In the void that was left by Huawei’s exodus from the Googleverse, it seems Xiaomi has heeded the call of smartphone users looking for a good, value for money device to spend their hard-earned rands on. As someone who falls squarely into that category, I’ve not upgraded my day-to-day smartphone in over 4 years because I just have not found something I really like at a good price point.
The Remi Note 10 Pro is a bit of a contradiction when it comes to price versus features. At only R5,499, this smartphone features an impressive 108-megapixel camera with 4K video shooting at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps. Of course, totally overkill for most people; these camera specs are pretty impressive and the results delivered are really good. The higher resolutions mean sharper and generally more defined images, and in this case, the Redmi Note 10 Pro lived up to my expectations.
At the heart of the Redmi Note 10 Pro is the Qualcomm SM7150 Snapdragon 732G chipset, an octa-core processor that performs really well considering it’s a mid-ranger, and there’s 128GB of storage space for data and media. Also impressive is the 6GB of RAM that you get as a nice little bonus to help with app performance.
What really piqued my interest when I unboxed the phone was the 6.67-inch AMOLED screen that runs at 120Hz. As a mobile gamer, you don’t often get this spec on a device that retails under R6,000.
But before we get to the performance analysis, let’s look at design and function. In the hand, the Remi Note 10 Pro feels really good to hold and use. It weighs just under 200g and that includes the Li-Po 5020 mAh battery and a frosted glass back cover that looks pretty good in my opinion; I got the Glacier Blue version for review.
The power button doubles as the fingerprint reader and is situated on the phone’s left side, below the volume rocker. On the bottom is a lone USB-C port while the phone’s top side houses the 3.5mm audio jack and IR blaster. There’s also a speaker on each end, which delivers really good audio for gaming and, again, not something you often see on a phone at this price.
Using the phone for day-to-day apps like social media, email and reading the news, the 120hz performs beautifully. The smooth scrolling compared to the 90hz phone I use daily is noticeable, and I really enjoyed staring at the screen for hours each day, as one does.
As with any smartphone I review, I am really only interested in one thing, game performance. If it can handle the demands of PUBG Mobile, it passes my most stringent test, but I also ran the 3Mark Wildlife and Wildlife Extreme benchmarks for good measure.
When it comes to gaming, the Redmi Note 10 Pro did not disappoint, and while clearly a mid-range performer, this phone is a very capable gaming device, and the 3DMark benchmarks agree. Looking at Wild Life Extreme, this phone scored: 339 while Wild Life scored: 1122, well in line with what is expected with its Qualcomm chipset.
Running Android 11 and MIUI 12, there is not much to fault in terms of features; for a mid-range phone, this one is pretty feature-rich, and there’s even an FM radio built-in.
As someone who uses their smartphone for work and gaming, I find I get very particular about what I will settle for on a mid-range smartphone. Some brands get it horribly wrong, while Xiaomi, it seems, is trying very hard to get things right. The Redmi Note 10 Pro really impressed me, from its build quality to its very capable mid-range performance. I think I have found my go-to phone to recommend to people wanting an affordable Android smartphone.
Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G
I also received the 5G version of this phone for review, and while it’s also a good performer, it’s a little lower specced than the non-5G variant. To get 5G on the phone, Xiaomi had to use a different chipset, and they went with the MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G. The Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G also has 4Gb of RAM, slightly less than the non 5G version, and the screen only supports a maximum of 90Hz. Regarding performance and usage, the lower refresh rate was visible in comparison but certainly not a much worse performer overall. In 3DMark’s Wild Life benchmark, the Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G scored 1101. The phone’s 5G performance was good, but of course, 5G is coverage is dependant, so your experience may vary.
