The presentation of the Xiaomi Mi 10 range, which originally took place in China in February and then in Italy in late March 2020, has left many fans speechless. In fact, it is clear from the mere specifications that the Chinese company this time has decided not to come down to any kind of compromise, essentially implementing everything that the most demanding users need.
Well, Mi 10 Pro represents the cutting edge of Xiaomi's portfolio: that smartphone that aims at the top of the top, trying to dangerously undermine the best high-end devices on the market. In short, we are facing a particularly ambitious smartphone, which is sold in Italy at a price of 999.90 euros on the company's official website (8 / 256GB). Did he manage to convince us during the various trial weeks?
Design and unboxing
Let's start immediately with a small note: the sample we received for the tests is devoid of box and accessories, so we have not been able to find these aspects first hand, but the official channels describe the presence of a USB Type-C cable for charging , a Type-C to audio jack adapter, a protective cover, a pin for removing the SIM compartment (the slot is for a single nanoSIM), classic manuals and a 65W charger. In short, the content seems to be particularly complete and also allows those who do not have USB Type-C / Bluetooth headphones to use the classic headsets with 3.5 mm audio jack.
One of the first things you notice is its display with curved edges and a hole for the camera located at the top left, which majestically covers the front. As soon as you turn the smartphone, they are found a backcover in satin glass and a metal profile. At the top left there are the four photographic sensors placed vertically and the LED flash.
We liked this design very much because it offers a feeling of quality thanks to the excellent materials used, which give the device a certain constructive solidity, the display with a high screen-to-body ratio and the rear body that creates good "light effects" . Small touch of class the 108MP sensor highlighted by a flashy circle.
Analyzing the profile of Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, on the right we find the power button and the volume rocker, while the left side is completely "empty". At the bottom there are the trolley for the SIM, the first microphone, a speaker and the USB Type-C 2.0 port (no video output), while at the top there are the second microphone, the infrared port and the speaker.
The Chinese company's proposal is very complete, but if we really want to find the needle in the haystack, one thing that we didn't particularly like is the important thing. protrusion of the quadruple rear camera. This means that if you place it without a cover on a flat surface, the device "dances". This is a feature that we have already seen on other devices and it must be said that thanks to this "stratagem" Xiaomi has managed to implement valid photographic sensors, which otherwise would not have physically found space inside the body. However, it is an aspect that could make someone turn up their nose and it is therefore good to report it.
Another feature to consider is the weight of 208 grams, which makes the smartphone not exactly the "lightest" on the market. The device makes itself felt in the hand, but after a while we got used to it and we had no problems whatsoever. In any case, the dimensions are 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.96 mm, so one-handed use may not be easy, even in the face of the 6.67-inch display.
We know that there are users who would like more compact solutions, but in reality the market trend is this and there are many solutions that have a weight and size similar to the Mi 10 Pro. In any case, the grip is good and the smartphone is not too much "slippery".
focusing on the release systems, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro has a fingerprint sensor integrated in the display, which is fast and has never given us too many problems. However, as often happens, we preferred the rapid facial release, which however remains 2D and therefore lends itself alongside the classic "criticisms" relating to security.
As for the coloring, we tried Solstice Gray, capable of generating excellent "reflections" when exposed to an external light source. Who writes you appreciates solutions like this, but for those who are not of the same opinion there is the Alpine White coloring.
Summing up, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro convinces, both in terms of design and in terms of constructive solidity. The only flaws are the lack of IP68 certification and the slightly too high protrusion of the rear photographic sensors. However, the care taken by the Chinese company in the construction of the device aligns without a doubt with the high end of the market.
Technical features
If you think Xiaomi has spared from a specification point of view, you are wrong. In fact, Mi 10 Pro is a real monster of power, a smartphone that is among the most performing devices out there. In fact, under the shell we find a octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor operating at a maximum frequency of 2.84 GHz (1 x 2.84 GHz + 3 x 2.42 GHz + 4 x 1.8 GHz), flanked by an Adreno 650 GPU, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.0 internal memory (not expandable). We are talking about a configuration at the top of the market, able to run all the applications on the Play Store without any kind of problem.
The Snapdragon 865 is the most powerful SoC currently in circulation and the presence of the latest standards regarding memory (LPDDR5 and UFS 3.0) does nothing but guarantee an even greater fluidity to the smartphone.
As if that wasn't enough, the 6.67-inch AMOLED display with Full HD + resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels) has a 90 Hz refresh rate (touch sampling rate of 180 Hz), capable of making the device even more "reactive". There is no lack of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, HDR10 + support and curved edges that increase immersion and bring the screen-to-body ratio to high levels. The excellent maximum brightness reaches peaks of 1200 nits and we can assure you that it is a particularly valid panel, thanks to well-balanced colors and to the all-screen design.
Obviously, the support for Widewine L1 DRMs, to watch HD content on platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Watching movies and TV series with Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is a pleasure for the eyes.
In any case, some small imperfections remain to be attributed to the aspect ratio 19.5: 9: there are developers who have not yet updated their application for this type of screen and therefore the part that "surrounds" the hole for the camera is not covered by the content. To give you a concrete example, if you start any live on Twitch, you will not be able to put the contents in full screen, even using the native "zoom" functionality and trying to set the classic "full screen" mode implemented by Xiaomi. In short, there is still some work to be done, but many popular apps work without any problems and the general experience is excellent, considering also that the small hole of the camera becomes almost "invisible" when viewing certain contents.
There is also the possibility to set the Always On Display mode, customizable from many points of view (including the graphic style). We noticed some minor problems with notifications, but probably the lack of synchronization of certain apps is linked to our test device (the bootloader is unlocked, which makes the smartphone detect as "not certified" by Play Protect and can create some problems) . For the rest, there is no shortage of functions related to reading and the possibility of "forcing" the refresh rate (90 or 60 Hz) directly from the settings.
In short, Xiaomi has done an essentially impeccable job at the display level and there is very little to criticize in this respect. By the way, a little touch of class that we liked a lot is the fact that the edges of the screen light up when a notification arrives, which allows you to notice it instantly and is always able to create an effect " wow ".
Another aspect in which Mi 10 Pro shines is the photographic sector, where we find a 20MP front camera (f / 2.0) and a quadruple rear camera 108MP (f / 1.69, main, OIS, 8P) + 8MP (f / 2.0, 10x hybrid zoom, OIS) + 12MP (f / 2.0, 2x optical zoom, designed for bokeh) + 20MP (f / 2.2, ultra -wide, 117 degrees, also acts as a Macro sensor), flanked by the LED flash. The four rear sensors can record video even in 8K at 30fps, while the front one reaches 1080p / 30fps. There is also Slow Motion at 960 fps in Full HD.
The quality of the shots is excellent. During the day everything is perfect and even the macros come out quite well, certainly better than what we have seen on other top of the range devices. The zoom reaches up to 50x digitally: the 10x is good and the 20x is still usable on the social side. On the other hand, we are faced with high-caliber sensors, able to guarantee results as a true cameraphone. We are not in front of the best photographic sector ever, but we are at levels that satisfy almost any user.
There Night mode it works well and is able to make appreciable shots, but in some contexts it cannot completely save the situation. Let's be clear, we tested this functionality both in "simple" and in other quite dark and difficult contexts, in order to have an overall picture. In the former, everything went well, while in the latter, there are solutions that manage to do better. Good photos of the front camera, which do not disappoint expectations.
Turning to the video sector, the 8K / 30fps they are, as might have been expected, more a test of strength than an addition of value, as they are not very stabilized. In addition, even in 4K results are not exactly exciting, so you always have to go down to the dear "old" Full HD in order to say that you actually have excellent videos. Nothing transcendental: this happens for most smartphones, but it is good to underline it, as it is the specs on the card may make you think of other results.
However, as previously mentioned, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is definitely an excellent choice for lovers of the photographic sector, since it is able to give great satisfaction. If you want to get a more precise idea of the quality offered by the smartphone, we invite you to consult our Drive folder dedicated to Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, where you can find some uncompressed photos and some content that may interest you to deepen the topic.
The time has come to talk about one of the aspects that most interest the smartphone world: autonomy. The discussion in this field is eternal and there have been several users who expressed doubts during the announcement phase, given that we are facing a smartphone with a display with a 90 Hz refresh rate and 5G support. Well, in reality, during our test weeks we found good autonomy: the 4500 mAh battery often took us in the evening with 30% of remaining charge. Sometimes we also achieved superior results, around 35/40%. Not bad numbers, considering also that the recharge at 50W is able to provide several hours of use compared to a few minutes of connection to the power outlet.
Here we have to tell you an interesting detail: the charger in the package is 65W, but the smartphone reaches up to 50W. When questioned on the subject, the company explained to us that their goal is to offer a 360-degree experience, giving the user a "future-proof" power supply, so that he can also use it for other devices. This is a very interesting vision, which makes us understand how Xiaomi did not want to compromise with this device. On the other hand, Mi 10 Pro also supports 30W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging.
There is practically nothing missing also on the connectivity front: there are 5G (excellent support for the future and for those who already live in covered areas, even if it will take time to reach many Italians), 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax (Wi-Fi 6), NFC and Bluetooth 5.1. The only "sacrifices" are waterproofing and the USB Type-C port only 2.0. There are two flaws to consider, but in reality many users are willing to turn a blind eye from this point of view, also considering the other qualities of Mi 10 Pro. By the way: the audio is stereo and has a good maximum volume (our tests showed 81 dBA, a respectable value). However, there is no support for Dolby Atmos, but there are still sound effects that can optimize the audio quality and the latter is among the best around, even taking into consideration the top of the range. In short, Xiaomi has worked very well.
Software
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro mounts Android 10 with MIUI 11.0.7.0 customization. At the time of writing, the security patches are updated in March 2020. MIUI 11 is concrete and has all the necessary features, from the Dark Mode to the Digital Well-being and Parental Control functions, passing through the classic Second space and for Answers quick (which allows you to quickly reply to a message from an instant messaging app).
This is just to give you concrete examples, but now the MIUI 11 we know it well and we are all waiting for the MIUI 12, announced just a few days ago, which will bring with it further important improvements. In any case, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is the top of the range of the Chinese company and therefore will surely be among the smartphones that will receive the update first. The system fluidity is excellent and we never had any problems, since MIUI 11 is already very mature. Of course, we have found some small bugs and there is the question of full screen content, but it is nothing special and they are things that happen with practically all software customizations.
Performance and benchmarks
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is a smartphone that can run everything properly, from everyday applications to the heaviest ones. It is one of the best performing top of the range on the market and its fluidity cannot be questioned. Just to give you concrete data to support our statement, the smartphone has registered a total of 599259 points on AnTuTu Benchmark. On Geekbench, however, it reached 907 points in single-core and 3321 points in multi-core. These are very important numbers, which confirm the excellent impressions during the intense use we made of it during the trial weeks.
There are very few devices that can compete with Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. One of these is OPPO Find X2 Pro, which reached 610278 points on AnTuTu Benchmark in our tests. However, the OPPO solution is sold for 1199 euros in Italy, so we are talking about a smartphone that costs 200 euros more than Mi 10 Pro. In any case, the device is able to surpass the likes of Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (526818 points on AnTuTu) and Huawei P40 Pro (498066 points).
Furthermore, the presence of a display with a refresh rate of 90 Hz should not be underestimated, a very interesting feature that is making smartphones more fluid. In our view, the 90 Hz are the right compromise, given that 120 Hz brings a less important benefit (the difference between 60 Hz and 90 Hz makes itself felt in a marked way) and often go to influence a little too much on battery life.
Gaming
To test Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro we have selected some of the most resource-intensive titles on the Play Store: Call of Duty Mobile, ARK: Survival Evolved and Asphalt 9. We have tested these games on many high-end devices and several times there have been some hitches, especially regarding ARK.
Call of Duty Mobile runs perfectly with details on "Very high" and FPS on "High". There is also the possibility to set all the "secondary" options, from the depth of field to the shadows in real time passing through the bloom, the ragdoll and the anti-aliasing. Put simply, you can make the most of the game. Incidentally, COD Mobile can easily cover the whole screen without problems.
The same goes for Asphalt 9, which has no problem whatsoever on Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro.
The only title that manages to test the smartphone is ARK: Survival Evolved. In fact, the game runs just under 30 FPS with details on "Epico" and you have to go down to "Alto" to start thinking properly. For a truly fluid experience, however, it is advisable to focus on "Medium". In any case, we can assure you that ARK is a rare case, as it is a title now "famous" for being heavy. Do you think that on some smartphones, obviously lower-end, even struggles to start. In short, the fact that Mi 10 Pro manages to make it run all in all shows how powerful this device is.
Do not underestimate the presence of the Dedicated Turbo Video Game functionality, which also has a nice hub that collects all the titles installed on the smartphone. This mode also optimizes performance and, once you have entered the game, you can activate the classic panel that we have come to know. For the uninitiated, the latter allows you to quickly perform operations such as taking screenshots, cleaning the memory and starting video recordings.
There is also the Picture-in-picture mode, which allows you to open windows of applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram, in order to use them without having to stop playing. Of course, this is not a complete feature as much as we have seen elsewhere, but in reality it guarantees the user everything he needs to be able to have an excellent gaming experience.
