Xiaomi Mi 10 5G review

Wrap-up

Wrapping our heads around the Mi 10 in all of its aspects was, frankly, no easy task. And we're not necessarily talking about all the advanced 2020 bells and whistles it has to offer, nor the complexities that come with its modern breed of cameras and high refresh-rate display.

Perhaps, due to the dynamic nature of the market, but also, seemingly, through Xiaomi's decisions, the vanilla Mi 10 finds itself in a sort of a tough place.

We get the idea on paper. Put out a no-compromise, full-on flagship in the face of the Mi 10 Pro 5G, then figure out a way to dial things back a bit, so that a more-affordable version can be sold in greater numbers at a lower price tag. Solid reasoning, all around. It's likely the same strategy that brought us the Oppo Find X2 Pro and the vanilla Find X2.

One major problem instantly arises from such a plan though - choosing what to cut-down in creating your cheaper device. Xiaomi went for the camera setup with the Mi 10, effectively eliminating one of the major attractions of the Mi 10 Pro.

Perhaps, this reade-off is worth $200 for quite a few people. However, nothing happens in isolation in the mobile market. Especially not in 2020. Even without looking further than Xiaomi's own lineup, the camera-downgraded Mi 10 does not shine in comparisons with devices like Xiaomi's own Mi Note 10. Sure, its chipset might not be as powerful as a full-fat Snapdragon 865, but its camera sure is impressive. And so are the potential savings in price. And if you are on the hunt for a camera first in your next phone, the Mi 10 Youth, likely to be called the Mi 10 Lite Zoom in Europe, seems to be an even more capable candidate for the vanilla Mi 10's potential market share.

Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro • Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth 5G

This all comes to show, yet again, that value is the driving force of the market, not simply price. And it really is a shame to have to look at the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G predominantly from this angle, since it is a great well-rounded device. Just that it seems to be failing on the value scale, due to ever-changing market pressure and circumstances.

Alternatives

We already mentioned some of the unfortunate sibling-rivalry that the Mi 10 is facing. Still, outside camp Xiaomi, there are plenty of other options to consider as well. With the relative "wonkiness" of recent Xiaomi EU pricing, however, it seems that you can get an S20+ for close to the sum you would have dropped on the Mi 10. Again, we are mostly talking about the European market. And that's a phone that really needs no introduction. While it would be a bit of an arrogant statement to simply say that is better than the Mi 10 in every way, there are certainly points to be made about most main aspects. Let's just leave it at that.

The OnePlus 8 is worth considering as well. There is a battle to be fought when in comes to camera prowess between the vanilla Mi 10 and the vanilla OnePlus 8. As for reasons to potentially prefer the OnePlus, we have to definitely mention the amazing levels of optimization in its Oxygen OS. It's just snappy and fluent on another level. Then again, why not consider the last-gen OnePlus 7T, as well. Sure, it might be slightly older, but it doesn’t really miss-out on any major advantage or feature of its successor. Even its Snapdragon 855+ chipset isn’t much of a downgrade, as far as real-world performance goes. On the upside, you get a dedicated telephoto camera with the 7T. Overall, it currently stands out to us as a better value offer.

Samsung Galaxy S20+ • OnePlus 8 • OnePlus 7T

Of course, beyond these cherry-picked competitors to the Mi 10, there are plenty of others, as well. Most of them not exactly globally-available though and potentially requiring some extra steps and customer-service compromises to acquire. Standouts include the Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro, vivo iQOO Neo3 5G and the Realme X50 Pro 5G.

The verdict

Over the years, Xiaomi has managed to build a strong reputation and market standing with a budget/value approach to smartphones. In that sense, the Mi 10 Pro is kind of a new breed of a beast for the company, since it really does represent a no-compromise attempt at a 2020 flagship. Hence, the accompanying flagship price, which, admittedly, came rather unexpectedly from Xiaomi.

Even if at a lesser degree, the vanilla Mi 10 finds itself in the same boat. It is a slightly cut-down version of the Mi 10 Pro flagship. Cost-saving were made to bring its price down, but not necessarily its overall value up. Missing a large chunk of the excellent camera setup on the Pro, while not really designed to take the pressure of real value-driven offers on the market, rocking more budget chipsets and other internals, builds and components, the Mi 10 find itself in a tough spot.

Pros

• Symmetrical (Gorilla) glass body with matte finish on the back, splash resistant.
• Snappy and accurate in-display fingerprint reader.
• Great quality OLED with 90Hz refresh rate.
• Great battery life. Speedy charging with 30W USB-PD adapter included.
• Stereo speaker setup with amazing sound quality that few can rival.
• The fastest Android chip - Snapdragon 865, 5G at that.
• Great camera quality all around - in both photos and videos.

Cons

• No IP68-rated water or dust protection.
• No telephoto camera at all - 2x zoom crops from the main one.
• The 13MP ultrawide struggles badly in low-light conditions.
• The competition has better selfie cams (but with larger cutouts).

While it's a well-rounded flagship device no matter how you look at it, its current market position in the "No man's land" between the flagship and value segments makes it tough to universally recommend. Again, that's not to say it's a bad smartphone. If you approach while being aware of its limitations and you are okay with the asking price, it will undoubtedly serve you well.