Introduction and specs
Even though the Redmi sub-brand has ventured into the upper mid-range class and also the lower floors of the high-end market, Xiaomi’s most venerable weapon remains the vanilla Redmi series and perhaps the Redmi Note family as well. And the Redmi 10 seems like a worthy successor to the famous series offering a substantial upgrade over the Redmi 9 and adding a couple of stand-out features that are particularly hard to come across in this price range.
For about $160-180, you receive a set of stereo loudspeakers, 90Hz high-refresh-rate display, reverse wired charging at 9W, a 50MP main camera and a dedicated microSD card slot to complement the rather generous 64GB of internal storage within the price range. And that’s on top of the base specs you’d normally want to see in a budget device.
Xiaomi Redmi 10 specs at a glance:
Body: 162.0×75.5×8.9mm, 181g; Gorilla Glass 3 front, plastic back and plastic frame.
Display: 6.50″ LCD, 90Hz, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 405ppi.
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G88 (12nm): Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G52 MC2.
Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; eMMC 5.1; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 12.5.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 120˚; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
Front camera: 8 MP, f/2.0, (wide).
Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 18W, Reverse charging 9W.
Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); FM radio; Infrared port; 3.5mm jack.
The best part is that the Redmi 10 doesn’t go crazy with the price bump compared to the Redmi 9 when it launched. Yet, the 10 improves upon its predecessor in almost every aspect. Even the chipset has been revised to support the 90Hz 1080p+ display. Actually, this is the first MediaTek Helio G88-powered smartphone on the market.
The Redmi 10 is a special device that democratizes premium features, which have so far been reserved for more expensive phones. The Redmi and Redmi Note lineups are full of devices that are genuinely worth getting excited about. So follow us into the next pages to uncover what makes the Redmi 10 tick.
Unboxing the Xiaomi Redmi 10
The device comes in a standard box with pretty much everything you’d normally expect. You have the USB-C to USB-A cable for charging and data transfer, a 22.5W-rated brick for charging and a transparent silicone case.
Keep in mind that the phone doesn’t actually support 22.5W fast charging, it caps at 18W, but Xiaomi has been supplying most of its midrange phones with the same 22.5W charger to cut on manufacturing costs.