Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G review

The usual pairing of Android 10 and MIUI 11

The Mi 10 Lite 5G runs MIUI 11, based on Android 10, a combination we've seen on a ton of recent Xiaomi phones. They do differ here and there, but for the most part MIUI is identical between devices running the same major version.

The Mi 10 Lite 5G features an Always-on display, and you can schedule it or leave it on/off all the time. MIUI 11 has a ton of themes you can choose from and make it yours and some of them can even be further customized. The AOD also supports breathing light - the edges of the display will flash with colors upon new notifications. It's not as cool as on one of the curved edge phones in the lineup (like the Mi Note 10 Lite), but at least it won't be an incentive to leave your phone face down.

AOD and notification edge LED effects

In terms of biometric security, the Mi 10 Lite 5G gives you a choice between face and fingerprint unlock. The fingerprint reader would be our top choice as it works quickly and reliably. Facial recognition isn't as secure, but if you're after convenience it'll deliver that.

We do appreciate the extra attention to detail Xiaomi put into the visual aspects of unlocking as there are plenty of fingerprint reader animations to choose from. Better still, there are a couple of fingerprint-reader-based shortcuts you can set up for some extra convenience.

Security • Fingerprint setup • Fingerprint shortcuts • Animations • Face recognition

As far as the general layout goes, you get a few nice little extras, like a quick shortcuts pane to the left of the lock screen. In there, you can arrange and control your Mi Remote and IoT gadgets and appliances and also toggle the flashlight.

This particular build also features an app drawer option, which was missing on the Mi 10 and 10 Pro we reviewed but was to be found on the Mi Note 10s we had at the office. It's the same one introduced by the off-shoot Poco Launcher, which has now made it to non-Poco-specific MIUI versions. It's a very custom solution that sorts apps by categories, though you can move stuff around and you can also just scroll the All apps list.

Lock screen • Quick access pane • Home screen • Folder view • App drawer

The similarly unorthodox card-based task switcher can take some time to adjust but offers all of the needed functionality. Multi-window is a bit clunky, requiring you to tap a split-screen button and then drag an app towards the top when simply dragging an app towards the already empty top could have gotten the job done. It's not a better in the native Android implementation anyway.

Recent apps • Split screen • Quick return to split screen • Notifications pane • Quick toggles

On the mi Note 10 Lite 5G, similarly to other Xiaomi phones with MIUI11, navigation is handled in the classic three-button nav-bar manner out of the box. A gesture-based method is available, naturally, and switching to that is the first thing we do on any phone. It's missing the thin bar on the bottom that's become the Android 10 default way for switching back and forth between apps. On MIUI, switching between the last two apps is done by swiping from the edge of a screen as if you are performing a back gesture and holding for a split second. If you are not fond of that quick switch, you can disable it in the settings menu.

You can also hide the display notch in one of two ways, either leaving the status icons in the black portion or shifting them down into the usable area.

Navigation options • Notch hiding

A system-wide Dark mode is also available, and by now Xiaomi's ironed out the imperfections we observed on the Mi 10, where we even found the occasional Xiaomi app and menu that doesn't adhere to Dark Mode settings.

You get extensive theme support with MIUI. Basically, everything is subject to change including wallpapers, icons, fonts, the lot.

Dark mode • MIUI Themes

MIUI also offers a Security app. It can scan your phone for malware, manage your blacklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, and free up some RAM. It can also manage the permissions of your installed apps, allows you to define the battery behavior of selected apps and applies restrictions only to the apps you choose.

A set of proprietary multimedia apps are on board too - Gallery, Music, and Video player. In some regions, the music and video apps include paid streaming options. MIUI 11 has a new document viewing app, which supports all popular formats and makes for a seamless experience. Mi Remote is also available for controlling legacy non-connected appliances with the IR blaster, and an FM radio app lets you listen to musing over the airwaves - record it too, but it doesn't support RDS, so you'll need to name the stations manually.

Security app • Gallery • Video • Music • FM radio • Mi Remote

Synthetic benchmarks

The Mi 10 Lite 5G runs on the Snapdragon 765G platform, Qualcomm's midrange 5G-capable chipset. It's manufactured on a 7nm production process and features a built-in modem unlike the flagship S865.

The CPU has a 1+1+6 configuration with a Prime core clocked at up to 2.4GHz, a Gold core limited to 2.2GHz (both of these Cortex-A76 derivatives) and 6 Cortex-A55-based Silver cores with a top speed of 1.8GHz. The GPU is called Adreno 620. The Mi 10 Lite 5G comes in three RAM and storage configurations - 6/64GB, 6/128GB, and 8/256GB, and we have the mid-tier variant.

The CPU-focused GeekBench puts the Mi 10 Lite 5G at the top of the chart in the multi-core test, all other S765G devices (and the Exynos 980 Galaxy A51 5G) a small distance behind. In the single-core test, the Galaxy does pull ahead, but the Mi still manages to outperform the S765 crew. Assorted Snapdragon 720 and 730 devices are almost there, but not quite - also, no 5G capability on those.

GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  1927
• LG Velvet
  1905
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  1867
• Motorola Edge
  1862
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  1815
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  1785
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  1785
• Realme X2
  1750
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  1733
• Motorola One Fusion+
  1705
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  1694
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  1692
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  1292

GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  677
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  616
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  609
• Motorola Edge
  586
• LG Velvet
  586
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  571
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  570
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  548
• Realme X2
  545
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  542
• Motorola One Fusion+
  542
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  521
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  361

Antutu, too, puts the Mi 10 Lite 5G in the lead, barely inching ahead of the Galaxy. The Xiaomi also beast the Reno3 Pro 5G, Motorola Edge and LG Velvet - so another first place among the S765 devices we've tested.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  318117
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  316007
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  308231
• Motorola Edge
  305989
• LG Velvet
  297372
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  279625
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  272229
• Motorola One Fusion+
  267980
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  263396
• Realme X2
  257443
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  254000
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  253271
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  200414

The top-class performance continues in graphics benchmarks, where the Mi 10 Lite 5G leads the charts.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  38
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  38
• Motorola Edge
  34
• LG Velvet
  33
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  32
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  31
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  30
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  30
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  30
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  30
• Realme X2
  29
• Motorola One Fusion+
  27

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge
  32
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  32
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  32
• LG Velvet
  29
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  28
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  27
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  27
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  26
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  26
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  26
• Motorola One Fusion+
  25
• Realme X2
  24

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  21
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  21
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  20
• Motorola Edge
  19
• LG Velvet
  19
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  17
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  17
• Realme X2
  16
• Motorola One Fusion+
  16

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Motorola Edge
  18
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  18
• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  17
• LG Velvet
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  15
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  15
• Motorola One Fusion+
  14
• Realme X2
  13

3DMark SSE OpenGL ES 3.1 1440p

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  3294
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  3214
• Motorola Edge
  3004
• LG Velvet
  2987
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  2837
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  2497
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  2494
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  2467
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  2467
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  2464
• Realme X2
  2402

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
  3080
• Oppo Reno3 Pro 5G
  2995
• Motorola Edge
  2801
• Samsung Galaxy A51 5G
  2778
• LG Velvet
  2758
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  2357
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
  2356
• Realme X2
  2263
• Samsung Galaxy A71
  2253
• Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite
  2248
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  2244

The Mi 10 Lite 5G turned in performance numbers that can be described as best among equals. A few units ahead of competitors in multi-core GeekBench and a hair more than the next one in Antutu will be just as inconsequential as the occasional extra frame per second in graphics benchmarks. It does feel good to know that Xiaomi has squeezed the most out of the available hardware.