Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

04 September 2020


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  • B
  • Blackkk Mamba
  • Kxr
  • 10 Sep 2020

Gsmarena, Can you tell us which software version you tested the review with?
Can you guys include the same in all future reviews since software version keep changing with improvements. It's important for users to know the review is corresponding to which software/firmware version.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • dNg
    • 09 Sep 2020

    that weird 48MP mode might be a dealbreaker for me. 12MP is just not enough :(

      • p
      • phalmoen
      • sEE
      • 09 Sep 2020

      Thanks

        • T
        • Technology Jump
        • fC%
        • 09 Sep 2020

        Thanks for sharing with us...waiting to see it .

          • B
          • Blackkk Mamba
          • Kxr
          • 09 Sep 2020

          Design & Build quality : All round premium build quality. A little slippery like most flagships so better put on a case. The Ceramic variant is more durable compared to the glass back on most other flagships, helps the phone avoid becoming a fingerprint magnet. Fingerprint scanner is fast contrary to what some reviewers have said. The animation combined with dynamic wallpaper might make it look like it is slow to open.
          It's got an extremely useful IR Port as well which has become a staple on Xiaomi phones now.
          Though it is priced way cheaper compared to other flagships, there are no compromises on the build quality front except for lack of 3.5mm jack (Most other companies aren't giving it either) & lack of IP68 rating. But this does offer splash resistance which should handle the ocassional accidental spill or rain or drop. For most other IP68 rated phones, waterproofing is destroyed the moment it's glass breaks. As long as you aren't a cousin of Aquaman, this phone should do the job.

          ********************************

          Screen : Hands down one of the best mobile displays of 2020 along with Galaxy Note 20 ultra, ROG 3, Find X2 pro. Zero compromises on the display part. 1080p+ on a sub 7 inch device is enough for most people. Quad HD doesn't offer a huge difference on such a small screen size.
          Punch hole to the corner is easily hidden unlike the one in the center like the Galaxy series. Full HDR support with Netflix and other streaming services through software unlike Huawei p40 series

          ********************************

          Software : Best experience on any Xiaomi ever. 120hz blends so well with with miui 12. Dynamic wallpapers offer a great visual experience on that gorgeous screen. Theme store from Xiaomi is the best among all Android phones. Every part of the UI can be highly customized. It just embarrasses every other Android skin in this department. As usual I recommend users to switch animations from 1x to 0.5x in Settings on Chinese skins as they tend to have slightly longer animations making the overall Ui appear slower than what it is.
          MIUI 12 currently has features that will probably be incorporated into stock Android 5 years later. It's just ahead of the curve. All those who complain about latest Android version need to take these things into consideration.
          Netflix, online wallet services that rely on Google Play services run without any issues. This isn't Chinese ROM like Huawei p40 series where one has to compromise on a few things despite installing Google play services.
          There is some bloatware but unlike previous Xiaomi phones, this can be uninstalled easily. No need to disable them, just remove it without having to root the phone.
          No ads like on their budget phones, other recommendations, etc can be easily turned off through settings.
          Overall zero complaints on the software part.
          It's fast, flexible and the most customizable Android skin at the moment.

          ********************************

          Performance : SD865 and ufs 3.1 storage Coupled with some high tech cooling inside, it shatters all benchmarks especially Antutu and GeekBench.
          The feature rich yet streamlined miui 12 just glides smoothly throughout the process of using the phone. It handles anything you throw at it without showing any signs of unnecessarily heating up or slowing down.
          Zero compromise on the performance part.

          ********************************

          Camera : Great in both videos and photos overall.
          Will breakdown certain things in detail here:-

          Camera quality through main lens is the best irrespective of lighting conditions. Xiaomi's processing has improved a lot. The images do lean towards being more punchier in output like the Galaxy series. But I guess most people prefer those type of images over color accurate ones like Find X2 pro. Tweaking a few things like AI and other settings will give you a more natural output.
          108MP images possible using software trickery. These do give you more detail than 48mp ones.
          Autofocus is fast and on par with most other flagships from 2020.

          Video through main camera is good. Samsung Galaxy series still takes slightly better daytime videos with the likes of OP8 Pro excelling in night time videos through main lens. A few modes like 4K60 through Ultrawide not available through default app but can be used through third party camera like Open camera, Snap camera, etc.
          8k video recording better than the one on Galaxy series with wider FOV and better stabilization. Most people aren't going to use it as they don't have 8k TV to enjoy that 8k footage in its full glory.

          Stabilization through is great but OnePlus 8 pro, Samsung S20/Note 20 series have slightly better stabilization.
          Stabilization through telephoto lens is the best in the business. This helps a lot in taking blur free images at zoom without a tripod.

          Night mode offers huge improvements in images from Ultrawide and telephoto lens.
          Not so much difference to camera images taken from Main lens.
          But you wouldn't require night mode for main lens in many scenarios just like the Huawei p40 series.
          Also night mode seems to be not final software wise. Expect it to improve a lot in coming months as the phone gets more updates.

          120x zoom gives better details compared to every other zoom lens on the market. Perfectly usable images upto 30x while others fail beyond 10x.
          Best zoom camera on the market as video is great as well compared to the likes of Huawei which is good in zoom photos but lags behind in zoom videos.
          Potrait lens should become standard on all phones. This phone is using same sensor as Pixel series for Potrait lens.
          Great portraits irrespective of lighting conditions. Best 2x zoom on the market.

          Ultrawide is great in good light, quality detoriates in low light like other flagships which is where night mode comes to the rescue. OnePlus 8 pro still has the best Ultrawide IMO. Huawei has good quality but the FOV is only slightly bigger than main lens. The Ultrawide here has the biggest FOV and lives upto it's purpose of capturing more into the scene.

          Tons of features in camera app including 1080p@960fps along with fully featured manual modes for photo and video. Just don't compare it to the manual modes on V60.

          Front facing camera is okay. Gets the job done. It isn't going to win any awards. Galaxy s20 ultra still has the best selfie camera for photos & videos among flagships if you exclude the Zenfone 7 series.

          ********************************

          Battery : Best battery life among all flasghip phones sporting 120hz display. Don't be fooled by endurance rating on this site as the Culprit was weak standby time on their US networks.
          You can easily expect upto 8.5-9hr SOT.
          And whenever that battery goes low, You can get upto half the charge of a 4500mah in 5 minutes. Futuristic fast charging speeds (wired as well as wireless).
          Wireless charging with 55W gets you fully charged before most flagships can with wired charging. Phone does get a bit hot during charging around 43 deg C.
          IMO Oppo's implementation of above 100W charging should be the best and the coolest keeping the phone under 40 deg C.
          Xiaomi has promised around 10% battery degradation over a span of 800 charge cycles which is excellent and way better than regular batteries which get charged by inferior 18W USB PD.

          ********************************

          Conclusion : This is one of the best phones you can buy right now.
          Totally worth the money and totally worth importing.
          Any Mobile repair shop can get it repaired for you in case of any problems. Don't hesitate to buy it.
          I've had a few people bug me to import this phone for them. Mind you these are Samsung & iPhone users who were disappointed by the lackluster Note 20 series & iPhone 12 series leaks. Ordered 10 units of this phone (12gb/256gb) Black Ceramic variant.
          7 units were already pre-booked by people bugging me to get their hands on this phone.
          Will sell rest of the 3 units for Rs. 90k-95k each.

            • H
            • Hernan
            • r$2
            • 08 Sep 2020

            The 5G band it brings serves t Mobil in the USA?

              • D
              • AnonD-754814
              • 6p}
              • 08 Sep 2020

              AnonD-641645, 07 Sep 2020I can't speak of all sensors, the ones in question are... moreHere is the thing. CFA doesn't make the resolution.
              It's the individual pixel count that makes the resolution.

              So, if you count those sensor's pixel as 0.8 micron(1.2 for GN1) then the resolution is full at 48MP, 64MP, 108MP and 50MP respectively.
              And this is the actual resolution.

              Now if you count these pixel as 1.6 micron for GM1 and GW1 then the resolutions are 12MP and 16MP respectively. If you count 2.4 micron pixel size for GN1 and HM1(nonabayer) the resolutions are 12.5MP and 12MP respectively.
              These are theoretical resolutions, not actual one.

              What you need to look for is the pixel size.
              If you take the pixel size as 0.8 micron then the resolution is 48MP, 64MP, 108MP and 50MP.

                Anonymous, 07 Sep 2020Don't you people look at the review photos here? As ot... moreUm, you can't make that claim since you don't know the actual colour of grass in the actual scene. If anything the solution for the issue you're having right now is a typical "Just turn off AI".

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • Kxr
                  • 08 Sep 2020

                  AnonD-641645, 07 Sep 2020It means the actual, chromatic resolution is only 1/4 or ev... moreThey aren't upscaled.
                  The 108mp images from this camera have more detail.

                    • D
                    • AnonD-641645
                    • Kx1
                    • 07 Sep 2020

                    AnonD-754814, 07 Sep 2020Actually there is a catch here. These are truly 108MP/48MP... moreI can't speak of all sensors, the ones in question are GM1, GW1, HM1, and GN1 in particular. Let's just say that if there is a way to remove the color filter array and implement these as B&W sensors, then sure, the resulting B&W images would have exactly the resolution of the sensor.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 0cL
                      • 07 Sep 2020

                      Nick Tagataka, 07 Sep 2020"The stock camera app processing is the same" Th... moreDon't you people look at the review photos here? As others pointed out the color of the grass is crazy. It looks like it's painted by a bad Ai.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-754814
                        • HxI
                        • 07 Sep 2020

                        AnonD-641645, 07 Sep 2020It means the actual, chromatic resolution is only 1/4 or ev... moreActually there is a catch here.
                        These are truly 108MP/48MP sensors. But they're made to use at 1/4 times.
                        That means 108MP as 27 and 48MP as 12MP.

                        A manufacturer takes/processes photo differently doesn't make the sensor pixel count go lower.
                        All sensors aren't RGB and All sensors aren't regular bayer either.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-896879
                          • rXR
                          • 07 Sep 2020

                          zele, 05 Sep 2020how do you guys think, "do i want this xiaomi mi 10 ul... morehaha I am sorry but I was just kidding because another guy said that he is confused between the m31 and the mi 10 ultra , I know that there is no comparaison between those and even between the note 20 ultra exynos variant and the mi 10 ultra especially because the s pen is so useless for me

                            • D
                            • AnonD-641645
                            • Kx1
                            • 07 Sep 2020

                            AnonD-754814, 07 Sep 2020"Could it be that the previous ones (all 0.8 micron pi... moreIt means the actual, chromatic resolution is only 1/4 or even 1/9 of the pixel count. And it's not merely theoretical, in the reviews they say that the "full resolution" mode pics look ike upscaled images, because in fact they are.

                              Anonymous, 04 Sep 2020too expensive... :(It's expensive like others.

                                Anonymous, 04 Sep 2020People were waiting for Note 20 series, iPhone 12 series, H... moreThey are better and better in flagship segment.

                                  Bittersweet, 06 Sep 2020The phone of the year. The best phone i can not have.Hah, yes.

                                    Anonymous, 07 Sep 2020Best phone of 2020 def. Cant wait for europe releaseThere will not be Europe release. It's just for China.

                                      Nothing New, 04 Sep 2020Such great device , it is unfortunate that Xiaomi refused t... moreStill worth it we compare it with others.

                                        • D
                                        • AnonD-754814
                                        • HxI
                                        • 07 Sep 2020

                                        AnonD-641645, 05 Sep 2020I admit that "remosaicing" is an unfamiliar term,... more"Could it be that the previous ones (all 0.8 micron pixels) are not "true" 48, 64, or 108 MP?"

                                        What does even that mean ?
                                        All are accurate pixel count. I mean there will be some dead pixel. But It's how it is. You can't help it.

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