Xiaomi MI 10T Pro
Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro, Mi 10 will not succeed. Instead, Xiaomi hopes that if the choice is between a high refresh rate display and a sophisticated camera, users won’t have to look too far or go too deep into their wallet. The Mi 10T Pro combines a 108MP camera with a 144HZ refresh rate display, which is exactly what the doctor ordered in the high-end segment. It’s not particularly good than the Mi10, but like the OnePlus 8T, it tries to revise and polish.
Speaking of which, in 2020 the high-level division became truly democratized. OnePlus is running the show until Xiaomi, Realme, Vivo, Oppo, and even Apple and Samsung start shaking things up.
With so many options left, what does the Mi 10T Pro offer that others don’t? Let’s find out
Mi 10T Pro Performance
The Mi 10T Pro runs on Snapdragon 865 with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Core hardware only, along with all other high-end smartphones at this price. At Rs 39,999, the Mi 10T Pro OnePlus is more affordable than the 8T, and the overall performance gain of 144hp can be diverted.
With practically no loss of speed, I changed the OnePlus 8T to the Mi 10T Pro as my die 6 back driver. In fact, the 144Hz display feels more responsive and fluid, and the UI animations are tuned to take advantage of the technology. The phone is unlocked using the adjacent fingerprint sensor, which response instantly, but cannot touch the surface to unlock it. It needs to be pressed. It’s a neat touch to prevent accidentally unlocking. There is no delay in launching first-party apps like Camera, and heavy third party apps such as Adobe Lightroom, Call of Duty Mobile and Google Earth are all set to launch soon.
Benchmark scores equate the Mi10T Pro to other Snapdragon 865 flagships. It scores high on AnTuTu, mainly using the latest RAM and storage modules. It is also impressive in 3DMark GPU tests and PCMark Work 2.0, which measures real-world performance.
Mi 10T Pro Gaming
The Mi 10T Pro‘s large display and heavy body make for a great gaming experience. Call of Duty: Holding the phone in landscape orientation to play a few rounds of mobile, the grip feels like the Asus ROG phone 3. Of course, without pressure-sensitive air triggers. But later, the display’s touch-response time is good enough for quick headshots with a sniper rifle. There is plenty of room to aim and move, and a flat surface actually allows you to use the entire area of the display for gaming.
I clocked a 15-minute session of Mobile using Call of Duty: GameBench and the Mi 10T Pro 60 FPS mark hits all graphics settings to 100% consistency. There were no complaints, though after a few rounds the phone was quite warm.
Mi 10T Pro software
The Mi 10T Pro runs on the MIUI 12 and is moving forward from the MIUI 11. It’s still based on Android 10, but Xiaomi has never followed Google’s update model. MIUI 12 comes with some intuitive, useful features, fluid animation, and interactive live wallpapers. But it is still a work in progress. Things like system-wide dark mode turn colors into apps like Google Meat, Instagram, and even the Google Discover app.
MIUI 12 makes me more responsive to messages and other notifications. WhatsApp, Instagram notifications can be dragged to a mini floating window. Type what you want to do and swipe back to what you were doing. This caused less disturbance when viewing episodes on Netflix and should be the default feature on all Android phones going forward.
Xiaomi didn’t even have to look too much for the control panel’s inspiration. It has been raised directly from iOS and is just as annoying as I do on iPhones. Being a left-handed person, I was pulling down the control center when I wanted to copy the OTP from the notification bar. It always took more than two tries!
Mi 10T Pro Camera
The success of the Mi10 is mainly due to the camera, but the Mi10T Pro cannot claim it. The 108MP primary camera does not have as much control as the M10, and the rest of the cameras in the quad-camera setup average about the M10. It’s really a 108MP camera that sets it apart, but sadly on the Mi 10T Pro, it’s not quite as effective. Perhaps, this is a premature tuning of the camera, and updated camera software can do the trick. Or maybe two smartphones are divided into the price range. The Mi 10T Pro is now the most affordable 108MP camera. Either way, I wasn’t too impressed with the camera, and that’s why –
With just the right amount of lighting, the primary camera takes pictures in great detail and sharp, and the dynamic range is also quite wide. And that’s pretty much expected from a smartphone priced at Rs 40,000. But with a slight dip in the light (say around dusk), the details drop sharply. The details are smooth and the sound is noticeable when you zoom into the shot. Things like dense foliage are blurred and the walls of the building are marked by noise.
The camera suffers from shallow depths when taking close-ups, and this is an inherent problem with all large-sized sensors on smartphones these days. When the AI mode is on, there is a good waiting time after the shot is clicked indoors or in tricky light. The phone will ask you to keep it steady for a few seconds, and at that point, any movement in the frame will cause a blur. It’s very difficult to photograph my pet dog, but I’m happy with at least some of the shots.
In low light, the Mi 10T Pro relies on a dedicated night mode that works only with the primary camera. The larger sensor size and f / 1.7 aperture allow more light to fall into the sensor, and the Night Mode algorithm does a great job of maintaining sharpness and frame brightness. The tiles look a little artificially refined, but this is the case in most night modes these days. The dynamic range this Night Mode can produce is impressive.
The UltraVide camera is decent when using enough light. You get a wide frame with minimal distortion and sharp edges. But after sunset, the camera is practically unusable. With a smaller f / 2.4 lens, it can’t be done anyway, and without Night Mode support, you really can’t switch to this lens at night.
The 5MP macro camera is decent enough. I’m not a fan of macro cameras on smartphones because their application is more limited to the amount of light and what you are photographing. But for what it’s worth, the colors are right on this, and we can’t say it’s valid for high-end smartphones.
As for videos, the Mi10T Pro offers sharp videos that automatically switch and focus without any misses. It feels over-processed though, but with OIS on board, the videos are pretty consistent. That said, the Mi 10T Pro is quite heavy for video shoots. I had to struggle to shoot with the phone using one hand, and it was definitely bigger.
Mi 10T Pro Battery Life
The Mi 10T Pro packs a large 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. Even with heavy usage and a 144Hz refresh rate enabled, this is enough to keep the phone running for most of the day. The smartphone offered a decent 8 hours of screen-on time when used as a daily driver, which is good enough to take you all day without charge. Watching a 30-minute episode on Netflix drains the battery by 4%, while the 15-minute cod: Mobile battery drains by 5%.
The charge time is slower after coming from the OnePlus 8T but should be good enough for most 33W. It takes about 60 minutes to fully charge.
Mi 10T Pro Design and Display
The Mi10T Pro is also a radical change from the Mi10 in terms of design. If the Mi 10 has a curved display, the Mi 10T Pro attaches to a flat panel, with a fingerprint sensor attached to it, and a thick, protruding camera module. The rear glass panel is as polished and smudge-prone as before, and a lot of heft is added to the body, which in some cases can be overweight. Still, the Mi 10T Pro thanks to the rounded corners, and the aluminum frame is solid. There is no official IP-rating on this, and the phone runs on a flat surface. Honestly, I’m not much of a fan of this design, but I can see why this sturdy construction and glossy finish can be considered premium and luxurious.
The 6.67-inch display on the Mi 10T Pro steals the display. Switched to the LCD panel to enable a higher 144Hz refresh rate, the panel never lost its charm. In fact, it is more responsive, and the colors are more vibrant and punchier than the Mi10. Since it is a flat panel there is no glare and color-change along the edges. And it’s especially good for gaming like the OnePlus 8T. There is plenty of surface area around your thumb, and the visuals are bright enough for competitive gaming. The refresh rate adjusts depending on what you are doing on the screen, which is very neat and saves a lot of energy, but I haven’t noticed the claim of Xiaomi’s MEMC technology. I have tried it with the content on Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime and measure the frame-rates using the Developer Settings option, but all content runs at a fixed 24 fps as they are filmed. There isn’t anything expensive that I noticed like the OnePlus 8 Pro does.
Mi 10T Pro Bottom line
The Mi 10T Pro might be a good buy if you have a budget of Rs 40,000. No other smartphone offers a 108MP camera, 144HZ display, and Snapdragon 865 at that price, and that makes it difficult to overlook the Mi10T Pro. Even if you don’t get the best major experience, you get immense value for money. That, unfortunately, still fetches a premium. The camera is a large area that needs a lot of improvement, and without the slight chinks in the software, the Mi 10T Pro’s user experience is smooth and hassle-free. This is definitely one I enjoyed using, and if you admit its weaknesses and look behind them, the Mi 10T Pro is fast, snappy and one of the best displays at this price.
