Xiaomi Mi Note 10 smartphone review: the first 108-megapixel

This smartphone has a rear photo module, which has a 10x hybrid zoom, laser autofocus and optical stabilization, got five cameras, including a 108-megapixel sensor. Of particular note is the huge built-in battery, supplemented by a 30-watt fast charge. 

In the hardware, it is also worth noting the AMOLED-screen with HDR10 support, high-quality sound via Bluetooth and rich communication capabilities. In this review, Xiaomi Mi Note 10 will find out whether the Chinese company has a balanced flagship.

The new smartphone is a global version of the device Mi CC9 Pro, introduced by Xiaomi in the Chinese market. He became the first commercial device to be equipped with a 108-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor.

Using this matrix, you can record video in 6K resolution (6016x3384 pixels) at a speed of 30 frames per second, and the maximum picture resolution is 12,032 x 9024 pixels.

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 Note that Mi Note 10 is already the second smartphone with five rear cameras, however, unlike the Nokia 9 PureView (our review here), each of them is aimed at its specific task.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: Technical Specifications

    Model: M1910F4G

    OS: Android 9.0 (Pie) with a proprietary MIUI 11 shell

    Processor: 8 nm LPP, Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G octa-core 64-bit processor (SDM730), 2 Kryo 470 Gold cores (2.2 GHz) + 6 Kryo 470 Silver cores (1.8 GHz), Hexagon 688 DSP coprocessor

    Graphics: Adreno 618 (up to 700 MHz)

    RAM: 6 GB, 2-channel LPDDR4x, 1866 MHz

    Built-in memory: 128 GB

    Screen: 6.47 inches, AMOLED FHD + (2340 × 1080 pixels), aspect ratio 19.5: 9, pixel density per inch 398 ppi, color gamut DCI-P3, contrast 400,000: 1, brightness 600/430 (HBM / typical) nit , HDR10, Always On Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 safety glass, TÜV Rheinland certification

    Rear photo module: main camera - 108 MP, Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX, S5KHMX (1 / 1.33 inch, 0.8 μm -> 1.6 μm Super Pixel), 7-lens lens (f / 1.69, viewing angle 82 degrees , EGF 25 mm, phase and laser autofocus), optical stabilization OIS, portrait camera (telephoto) - 12 MP (1 / 2.55 inch, 1.4 μm), lens (f / 2.0, EGF 50 mm, phase Dual PD and laser autofocus), 2x optical zoom; telephoto camera - 5 MP (1.4.4 inches, 1.0 microns), lens (f / 2.0, phase and laser autofocus), 10x hybrid zoom, optical stabilization; super wide-angle camera - 20 MP (1 / 2.8 inches, 1.12 microns), 5-lens lens (f / 2.2, EFR 13 mm, viewing angle 117 degrees, laser autofocus); macro camera - 2 MP (1/5 inch, 1.75 μm), lens (f / 2.4, autofocus 2-10 cm); two 2-element flashes (soft + normal); video 2160p @ 30fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120 / 240fps, 720p @ 960fps

    Front camera: 32 MP (0.8 μm pixel), wide-angle lens (f / 2.0, EGF 26 mm), video 1080p @ 30 fps

    Interfaces: Bluetooth 5.0 (LDAC, aptX / aptX HD / aptX adaptive), Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct / Display, NFC, USB Type -C (USB 2.0), Infrared

    Sound: 3.5 mm audio connector, Smart PA amplifier, speaker SLS 1216 (X max = 0.5 mm, volume 1 cc)

    SIM card slot: nanoSIM (4FF) + nanoSIM (4FF)

    Network: 2G, 3G (HSPA +, up to 42 Mbps), 4G, FDD-LTE band (3, 7, 20 ...), TDD-LTE band (38, 40)

    Navigation: GPS / GLONASS / BDS / Galileo, A-GPS

    Radio: FM tuner

    Sensors: accelerometer, light and proximity sensors, gyroscope, compass, laser focus sensor, optical fingerprint scanner (In-Display)

    Battery: Li-polymer, 5,260 mAh, support for 30-watt fast wired charging

    Dimensions: 157.8x74.2x9.67 mm

    Weight: 208g

    Color: Black, White, Green

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: Design, Ergonomics

The new Mi Note 10 resembles other modern smartphones if only because, like them, it relies on fashion trends in its design.

First of all, glass and a metal frame flowing down from two sides, flat at the ends and tapering at the sides, attract attention.

In addition, there is nothing unique in the U-shaped cutout at the top of the screen and the placement of the elements of the rear photo module. For comparison, you can take at least the flagship Huawei P30 Pro (our review here).

Full glazing Mi Note 10 made using Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and the frame was made of aluminum alloy. The manufacturer has provided three options for the color of the case - black, white and turquoise green (we got for the test).

The slippery glossy surface of the back panel shimmers at different angles and willingly collects fingerprints, while simultaneously facilitating slipping out of the hands.

The impressive dimensions of the smartphone in terms of (157.8 x 74.2 mm) are determined by a rather extensive 6.47-inch screen. But almost 10 mm thick (more precisely 9.67 mm) and tangible weight (208 g) are directly connected to the built-in high-capacity battery (5,260 mAh). The case, unfortunately, did not receive certified protection against dust and moisture.

The frames around the display are small, with the top almost the same size as the bottom. If no gestures are selected in the settings for controlling the smartphone, then the icons “Back”, “Home” and “Recently launched applications” take their place in the lower area of ​​the screen.

On a small teardrop-shaped "bang" only the front camera lens fit, and literally at the junction with the upper end they made a long cutout for the speaker grill.

Above the navigation panel is the platform of the optical fingerprint sensor integrated in the display. Why it could not be raised a little higher is incomprehensible. They say that the size of the scanner itself under the screen was increased from 7x7 mm to 7x9 mm.

On the right edge, thin, differing only in size, volume rocker and power / lock button occupied an unchanged position. But below is a closed slot with a tray for two places, intended exclusively for nanoSIM (4FF) format subscriber identity modules.

The left rib is empty.

The USB Type-C connector (USB 2.0) at the bottom of the case is surrounded by a 3.5-mm audio connector, a decorative grille of a "multimedia" speaker and an opening for a conversational microphone.

Holes for the second microphone (noise reduction) at the top end of the company were infrared.

The lower left side of the rear panel was decorated with the Xiaomi logo, and on the contrary placed an accompanying text from which you can find the model number, company name and country of manufacture of the smartphone.

In the rear photo module on the vertical island ledge, only three lenses were assembled, and two more appeared directly on the surface of the rear panel, with the lower one flush. On the right, also vertically, two 2-element flashes were placed (soft and ordinary), as well as explanatory inscriptions “108МР” and “5Х optical”.

With active use, the Mi Note 10 should definitely use the silicone clip case included in the kit. At least at first.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: screen

For the screen, Mi Note 10 chose a 6.47-inch flexible AMOLED matrix with a small U-shaped neckline. Its manufacturer is Visionox - the one that helped Xiaomi this fall to present a smartphone literally wrapped in a display on all sides (Mi Mix Alpha).

At a maximum resolution of FHD + (2340x1080 pixels, 19.5: 9), the pixel density per inch reaches 398 ppi. High dynamic contrast (400,000: 1) is accompanied by a maximum brightness of 600 nits (typical - 430 nits). The screen is promised the color gamut DCI P3, which is usually used for digital cinemas. HDR10 technology is also supported. Corning Gorilla Glass 5 is coated with an oleophobic coating.

It is proposed to adjust the brightness level of the screen manually or use the "Auto tuning" switch. Note that the brightness in night mode is set separately. A certified Rheinland TÜV reading mode is designed to reduce eye strain by optimizing the color temperature of the screen. 

Automatically, this mode is activated after sunset or at a specified time (scheduled). The intensity of the blue filter can be adjusted manually.

The color scheme of the screen can be easily changed on the color wheel or with the help of a preset ("Standard", "Warm", "Cold"). 

The recommended “Auto” setting corrects the color depending on the ambient light, and you can also use the “Saturated” or “Standard” options. Special attention in the new MIUI 11 branded shell began to use the "dark" mode (theme). 

In particular, this color of the interface is now easy to include on a schedule. Another innovation in the fresh launcher was the ability to hide the cutout on the smartphone screen in two ways: without shifting the status bar and with its shift (below the black bar that hides the “bangs”).

To display information on the time, date, day of the week and battery charge on the locked screen, you need to activate the option "Active screen" (Always On Display mode) in the corresponding section ("Active screen and lock"). 

If necessary, you can specify the hours of operation (schedule), as well as change the style and color of the displayed image. Note that MIUI 11 introduced dynamic animations for notifications and dials with flexible settings. But it is proposed to wake up the display, for example, with a double tap or picking up a smartphone.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: cameras

Mi Note 10 seemed to have every reason to get on one of the steps of the pedestal for camera phones, determined by the DxOMark rating. However, all plans were confused by the closest "relative" - ​​Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro Premium, which, together with the Huawei Mate 30 Pro (our review here) shared the first place. By the way, in addition to larger memory reserves, the main difference between the “premium” model is the improved main camera lens.

The rear photo module of the Mi Note 10 includes five cameras, as well as two vertically arranged 2-element flashes, where two LEDs are allocated to the soft (with white diffuser) and ordinary. Both flashes can work in constant light mode, and the usual - also in pulsed mode.

The main camera based on the 108-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX (S5KHMX) 1 / 1.33-inch sensor is complemented by a 7-lens fast lens with 4-axis optical stabilization, f / 1.69 aperture, phase and laser autofocus. 

The Bayer quad color filter allows you to combine 0.8-micron photodiodes of the same color into four groups (4-in-1 SuperPixel), forming 1.6-micron pixels and a 27-megapixel image.

One of the telephoto cameras is based on a 12-megapixel sensor (optical size 1 / 2.55 inches, a pixel of 1.4 microns) and a lens with an aperture of f / 2.0, as well as phase (Dual PD) and laser autofocus. It is usually called “portrait”, since the EGF of its lens is 50 mm. It is this camera that provides 2x optical zoom.

Another telephoto camera announced a 5-megapixel sensor (optical size 1 / 4.4 inches, a pixel of 1.0 microns) for a lens with an aperture of f / 2.0, as well as phase and laser autofocus. 

Since this camera implements 5x optical and 10x hybrid zoom, it received 4-axis optical stabilization (digital zoom up to 50 times). Unofficial information reveals a small secret: it turns out that 3.7-fold optical zoom is obtained on an 8-megapixel sensor, and for the coveted "5X optical" they make a digital crop (image cropping) up to 5 megapixels. At the same time, it is argued that most users are unlikely to notice the difference with the real 5x optical zoom.

A super wide viewing angle of 117 degrees is provided by a 20-megapixel (optical size 1 / 2.8 inches, 1.12 μm pixel) camera, which got a 5-lens lens (supplemented by laser autofocus) with aperture f / 2.2 and EFR 13 mm.

For macro photography, a camera based on a 2-megapixel sensor (optical size 1/5 inch, pixel 1.75 μm) and a lens with an aperture of f / 2.4, in which the focusing distance is from 2 to 10 cm, was allocated.

Note that along with phase and laser focusing, the contrast method is also used.

The front camera based on a 32-megapixel sensor (0.8 μm pixel) also received AI functions. She turned out to be a wide-angle lens with a fixed focus and aperture f / 2.0. There is also support for HDR mode (including the "Auto" option). The best video recording quality at 30 fps is FHD (1920 × 1080 pixels, 16: 9).

Shooting modes are changed by horizontal swipes. So, for "Photo" right on the viewfinder, you can enable the HDR option, activate the AI ​​functions (AI), select the appropriate filter, change the main camera to the front (or vice versa), etc. The brightness of the image (exposure compensation level) is changed by vertical swipes (up or down) next to the focus circle on the viewfinder. For the "Pro" mode, it is proposed to independently determine one of the five lenses, white balance, focus, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity.

The rear camera quintet is enhanced by the Google Lens app with AI features to help determine what exactly is in the lens. This program can be called directly from the settings menu. For portraits, in addition to blurring the background, you can also experiment with other effects and virtual lighting. 

Note that for shooting using the full resolution of the 108-megapixel sensor, a separate mode is selected. A necessary condition for a successful photohunt in this case is good lighting.

The rear photo module at 30 fps captures video in 4K UHD (3840x2160 pixels, 16: 9). But in the FHD resolution (1920 × 1080 pixels, 16: 9), the frame rate can be increased to 60 fps. Super slow motion video at 960 fps is only available in HD quality (720p). 

For "timelapses" there is a set of time intervals from 0.06 to 60 seconds, which during normal playback (30 fps) speeds up processes from 2 to 1800 times. There are two decoders to choose from - H.264 and H.265, the first of which provides compatibility, and the second performance. Content is saved in MP4 container files (HEVC / AVC - video, AAC - sound).

For video bloggers in the "Video" mode, they proposed a special Vlog add-on (not to be confused with the "Video clip"), which allows you to create short videos from several pieces that are automatically "stitched" with the addition of transitions, music and effects selected in advance.

To feel the potential of the camera phone, shooting in a resolution of 108 megapixels is best on a sunny day. I also liked the night mode, although for the existing processor it is probably a bit heavy - it takes a relatively long time to wait for the result of processing. 

When shooting with an ultra-wide angle, I constantly had to take care not only of sufficient lighting, but also to control the position of the fingers, which stubbornly climbed into the corresponding lens, located below the others, in the company with a macro camera. Regarding the latter, we can say that it is perhaps the best of those that are now added to the rear photo modules of smartphones. A few frames from the quintet of cameras can be viewed here.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: sound

The "multimedia" speaker, refusing to perform in a duet with "conversational", and in solitude sounded pretty loud. This is not surprising, since the SLS 1216 emitter with a linear stroke of 0.5 mm has a volume of one cubic centimeter of sound chamber. This speaker is powered by a Smart PA power amplifier. 

As already noted, Mi Note 10 boasts a 3.5mm headphone audio jack and Hi-Res Audio certification.

The proprietary music player Music, which offers a dark theme, supports high-resolution audio formats, including APE, FLAC, and WAV. To improve the sound quality in advanced settings, it is proposed to determine the specific type of headphones and use the 7-band equalizer with presets.

The Voice Recorder application can place marks on recordings, and after selecting the format (AAC, MP3 or WAV) for MP3, it allows you to independently determine the quality (high, standard, low). For wireless "ears", they were worried about the presence of Bluetooth-codecs of high-quality sound, including all types of aptX. For an FM tuner that records online broadcasts (MP3), a wired headset is required as a shortwave antenna.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: stuffing, performance

For the smartphone, Mi Note 10 settled on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G mobile platform, created using the 8-nm LPP process. The basic version - Snapdragon 730 - outperforms the Snapdragon 710 in processor speed by 35%, image processing - by 25% and was almost twice as fast on AI-related operations. 

The cluster configuration includes two Kryo 470 Gold (2.2 GHz) productive cores and six Kryo 470 Silver (1.8 GHz) energy-efficient cores. At the same time, the processor works in conjunction with the Adreno 618 graphics accelerator, the X15 LTE modem and supports the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) wireless standard. Graphics processing performance on the Snapdragon 730G (Gaming) platform focused on gaming smartphones has been improved by 15%. 

The platform also includes a Hexagon 688 DSP signal processor and a Spectra 350 image processor. Mi Note 10 is complemented by 6 GB of LPDDR4x RAM.

The benchmark results, compared with the flagships, may not be particularly impressive, but the processor power is quite enough for "heavy" games.

128 GB of UFS 2.1 type flash memory is allocated to the file storage of Mi Note 10. There is no installation space for a microSD card, so expanding the available volume will not work. But through the USB Type-C connector (USB 2.0 protocol) it is easy to connect a regular flash drive.

Among the cellular ranges LTE-FDD are listed - b3 (1 800 MHz), b7 (2 600 MHz) and b20 (800 MHz). 

With one radio channel, two nanoSIM format subscriber identity modules work alternately (DSDS). Of wireless communications, it is also worth noting the 2-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, infrared and NFC.

So, the NFC interface allows you to exchange data between devices via Android Beam, and, in addition, use payment services, including G Pay. And also, for example, through the application “Transport Cards of Moscow” you can find out the current balance of the “Troika” card.

But the infrared port in tandem with the application "Mi Remote" allows you to control household appliances from different manufacturers, for example, Samsung smart TV.

In addition to coordination on cellular and Wi-Fi networks (A-GPS mode), GPS, GLONASS, BDS and Galileo satellite systems will help in determining location and navigation.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: Autonomy

The built-in Mi Note 10 battery impresses with its increased capacity of 5,260 mAh, which is just right for 7- and 8-inch tablets. To quickly fill such a battery and wired charging, we selected the appropriate one. 

The 30-watt adapter included in the kit can cope with this task in about an hour with a small one, more than half of the charge being filled in 30 minutes. In everyday operation, the smartphone will most likely have to be charged no more than once every two days. Playing a set of videos in MP4 format (hardware decoding) at full brightness every hour reduced the battery charge by about 5% (test for 6 hours). Excellent result.

In the "Power and Performance" section, you can take care of reducing the battery consumption by monitoring, for example, application activity, and also solve problems with energy saving.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: software features

The Mi Note 10 smartphone runs on the Android 9 (Pie) operating system, the interface of which is hidden by the new MIUI 11 proprietary shell. The main screen settings offer screen change effects and other useful options, including protection against changes. 

Note that the redrawing of icons and interface elements was not limited to. As already noted, special attention was paid to the "dark" topic, as well as to the "active" screen (Always On-Display mode).

It is also worth paying attention to a few useful little things. So, you can choose not only the style of the notification curtain (between the proprietary MIUI and standard Android), but also the type of smartphone battery indicator. 

In addition, the content of thumbnails in multitasking mode is proposed to blur. As a result, for example, pictures from the "Camera" and / or images in the "Gallery" will never catch the eye of strangers.

You can divide the screen between two programs directly on the screen of the list of running applications. Their cards are arranged in two rows with a slight shift and the ability to scroll vertically. After a tap with holding on one of these cards, a menu appears with options for setting, splitting the screen, as well as blocking the removal of this application from the list of background ones. 

One program is deleted from the memory by swiping its card left or right. To close all applications at once, use the cross icon at the bottom of the page.

How can I increase my cell phone battery life?

Together with MIUI 11, the “Digital Well-being” section was firmly established in the settings, where, in particular, the time spent on specific applications is controlled. At the same time, on the "Concentration of attention" tab, you can set the duration of the break to completely distract from the smartphone.

On the tab "Limitless screen", you can swap the virtual buttons "Menu" ("Recently launched applications") and "Back". These icons are generally proposed to be abandoned, freeing up space occupied by the navigation panel. 

In this case, the pictograms are replaced by gestures. On the corresponding tab, it is easy to familiarize yourself with the list of applications that work correctly in full screen mode.

In the advanced settings, we saved various tools that facilitate the management of the smartphone, in particular, with one hand. Still, in addition to reducing the working area of ​​the screen, a translucent ring of “touch assistant” is offered for the same purpose, which opens a menu with icons for emulating control buttons. 

In addition, the virtual navigation bar icons (in combination with the mechanical on / lock button) can be used to activate additional functions.

An optical fingerprint sensor located under the screen registers up to five papillary patterns. At the same time, an option is offered not only to lock the screen, but also to protect personal data and applications. In the settings, you can select the type of animation you like that appears during fingerprint recognition. 

By the way, if after unlocking the screen you leave your finger on the scanning area, then the menu that appears will prompt you to read the QR code, search in the Mi browser, or create a new event in the "Calendar".

If you don’t particularly delve into security issues, then using fingerprints rather than fingerprints to unlock the screen seemed to be much more convenient, even in the dark, when the backlight replaced the screen glow.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: purchase, conclusions

The new Mi Note 10 was the first among commercial smartphones to receive a 108-megapixel sensor, included it in the rear camera quintet, where there is a 10x hybrid zoom, laser autofocus and optical stabilization. 

Another, noteworthy, “trick” was the built-in battery, which is simply huge in this class of capacity devices (5,260 mAh), supplemented by a 30-watt fast charge. In the hardware stuffing flavored with the new version of the MIUI 11 shell, it is worth noting the bright AMOLED-screen with support for HDR10 technology, Bluetooth-codecs for high-quality sound and rich communication capabilities, including a 3.5-mm audio connector, NFC interface and infrared .

Unfortunately, the resulting small bulky smartphone can not boast of flagship performance, and in addition was left without a memory expansion slot.

For Mi Note 10 at the start of sales they asked 39,990 rubles. The exact same money, at the time of testing, would cost a purchase in large retail chains, for example, a 6.1-inch Huawei P30 (our review here) or a 6.5-inch Oppo Reno 2. Both rivals are also made in metal-glass cases with (AM) OLED screens. 

The flagship Huawei P30 got a more powerful processor, a trio of cameras (40 MP main + 8 MP telephoto + 16 MP “super wide”) with Leica optics, Dolby Atmos sound, a fast USB 3.1 interface and a 2-way GPS receiver. He has support for memory cards, but only proprietary (NM Card). 

But the battery capacity is less (3,650 mAh), and the charge is 22.5-watt. At Oppo Reno 2, the power ratio is also slightly lagging behind - a 4000 mAh battery is accompanied by a 20-watt charge. But the processor is the same as that of the Mi Note 10 (Snapdragon 730G).

However, the RAM and internal memory for the same price is more (8 GB / 256 GB), while a hybrid slot is designed for microSD cards. The rear cameras of the Oppo Reno 2 already have a whole quartet (48 MP main + 13 MP telephoto + 8 MP “super wide” + 2 MP mono), and the front camera is generally retractable. 

Nevertheless, the photo capabilities of each of these smartphones are still inferior to Mi Note 10, whose pentacamera is equipped with a 108-megapixel sensor. Not so strong in terms of photo and video capabilities is another, less eminent competitor - Realme X2 Pro. But at a price of 33,000 rubles, it boasts the most powerful Qualcomm processor today - Snapdragon 855+, and the flagship RAM capacity of 8 GB.

Review results Xiaomi Mi Note 10

Pros:

     Bright AMOLED screen with HDR10 support

     Five rear cameras, including a 108-megapixel

     Bluetooth codecs for high-quality sound

     Huge battery capacity

     Fast 30-watt charge

     3.5mm audio jack, NFC interface and infrared

     New MIUI 11 Shell

     Adequate price

Minuses:

     Bulky body

     Non-flagship performance

     No microSD card slot