Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

GSMArena team, 04 September 2020.

MIUI 12 on top of Android 10

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is the first smartphone we meet that boots MIUI 12 out of the box. The new launcher is based on Android 10 and introduces a refined interface with new animations, new privacy options, floating windows, dedicated Control Center, Super Wallpapers, and a brand-new app drawer, among other features.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

The new MIUI 12 is not a massive overhaul over MIUI 11, but more of a refresh with new looks here and there, new cooler animations optimized for high-refresh-rate screens, and a couple of new features though it's up to you whether you'll use them or not.

One of the most striking visual changes is the addition of Super Wallpapers. Long story short - this is a dynamic wallpaper that zooms each time you pass a certain screen. You start small on the Always-on screen (you see the planet Mars), then you wake up the Ultra, and the phone zooms in on Mars, and finally, when you reach the homescreen, the Ultra zooms in further revealing one very cool Mars canyon. You can choose between a few locations for the final zoom level). Moving between homescreen rotates around the said canyon, or crater, or hills.

Super Wallpapers (Mars) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Mars) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Mars) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Mars) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Mars) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Super Wallpapers (Mars)

The Super Wallpapers are not something unseen, but they provide one very coherent visual experience that is a feast for the eyes and in the meantime - connects the parts of MIUI in a subtle yet striking way.

Super Wallpapers (Earth) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Earth) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Earth) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Earth) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Super Wallpapers (Earth)

There are three Super Wallpapers available at launch - Home (Earth), The Red Planet (Mars), and faraway Rings (rings of Saturn).

Super Wallpapers (Saturn) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Saturn) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Super Wallpapers (Saturn) - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Super Wallpapers (Saturn)

The Ultra supports Always-on display, and you can schedule it or leave it on/off all the time. MIUI 12 brings a ton of new AOD themes you can choose from and make it yours. You can customize many of those. The Always-on display also supports breathing light - the curved edges of the display will flash with colors upon new notifications.

Always-on display - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Always-on display - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Always-on display - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Always-on display - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Always-on display - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Always-on display

You unlock the screen via the blazing-fast optical under-display fingerprint scanner. The reader is easy to set up, fast, and superbly accurate - it is on par with the best in business. 2D Face Unlock is available, too, but it is far less secure than the fingerprint option.

Security options - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Security options - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Security options - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Security options - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Security options

The homescreens are business as usual - they are populated with shortcuts, folders, and widgets. The leftmost pane, if enabled, is called App Vault and while with a bit refreshed looks, it is still the same as before - shows cards and shortcuts from the chosen apps (calendar, weather, news, favorites, etc.).

Homescreens - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Homescreens - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Homescreens - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Homescreens - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Homescreens - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Homescreens

MIUI 12 offers an app drawer by default, and it automatically organizes your apps into categories. The first is All, meaning it contains all apps. Then follow Communication, Entertainment, Photography, Tools, New, and Business. You can edit these categories or even disable them altogether. You can disable the app drawer entirely if that's not your thing.

App drawer - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review App drawer - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review App drawer - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review App drawer - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review App drawer - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
App drawer

Another new feature is the Notification shade split into Notification Center and Control Center. Indeed, this is precisely what the iPhones do, and you even summon them in the same fashion - pull down from the left part of the screen for the Notification Center, pull down from the right for the Control Center.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

If you are not fond of this new split - you can disable the Control Center, and the shade will revert to its MIUI 11 looks and operation.

Notification Center - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Notification Center - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Control Center - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Control Center - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review The old Notification Shade - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Notification Center • Notification Center • Control Center • Control Center • The old Notification Shade

The task switcher has not changed much. It shows all of your recent apps in two columns. Tap and hold on a card for the split-screen shortcut, or just swipe it left or right to close it. There is a new Floating Windows button on top, which is a new option offered by MIUI 12. You can put any app in a floating state, but you only have one floating window at a time.

Task Switcher - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Floating Windows - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Floating app - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Task Switcher • Floating Windows • Floating app

Themes are a huge part of MIUI, and they are available on MIUI 12, too. You can download new ones from the Themes store, and they can change wallpapers, ringtones, system icons, system fonts, and even the always-on display style.

Themes - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Themes - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Themes - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Themes - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Themes - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Themes - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Themes

Xiaomi enhanced MIUI 12 with a couple of additional privacy options. Now when sharing stuff, like photos and videos, you can opt to remove location and/or other metadata (incl. device info) and thus protect your privacy fully. Neat.

Gallery - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Privacy Settings - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Gallery • Privacy Settings

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 and allows you to define the battery behavior of selected apps and applies restrictions only to the apps you choose.

MIUI 12 packs proprietary Gallery, Music, and Video player. In some regions, the music and video apps include paid streaming options. Mi Remote for the IR blaster is available, too. In China, a new Mi AI assistant is part of MIUI 12, replacing the Google Assistant.

MIUI 12 also enhances the Notes app with even more Task checklists and subtask options.

Security - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Security - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Music - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Video - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Mi Remote - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Security • Security • Music • Video • Mi Remote

MIUI 12 supports Dark Mode, too, and you can even force it on wallpapers or restrict its application on incompatible individual apps.

Dark Mode - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Dark Mode - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Dark Mode - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review Dark Mode - Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Dark Mode

MIUI 12 is fully optimized to work on HRR displays, and we have to say - it looks gorgeous on the Ultra. Everything is smooth and fast; animations are unobtrusive yet impressive, the attention to the detail is simply excellent. We did enjoy working with this new MIUI on the Ultra's 120Hz for sure.

Finally, the Mi 10 Ultra is currently sold only in China, and because of that, it lacks Google Play Store and Services out of the box. It is a Google-certified phone, so it is very easy to get both installed. Just search Settings for Play Services and enable them. Then go to the Mi Store and install Play Store. Simple as that.

Performance and benchmarks

Just like the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra runs on the Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 chip. It features Qualcomm's X55 modem that adds full-fledged 5G connectivity.

The Snapdragon 865 has an octa-core processor with a familiar core configuration - 1x2.84 GHz Kryo 585 Gold (Cortex-A77 derivative) & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 585 Gold (Cortex-A77 derivative) & 4x1.8 GHz Kryo 585 Silver (Cortex-A55 derivative).

The Adreno 650 is part of the Snapdragon 865 and it a might GPU, among the best in the business.

The Snapdragon 865 chip supports LPDDR5 RAM, and the Mi 10 Ultra is available with 8GB, 12GB (ours) or even 16GB LPDDR5 RAM. The storage options are 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, and the storage is of the UFS 3.1 kind.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

We ran the usual benchmarks and, unsurprisingly, the Mi 10 Ultra aces all of them.

It packs the best processor Android has to offer. The Snapdragon 865+ inside the ROG3 has its Prime core clocked a bit higher (3.1GHz vs. 2.84GHz) and thus the small difference in single-core computing.

GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • OnePlus 8
    3399
  • OnePlus 8 Pro (120Hz, 1440p)
    3374
  • Asus ROG Phone 3 (144Hz)
    3357
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
    3331
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
    3248
  • Huawei P40 Pro+
    3203
  • Huawei P40 Pro
    3197
  • Realme X50 Pro
    3175
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (120Hz, 1080p)
    2697
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
    2603
  • vivo X50 Pro
    1937

GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • Asus ROG Phone 3 (144Hz)
    975
  • OnePlus 8
    919
  • Realme X50 Pro
    911
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
    905
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (120Hz, 1080p)
    904
  • OnePlus 8 Pro (120Hz, 1440p)
    902
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
    901
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
    880
  • Huawei P40 Pro+
    781
  • Huawei P40 Pro
    780
  • vivo X50 Pro
    636

The graphic scores are chart-topping as expected.

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Asus ROG Phone 3 (144Hz)
    82
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
    78
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
    76
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
    75
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (120Hz, 1080p)
    74
  • Realme X50 Pro
    60
  • Huawei P40 Pro
    52
  • Huawei P40 Pro+
    52
  • OnePlus 8 Pro (120Hz, 1440p)
    43
  • vivo X50 Pro
    31

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Asus ROG Phone 3 (144Hz)
    48
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
    46
  • OnePlus 8
    46
  • Realme X50 Pro
    45
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (120Hz, 1080p)
    43
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
    42
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
    42
  • Huawei P40 Pro
    31
  • Huawei P40 Pro+
    31
  • OnePlus 8 Pro (120Hz, 1440p)
    24
  • vivo X50 Pro
    17

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p

Higher is better

  • OnePlus 8
    6720
  • Realme X50 Pro
    6472
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
    6431
  • OnePlus 8 Pro (120Hz, 1440p)
    6425
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (120Hz, 1080p)
    6308
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
    6248
  • Huawei P40 Pro+
    5641
  • Huawei P40 Pro
    5637
  • vivo X50 Pro
    2983

Finally, the Mi 10 Ultra topped our all-time AnTuTu 8 chart, for now at least.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra
    638497
  • Asus ROG Phone 3 (144Hz)
    601858
  • Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G
    595246
  • Realme X50 Pro
    592447
  • OnePlus 8 Pro (120Hz, 1440p)
    573276
  • OnePlus 8
    564708
  • Huawei P40 Pro+
    529687
  • Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G (120Hz, 1080p)
    514485
  • Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
    508760
  • Huawei P40 Pro
    496356
  • vivo X50 Pro
    323736

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra has one of the best hardware platforms as of the time of writing, and the benchmarks are an easy tell of its capabilities. Its 8-core CPU is blazing-fast, while its GPU is ready to take the heaviest of games and show them in more than 60fps where possible.

The phone gets a bit warm after prolonged benchmark and gaming sessions, but we didn't notice a noticeable drop in the performance or unpleasant feeling (as the one we got when the Ultra was hooked on the 120W charger).

So, the Mi 10 Ultra is one of the fastest phones on the market, and it will offer one of the best experiences possible right now.

Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 29 May 2023
  • pf7

I wont change my 9T until they make a something similaire or smaller would be even better

Same

I would be damn happy if they made a 2022 version of the K20/Mi 9T series