sensor + 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens + 2 MP macro lens + 2 MP depth sensor. On the front, there is a 16MP shooter that takes care of your selfies and allows you to make video calls.
Talking about the User Interface, you get the regular Xiaomi camera app that comes with a lot of features and different image modes. Pro mode is present on the device and it gives you complete control over your Shutter Speed, Focus, ISO, and more. Other modes include Portrait Mode, Night Mode, Vlog Mode, Long Exposure, and Clone Mode.
Thanks to its impressive camera specs, the Mi10i manages to capture some stunning images. The photos you get have punchy color tones and nice details to them. The macro camera on this performs surprisingly good and the depth sensor makes your portraits better. The background blur is really good and there are hardly any problems with the edge detection while taking portraits from the smartphone. You can have a look at the images shot using Xiaomi Mi10i below.
Battery Life
Mi10i comes with a 4820 mAh battery that supports 33W fast charging and the battery life on this smartphone is impressive. It is highly reliable and you can use the smartphone for as long as 2 days with moderate use if you have your refresh rate set to 60Hz.
When using the smartphone with a 120Hz refresh rate, the battery consumption gets higher however it still manages to get you through the day easily with a single charge. The 33W charging helps you to charge the smartphone within an hour and In addition to this, the fast charger is bundled in the box which means that you won’t have to spend some extra money to get faster-charging speeds. Overall, when it comes to Battery Life you surely won’t be disappointed.
Verdict
The Mi10i from Xiaomi is probably the best mid-range smartphone that you can get in the market right now. It ticks all the boxes and comes with everything that you need from a mid-range smartphone. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G is a really good chipset and when it gets coupled with faster UFS 2.2 Storage and 6/8 GB of RAM the performance on the Mi10i gets boosted. The dual stereo speakers on this smartphone deliver a great sound output which makes it a really good device for media consumption.
We would have loved to see an AMOLED Display however the 120Hz Display that Xiaomi is giving with the Mi10i makes everything feels super smooth and thanks to its high brightness levels you can easily use the device outdoors. The battery life is impressive and the cameras are pretty good too. It took Xiaomi some time to get back in the game however they have finally started launching the perfect budget smartphones once again. Overall, the Mi10i is quite impressive and it’s one of the best smartphones that you can get under Rs.24,000 right now.
