Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro review: Still a price-performance killer?
A TEST REPORT from Nils Ahrensmeier 
on July 16, 2020, 10:00 | 🔥 popular | Write a comment
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is the latest Xiaomi flagship, which is now officially available in Germany. The Wed 10 Pro throws around big numbers: Snapdragon 865, 108 MP camera, 265 GB memory and a 4.500 mAh battery. In this review, you can find out whether these figures are only good on paper and whether the smartphone can really live up to its price.
The smartphone comes with a 65W charger and a USB-C cable, and Xiaomi also included a silicone case and a USB-C to jack adapter. The scope of delivery is really great. Xiaomi didn't cut corners here.
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Design and workmanship
The design of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is not new, not innovative, but very nice. We have a plain back with a 4 camera layout on the left side of the back. The lenses protrude two millimeters from the body, but this can be changed with the included case. The front camera is also on the left side, in a punch hole. The display is a bit rounded on the sides.
The workmanship is very good. The matte glass back is really one of the best I've ever seen. Although it also attracts fingerprints, it is not seen as strongly as on other glass backs.
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- The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro has a very nice back and feels good in the hand. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The camera design of the Mi 10 Pro It's not new, but it's not boring either. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- If the smartphone is lying on its "stomach", then it does not matter. The cameras protrude a little on the back. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- On the upper side there is a microphone, the IR blaster and a loudspeaker. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- The display is a real eye-catcher. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- A speaker, the USB port and the SIM slot are located on the underside. (Image: TechnikNews)
Display
The display is a 6,67 inch Full HD + Super AMOLED display with 90 Hz. Yes, the display is good, but for an MSRP of 1000 euros I expect a WQHD + display with 120 Hz as with the Oppo find x2 Pro.
But regardless of the price, how does the display fare? It's definitely a very good display. Thanks to OLED, the black values are perfect, the 90 Hz definitely have a positive impact and the brightness is also very convincing. HDR 10+ is also installed and ensures good colors. I had none Prodifficult to read the display in sunlight. But as already mentioned - for a 1000 Euro smartphone I expect more.
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro has a very good display but lacks WQHD and 120Hz. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Hardware
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro uses high-end hardware: the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, 8 or 12 GB RAM and 256 or 512 GB of internal UFS 3.0 storage. In Germany there is only the 8GB RAM & 256 GB internal memory version. The internal memory cannot be expanded, but it is sufficient for this. Everyone should be fine with 256 GB.
Xiaomi did not save on the connections either. WLAN 6, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC and even an IR blaster. This is typical of Chinese smartphones and I like it. But what the smartphone lacks and there are no excuses: IP certification. Even OnePlus, which had previously waived it for cost reasons, now have a proper certification and I expect one for 1000 euros.
One piece of hardware that definitely has to be emphasized is the speakers. It's the best I've ever had in a smartphone. Stereo loudspeakers produce a very loud and balanced sound, which also encourages watching films. The second, "real" speaker on the top of the smartphone really pays off.
Specs
| Operating system | Android 10.0 |
| Display | 6.67 ″, 2340 × 1080 pixels, 16 million colors, AMOLED, capacitive touchscreen, gorilla glass 5, camera hole, HDR (HDR10 +), 90Hz |
| Rear camera | 108.0MP, f / 1.69, phase comparison AF, laser AF, OIS, triple LED flash, videos @ 4320p / 30fps, videos @ 1080p / 960fps (camera 1); 20.0MP, f / 2.2, wide angle lens (camera 2); 12.0MP, f / 2.0, depth of field, phase comparison-AF (dual-pixel) (camera 3); 8.0MP, f / 2.0, telephoto lens, OIS (camera 4) |
| Front camera | 20.0MP, f / 2.0, videos @ 1080p / 30fps |
| interface | USB-C 2.0 (OTG), WLAN 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax, Bluetooth 5.1 (aptX HD), NFC, infrared port |
| Sensors | Acceleration sensor, gyroscope, proximity sensor, light sensor, compass, barometer, fingerprint sensor (display) |
| SoC | Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865, 64bit |
| CPU | 1x 2.84GHz Kryo 585 + 3x 2.42GHz Kryo 585 + 4x 1.80GHz Kryo 585 |
| GPU | Adreno 650 |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage | 256GB (UFS 3.0) |
| Navigate | A-GPS (L1 / L5), GLONASS, BeiDou (B1I / B2a), Galileo (E1 / E5a), QZSS (L1 / L5) |
| Modem | GSM (0.2Mbps / 0.1Mbps), UMTS, LTE, 5G |
| Frequency bands | 2G (850/900/1800/1900), 3G (B1/B2/B4/B5/B8), 4G (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B20/B28/B32/B38/B40), 5G (n1/n3/n7/n28/n77/n78) |
| Network standards | GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro |
| Battery | 4500mAh, permanently installed, wireless charging (Qi, reversible) |
| charging power | 50W (USB-PD, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+), 30W (wireless) |
| SAR value | 0.69W / kg head, 0.99W / kg body |
| Main material | Glass (back), metal (frame) |
| Color | white / gray |
| Dimensions | 162.6x74.8x8.96mm |
| Weight | 208g |
| SIM form factor | Nano-SIM Card |
| Features | Stereo speakers (dedicated) |
Camera
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro has four cameras:
- 108 MP, f / 1.7, wide angle
- 8 MP, f / 2.0, telephoto
- 12 MP, f / 2.0, portrait
- 20 MP, f / 2.2, ultra wide angle
Yes, these are really good. In contrast to the cameras of the Galaxy S20 Ultra (at least the Exynos version), these trigger directly and take fantastic pictures. The Wed 10 Pro is also the first smartphone in the world that can record 8K videos at 30 FPS. The S20 Ultra only manages 24 FPS. Do you need that? No way! Is it still super cool? Yes! That Proproblem with 8K is current: There are only a few monitors and televisions that can display 8K. These are also very expensive compared to 4K TVs. Customers have had the same thing with 4K and 1080P. It will only take time, the Mi 10 Pro but doesn't do anything wrong with that.
test images
The "1-take" photos are high resolution and the colors look realistic. Good pictures are also taken in the dark. However, the photos are not recorded in 108 MP by default. As with all current smartphones, a technology is used that adds 4 pixels to one "Giga-Pixel". There is also a 108 MP mode which takes the high quality images. These images can then also be 24 MB in size.
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- The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro takes very good pictures. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The colors of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro are natural. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- Even in rather dark scenes, the Mi 10 Pro convince. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- Another test picture. (Image: TechnikNews)
Just like the 108 MP main camera, the zoom is supported by an optical zoom. The zoom camera has 100 megapixels less on paper, but still takes very good photos. The colors are also displayed well and naturally again. The wide-angle camera can also be used as a macro camera. I really enjoyed using this feature. This makes completely new perspectives and many details visible.
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- The macro camera of the Mi 10 Pro I liked using it. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- Many details become visible through the macro camera. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- You can see them especially with raindrops. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- Picture: TechnikNews
The 12MP "portrait camera" is specifically responsible for the bokeh effect. This is really very clean, with the Google Camera Mod this is even better thanks to artificial intelligence.
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- This is a "regular" image of the Mi 10 Pro. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- The 5x zoom of the Mi 10 Pro is almost lossless. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The ultra wide angle of the Mi 10 Pro really fun to use. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The 2x zoom of the Mi 10 Pro is almost lossless. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Battery
4500mAh. This is an average flagship battery in 2020. It is recharged via USB-C cable with a maximum of 50 watts or wirelessly with a whopping 30W. In addition, the Mi 10 Pro charge other devices with 10W wirelessly via "reverse wireless charging". The battery is recharged via cable in just 45 minutes. With the Find X2 Pro With 65W it is only 38 minutes, but it is still a very good value.
The battery itself lasts about 6: 08h-6: 19h at SOT. That is the top value so far, because that Oppo find x2 Pro lasted only 5 hours and 21 minutes and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra was empty after only about 4 1/2 hours. I always got through the day very well with the battery and whenever I had to charge, the battery was always full in no time at all.
Also, the Xiaomi Mi 10 uses Pro the Google Assistant "Ambient Mode", with which you can turn your smartphone into a small "smart display". Very cool feature. I've only had that with the OnePlus 7T so far Pro seen.
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- The best battery life I've had with the Mi 10 Pro have achieved (image: TechnikNews)
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- On that day I had 6h and 19 minutes SOT (picture: TechnikNews)
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- Worst battery life I've had with the Mi 10 Pro have achieved (image: TechnikNews)
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- On that day I had 6h and 8min SOT (picture: TechnikNews)
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- The ambient mode of the Xiaomi Mi 1o Pro is really cool (picture: TechnikNews)
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- Images can also be displayed on this (Image: TechnikNews)
Software
On the Wed 10 Pro Xiaomi's own MIUI 11, based on the latest Android 10, is used. This is a bit reminiscent of Apple's iOS, but differs enormously due to Android's scope. But Xiaomi has inherited good features from iOS. For example there would be "ShareMe", this is an AirDrop copy that works with Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme and Vivo devices. A separate screen recording is also integrated.
Incidentally, Xiaomi's more expensive smartphones do not have any advertising in the system apps, but this is partly different with Redmi phones. The Wed 10 Pro But it also has one feature that really surprised me. When I held down the fingerprint sensor on the display for a second longer after unlocking it, a small "Quick-Launch" menu appeared, in which I could open a QR code scanner app or the Xiaomi browser. Such additional features are cool and useful.
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- I adjusted the home screen with the “Rootless Pixel Launcher”. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- This is how the settings of the Mi 10 look Pro from (image: TechnikNews)
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- These are the quick settings of the Mi 10 Pro, which will receive an update very soon with MIUI 12 (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The fingerprint launcher is very helpful (Image: TechnikNews)
Conclusion
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is Xiaomi's best smartphone. It's a high-end smartphone with a lot of cool features and a very good camera. But it's the little things that I miss for a "very good smartphone". Full HD+ is good, but not enough for a smartphone in this price range. Also at 90 Hz, the BBK competition (Oppo and OnePlus) already have 120 Hz.
For a price of 1000 euros, I would have written that the smartphone is far too expensive for the price. But within the last three months (March 30th was the market launch) the price has fallen sharply. The first E-Bay dealer sold the global version of the device that I have here for 794 euros. In terms of price, this is a completely different segment, where the Xiaomi can convince primarily with its hardware. Xiaomi itself sells the device for 874 euros together with the Mi Air 2 headphones.
If you are looking for an alternative, you should get one OnePlus 8 Pro look at.
We would like to thank Xiaomi Germany for the personal device of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro
