Introduction
We have the Redmi Note 10 Pro for review, and this is the global version of the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max - an India-exclusive model. There are only two differences - the Indian version omits NFC and it is not listed as IP53-rated. Here's a direct link to compare the two.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro Max
It's been exactly one year since the first Redmi Note 9 phones came to be, and the updates arrive right on schedule. The Redmi Note 10 Pro is spearheading the next generation of affordable mid-rangers, and it brings one of the most requested fan-favorite features - a 120Hz OLED screen.
Xiaomi has been offering HRR screens on the cheap. The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G and multiple Redmi K30 phones had 120Hz and even 144Hz LCD panels. These devices became quite popular for that reason, and a lot of people, we included, were hoping for an OLED upgrade and that this premium feature would become a standard for the Redmi Note 10 series. Talk about a wish come true!
The Redmi Note 10 Pro builds on top of the limited Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G, also known as Mi 10i 5G in some markets, both released a few weeks ago. It offers a better HRR OLED screen but comes with the inferior Snapdragon 732G chip instead of the more premium Snapdragon 750G 5G. The rest is mostly the same - camera, speakers, battery, fast charging.
Indeed, the new Redmi Note 10 Pro may not be packing the best mid-range SoC, but it sure impresses with an interesting quad-camera on the back. The main shooter uses a 108MP Samsung sensor, then comes the 8MP ultrawide snapper, followed by a 5MP cam with telemacro lens, and finally, there is a 2MP depth sensor.
The other interesting bits about the Redmi Note 10 Pro include the dedicated symmetrical speakers - yet another feature that's not widely available even on the most expensive phones (the flagships usually favor hybrid setups). There is also a nicely fat battery with a 5,020mAh capacity that's capable of 33W fast charging, and the corresponding power adapter is included with the phone. Some people will appreciate the presence of NFC, FM radio, IR blaster, a 3.5mm jack, and the microSD expansion.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro specs at a glance:
- Body: 164x76.5x8.1mm, 193g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame; IP53, dust and splash protection.
- Display: 6.67" AMOLED, HDR10, 120Hz, 450-700 nits (typ), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM7150-AC Snapdragon 732G (8 nm): Octa-core (2x2.3 GHz Kryo 470 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver); Adreno 618.
- Memory: 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
- OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 12.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 108 MP, f/1.8, 25mm, 1/1.52", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultrawide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.06", 1.0µm.
- Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
- Battery: 5,020mAh; Fast charging 33W.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); NFC; FM radio, Infrared port; 3.5mm jack.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is IP53-rated for dust and water protection - a very nice touch. This means the phone is dust-proof and can endure light splashes or rain. The phone sounds like an increasingly better proposition with each new feature we spot, so let's cut to the chase and pop this Note out of its box.
Unboxing the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
The Redmi Note 10 Pro ships within a regular paper box, and it packs everything you may need but a pair of headphones. The retail bundle contains a 33W power adapter and a 3A-rated USB-A-to-C cable.
You also get a transparent silicone case with a cover lid for the USB-C port. And you will find one thin screen protector that's already applied to the phone's display. We peeled that off; sorry, Xiaomi, it was way too cheap.
Design, build, handling
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is among the few Redmi phones where you do get an actual IP rating - IP53 in this case. This means the phone is dust protected and can withstand spraying water and light rain. Even better, Xiaomi has bundled a silicone case with a cover lid for the USB port, which should provide an even better overall protection.
Other than being sealed against dust and water, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is your typical smartphone. There is a flat Gorilla Glass 5 on top of the new 120Hz OLED screen, a slightly curved piece of what looks to be glass on the back, and a glossy plastic frame between those two pieces.
Our unit is the Onyx Gray option, which features this chameleonic dark gray hue on the back. It catches and reflects light in cool yet subtle ways. The other available color options are Glacier Blue (light reflective blue) and Gradient Bronze (gradient from dark to light orange). Xiaomi seems to have chosen these paintjobs really well and despite that these may seem flashy, they are most certainly not.
The back, and the frame, are glossy though, and fingerprints and smudges stick easily, and they will eventually ruin the looks. The Redmi Note 10 Pro, if carried case-free, should be wiped clean more often than some of you would like. That's why we suggest the brighter orange or blue option if you don't intend to use a case.
So, the front is all about the new 6.67" OLED screen, which has a regular 1080p resolution but offers 120Hz refresh rate. It does look and feel gorgeous on the Note 10 Pro, the bezels are pretty thin for this class, though the chin wasn't trimmed the way we see on some flagships.
The screen protection is handled by a Gorilla Glass 5 piece, mostly flat, with these familiar 2.5D edges. On its very end around the top, you will see one very thin earpiece grille. Behind that is a directional speaker, which acts as an earpiece during calls (the sound is coming through this grille), and a stereo speaker when playing music (the sound comes from the vent on top of the phone).
The OLED panel has one tiny punch-hole making way for the 16MP selfie camera. And no matter how tiny it is, the thing is an eyesore for any perfectionist. See, the camera isn't exactly centered in this cutout and it is a little bit higher than it should be, almost hitting the top border, while leaving more space around the bottom. A picture is worth a thousand words they say, so here is one.
We know we are a bit nitpicking here, especially when considering the price, but we felt we needed to mention it.
And while we are on the subject of nitpicking, the cheap screen protector that came pre-installed was not applied that well, and its punch-hole was stepping on those already misaligned circles. Yes, it was terrible.
There is no under-screen fingerprint scanner on the Redmi Note 10 Pro. Xiaomi is still relying on the side-mounted always-on sensor, and we prefer it this way. The sensor is blazing-fast and super accurate, and we'd never trade it for a second-rate under-display alternative. It is placed on the Power/Lock key, which is both convenient and a curse. But you can solve all potential issues by changing the Fingerprint Recognition Method from Touch to Press and never be locked away again by those accidental misreadings.
The rear glass is slightly curved towards the frame and makes the Redmi Note 10 Pro look and feel even thinner than it is. The only thing of interest here is the quad-camera setup, which looks rather peculiar. Let's take a look.
The camera setup uses a stairway-like arranged glass. The bottom piece contains the raised smaller one, obviously, the LED flash, and what seems to be laser-autofocus tech though Xiaomi hasn't shared any details. It could be another type of sensor, say a color temperature or a light one, but it's just a wild guess until we know more.
The top glass contains the four cameras. The biggest one is on top - the 108MP shooter by Samsung. Below are the 5MP macro cam with a telephoto lens and the 2MP depth sensor. Last is the 8MP ultrawide-angle snapper.
The frame is made of plastic, glossy at that, but it's not as slippery as we expected it to be. The visible screen enclosure probably helps a bit, and the grip is quite good.
There is a lone ejectable tray on the left, and it is a tri-card slot - you can put two nano-SIM cards and a microSD one. The volume rocker and the power/fingerprint scanner are on the right.
The sides of the Redmi Note 10 Pro
The top seems pretty crowded - here, you'd find the IR blaster, a second mic, a speaker grille, and the 3.5mm jack. The bottom has the other speaker, the USB-C port, and the mouthpiece.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is 2mm shorter and a hair thinner than the Redmi Note 9 Pro. It weighs 193 grams - meaning it is 16 grams lighter than its predecessor.
Handling the Redmi Note 10 Pro is a nice experience. While the back is very slippery, the frame provides enough grip, and the Note can be handled hassle-free most of the time. That is until your hands become sweaty, then you should be extremely careful. There is a case in the box, so you are covered right from the get-go.
Finally, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is neither bulky, nor heavy, and it feels quite good in hands and in pockets. It is even lighter than the Note 9 Pro, and if you've handled the old one for a while, you will definitely feel the difference.
Xiaomi did good with the Note 10 Pro - while it isn't a perfect execution - remember the selfie cutout - it's a great one for this price bracket, and we were delighted to see an official IP53 rating. Here is hoping all mid-rangers follow suit this year.
A 6.67" 120Hz OLED screen
The screen has seen the biggest upgrade since the Redmi Note 9 series. The new Redmi Note 10 Pro keeps the size familiar - it's the usual 6.67" we've grown to like on the Notes, but now it features a more premium 120Hz OLED panel.
The screen resolution is the standard 1,080 x 2,400 pixels or 395ppi. There is a small punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera, but the snapper isn't exactly centered in the said hole. Well, it is what it is.
The screen is protected by a piece of Gorilla Glass 5. You also get a thin protective film applied in the factory, although we weren't fond of it as it wasn't aligned that well out of the box.
The new screen supports 60Hz and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. It also has a touch-sensing layer that works with 240Hz sampling rate, and the screen does feel nicely smooth and super responsive.
There is also HDR10 certification, and combined with the Widevine L1 DRM support, you can squeeze the maximum quality of any streaming service.
Let's talk about the adaptive refresh rate. You can choose between 60Hz and 120Hz screen options called Standard and Medium refresh rates. The 120Hz option works dynamically, but it's not as dynamic as Samsung's AMOLEDs. The Redmi Note 10 Pro screen is always showing 120fps throughout the UI and all system apps, but it reverts to 60Hz when the picture is static for battery-saving reasons.
Other than that - the screen is working in 120Hz for supported apps, and 60Hz in Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, the default Mi Video player, and some games.
Xiaomi is advertising a maximum auto-brightness of 700 nits (typical), manual of 450 nits, or 1200nits (peak) when watching HDR content.
We can confirm the 700nits brightness, 725 nits to be specific - when the screen is set to Auto-Brightness or when you turn the Sunlight Boost in Manual Brightness Mode. Otherwise, the maximum brightness at the end of the brightness slider is 457 nits - once again, as promised.
The mentioned peak brightness of 1200 nits is just that - peak brightness - with just a small part of the screen occupied by content - likely when you are playing back HDR video.
We also measured the minimum brightness at point white, and it is just 2.3 nits!
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 457 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 725 | ∞ | |
| 0.355 | 456 | 1285:1 | |
| 0.487 | 616 | 1265:1 | |
| 0.337 | 413 | 1226:1 | |
| 0.412 | 471 | 1143:1 | |
| 0.347 | 460 | 1326:1 | |
| 0.486 | 640 | 1317:1 | |
| 0.354 | 460 | 1299:1 | |
| 0.515 | 631 | 1225:1 | |
| 0 | 459 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 585 | ∞ | |
| 0.31 | 457 | 1474:1 | |
| 0.374 | 526 | 1406:1 | |
| 0.376 | 484 | 1287:1 | |
| 0.667 | 571 | 856:1 | |
| 0.202 | 328 | 1624:1 | |
| 0.253 | 426 | 1684:1 | |
| 0 | 413 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 636 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 410 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 642 | ∞ | |
Xiaomi offers three predefined Color presets - Auto, Saturated, Standard - each representing a specific color space.
The Auto option is tuned to reproduce Wide Color Gamut content faithfully, but it also adjusts the colors to correspond to your current lighting (like Apple's True Tone). In normal daylight conditions in our office, we measured an average deltaE of 4.1 and a maximum deviation of 7.7 against the DCI-P3 color space - meaning a good calibration though with bluish-white and gray hues. If you opt for the Warm color temperature preset when in Auto Mode, you'd get an average deltaE of 2.4 and a maximum deviation of 4 - and that's an excellent calibration.
The Standard setting corresponds to sRGB, and we also recorded an average deltaE of 1.3 for the color accuracy - a perfect one.
Finally, the Saturated mode makes the colors pop, and they are no longer as accurate to DCI-P3.
Battery life
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is powered by large 5,020mAh battery - more than enough for a device of such caliber and hardware, and we expect it to ace our tests.
And it did! The Redmi Note 10 Pro posted an excellent battery endurance rating of 114 hours. It did great on the screen-on tests even when using a 120Hz refresh rate.
Our Viser app ran the video test at 120Hz, though it turned out that all popular video apps, including the default app, ran at 60Hz on the Redmi Note 10 Pro screen, no matter our refresh rate preference. So, we also did our test at 60Hz and it should be a bit more representative. It turns out that we got no extra hours on the web test, but we did get more when watching movies!
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.
Charging speed
The Redmi Note 10 Pro ships with a 33W adapter and a 3A-rated USB-C cable. We've seen this combo on the Poco X3 NFC already, so we know it is indeed a fast one.
So, the bundled charger gets you from flat to 50% in exactly 30 minutes.
30min charging test (from 0%)
- Realme 7 Pro
94% - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
68% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
63% - Realme 7
58% - Poco X3 NFC
55% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
50% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro
39% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
33% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
30% - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
27%
An hour on the charger replenishes 89% of the battery, while a full charge requires exactly 81 minutes.
Time to full charge (from 0%)
- Realme 7 Pro
0:37h - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G
0:58h - Realme 7
1:05h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro
1:11h - Poco X3 NFC
1:15h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
1:21h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
1:50h - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
2:01h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
2:15h
Unfortunately, there is no option for reverse battery charging.
Stereo speakers
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro has what it seems to be a proper stereo speakers setup. There are two grilles on the opposite ends of the phone, and we can hear balanced sound from there. We can't be sure if the top speaker also acts as an earpiece or if there is a dedicated one somewhere in there, but the important thing is that both speakers seems to be equal and they sound alright.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro offers Very Good loudness. The setup provides good enough mid and high tones, but it seems to be lacking in bass.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
Android 11 with MIUI 12
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is among the first Xiaomi smartphones to boot Android 11 with MIUI 12 out of the box. The MIUI 12 launcher has been around for a while, and even if it uses a newer Android 11 base, you can't really tell that as it skins everything thoroughly.
There is a new MIUI 12.5 update scheduled to arrive in April or May this year. While it sounds like a minor update, the company actually had redone the whole package from within to lower power and memory consumption of the core apps. It also has improved aesthetics and visual design.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro supports an Always-on display, and you can schedule it or leave it on/off all the time. MIUI 12 has a ton of 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
You unlock the screen via the side-mounted fingerprint scanner. The reader is easy to set up, blazing-fast, and the accuracy is superb. We advise you to set the unlock method to Press as the always-on reader may and will read your palm and/or other fingers and eventually disable the fingerprint unlock until you input your PIN. A 2D Face Unlock is available, too, but it is far less secure than the fingerprint option.
Security options
The homescreens are business as usual - they are populated with shortcuts, folders, and widgets. The leftmost pane, if enabled, is Google's Discover.
There are no Super Wallpapers on the Redmi Note 10 Pro, in case you were wondering.
Homescreens
MIUI 12 offers an optional app drawer, 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
Another interesting feature is the Notification shade split into Notification Center and Control Center. Just as on the iPhones, you summon them by pulling down from the left part of the screen for the Notification Center or pulling down from the right for the Control Center.
If you are not fond of this new split - you can disable the Control Center, and the shade will revert to its normal looks and operation.
Notification Center • Control Center • Control Center • Options • 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, 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 • Options • Floating app • Split screen
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 enhanced MIUI 12 with a couple of additional privacy options. Now, when sharing stuff, like photos and videos, you can opt to remove location info and/or other metadata (incl. device info) and thus protect your privacy better. Neat.
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 may include paid streaming options. Mi Remote for the IR blaster is available, too.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro supports FM radio, and you will find the appropriate app for it.
Security • Security • Music • Video • Mi Remote • FM radio
MIUI 12 supports Dark Mode, too, and you can even force it on wallpapers or restrict its application on incompatible individual apps.
Dark Mode
MIUI 12 is fully optimized to work on HRR displays, and it looks gorgeous on the Redmi Note 10 Pro. Everything is smooth and fast; animations are unobtrusive yet impressive, the attention to detail is simply excellent. We did enjoy working with MIUI on the Redmi Note 10 Pro's 120Hz for sure.
Some MIUI ROMs include ads in the default apps, it is a well-known thing.
An ad • how to disable ads
The international ROM version of this Redmi Note 10 Pro does come with baked-in "recommendations", but luckily - you can disable those. For example - if you are annoyed of the ads within the app scanner - just hit the settings gear and disable recommendations. The same applies to the Themes app. It's not ideal, sure, but at least you can get of them all.
Performance and benchmarks
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 732G chip, the same one inside the Poco X3 NFC.
Hardware-wise, the Snapdragon 732G is a close relative to the vanilla S730 and the S730G. The octa-core processor has two Kryo 470 Gold (Cortex-A76) cores clocked at 2.3 GHz, and six Kryo 470 Silver (Cortex-A55) ones, working at 1.8 GHz. They are all built on an 8nm LPP node.
All S73x chips have the same Adreno 618 DSP. The one on the 730G is clocked 75 MHz higher than S730 and sits at 575 MHz. And the one inside the Redmi Note 10 Pro can go as high as 800MHz.
Finally, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is available with 64GB and 128GB UFS2.2 storage. You get 6GB LPDDR4 RAM for both storage options, but a limited 8GB RAM + 128GB storage is expected to launch, too.
In our tests, the Redmi Note 10 Pro turned out to be among the best-equipped smartphones in its price bracket.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
2009 - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
1910 - Realme 7 Pro
1811 - Realme 7 5G
1794 - Redmi Note 9 Pro (Max)
1785 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
1780 - Poco X3 NFC
1777 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
1775 - Realme 7
1681 - Poco M3
1398 - Realme 7i
1318 - Redmi Note 9
1292
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
661 - Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
643 - Realme 7 5G
598 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
595 - Realme 7 Pro
576 - Redmi Note 9 Pro (Max)
571 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
569 - Poco X3 NFC
568 - Realme 7
536 - Redmi Note 9
361 - Realme 7i
312
308
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
33 - Realme 7
17 - Realme 7 5G
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
16 - Poco X3 NFC
16 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
16 - Redmi Note 9 Pro (Max)
15 - Realme 7 Pro
14 - Realme 7i
13 - Poco M3
5.9
The AnTuTu 8 benchmark shows the phone is on par with its competitors and will not disappoint.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
324686 - Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite
318882 - Realme 7 5G
318535 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
295442 - Realme 7
292828 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
288732 - Poco X3 NFC
283750 - Redmi Note 9 Pro (Max)
279625 - Realme 7 Pro
278414 - Redmi Note 9
200414 - Poco M3
177904 - Realme 7i
172933
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is a good performer in its class and adequately equipped for its price. It easily manages whatever you throw at it, it runs Android+MIUI incredibly smooth on that screen, and the overall experience feels flagship-grade.
Few games are currently optimized for HRR displays, and even fewer will be able to run at 60fps on higher on the Redmi Note 10 Pro as the Adreno 618 is no flagship GPU. But the support is there, and the overall smoothness is quite enough to justify putting an HRR screen.
The usual mid-range four-camera setup
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro has a quad-camera setup on the back with a familiar arrangement - there is a high-res primary camera, followed by an ultrawide shooter, a macro snapper, and finally, you get a small depth sensor.
The main camera relies on a 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM2 1/1.52" sensor with 0.7µm pixels and f/1.9 6P lens. The color filter is Nona-Bayer, meaning 9 sensor pixels are combined into one 2.1µm, and the output resolution is 12MP. PDAF is available, though there is no optical stabilization. This is the only camera that supports Night Mode.
The ultrawide shooter uses an 8MP Sony IMX355 sensor behind f/2.2 lens. The focus is fixed at infinity.
The macro snapper utilizes a 5MP OmniVision OV5675 1/5" sensor behind telemacro f/2.4 lens. Autofocus is available on this camera and it works for distances between 3cm and 10cm.
The fourth and final camera on the back is a 2MP GC02M1 depth sensor.
The selfie camera uses a 16MP Sony IMX471 1/3" sensor with a wide 20mm f/2.4 lens. The focus is fixed.
Camera app
The camera app is a rather straightforward implementation. So, you swipe from side to side to change modes, and you can also tap on the ones that you can see to switch to those directly. Up and down swipes don't work for switching between the front and rear cameras; only the toggle next to the shutter release does that.
On the near end, you have the camera zoom switch. On the opposite end of the viewfinder, you have a flash mode switch, an HDR switch, an AI toggle, Live Photo toggle, and a magic wand with beauty effects and filters.
Behind a hamburger menu, you'll find some more options, including the Macro mode (why here?!), plus the shortcut to the settings. What you won't find is an option to set the output resolution for any of the cameras.
Camera UI
There's a nicely capable Pro mode, where you can tweak the shooting parameters yourself. You get to pick one of 4 white balance presets or dial in the light temperature with a slider, there's a manual focusing slider (arbitrary units 0-100), and shutter speed and ISO control with ranges depending on which camera you're using. That's right, best of all, you can access each of the three cams in Pro mode. There's also a focus peaking toggle up top, as well as a metering mode selector. All cameras but the macro (1s.) support a maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds.
Long Exposure mode is available, and it has different presets - moving crowd, neon trails, oil painting, light painting, starry sky, and star trails.
Long Exposure modes • Long Exposure
Night Mode is available, but it works only on the primary camera. There is no Auto Night Mode on the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Photo quality
The main camera saves 12MP photos by default, and the daylight bunch are outstanding for this class. There is an abundance of detail, even the foliage looks great, the dynamic range is excellent yet not over the top, and the Auto HDR did not fire even once for any of the photos below.
The noise levels are impressively low, while the contrast and the colors very natural and true to life.
The only issue we observed is over-sharpening in some areas (like the building's facades). Even though it's not a deal-breaker, we think the sharpening could be taken a notch down. Still, these are some of the best photos you can get today from a phone's camera, flagships included.
Main camera, 12MP
One way to get rid of the over-sharpening is to shoot in 108MP mode and then resize the image down to 12MP. This way, you get an unprocessed photo with balanced sharpness, while retaining the good dynamic range, colors and contrast. The original 108MP images though are rather unimpressive - lacking in detail and overrun by various image artefacts.
Main camera, 108MP
There is an always visible 2x zoom toggle despite the Redmi Note 10 Pro not having a telephoto camera. The 108MP sensor is more than enough for smart/magic zoom ala Pixel 5, but what you get is crop and upscale instead. And the 2x zoomed images look like any other digitally zoom photos - soft and lacking detail.
Main camera 2x zoom, 12MP
The 8MP ultrawide photos turned out pretty good, too. Those are rich in detail (as far as these can be), with proficiently straighten corners, accurate colors, low enough noise, and okay dynamic range.
There is some corner softness visible, but it comes with the territory - you can't have proficient distortion correction, sharp corners, good quality and everything, on an 8MP shooter, on a cheap phone at that, can you? Yet, we were pleasantly surprised by the shots we took.
Ultrawide camera, 8MP
The Redmi Note 10 Pro features a 5MP macro camera with a telephoto lens. This cam has autofocus that works between 3cm and 10cm.
The 5MP macro shots are detailed, with lively colors. The contrast isn't that great, and the images are noisy, though. Also - you should use the macro camera for still subjects in very well-lit surroundings. Anything else will not turn good.
Macro camera, 5MP
The 2MP depth sensor should come in handy for when shooting portrait photos with the main camera. Those are saved in 12MP, as usual, and the subject separation is quote proficient even if it isn't perfect. The photos are nicely detailed, with good contrast and accurate and lively colors. The background blur is pretty nice, too.
If the light isn't ideal, the photos won't be either.
Portraits, 12MP
The 16MP samples from the selfie camera offer enough detail, the colors are nice, and the contrast is excellent.
Selfies, 16MP
You can shoot portrait selfies, too, and you'd be getting some nice shots even if not that detailed. The subject isolation is handled well enough, and the background blur looks good.
Selfie portraits, 16MP
Not having an optical stabilization is taking its toll when shooting in low-light. The main camera uses extremely high ISO settings - we are talking ISO 7000 and above, and the noise is noticeably high in all photos. Yet, despite using high ISO, the camera drops the shutter speed down to 1/8s or so, and while you do get bright photos with preserved colors, half of these are always lost to camera shake because of this low shutter speed and lack of stabilization.
So, while the main camera can do good shots even if noisy in low-light, be sure to grab a bunch if you want to be sure you've captured your moment.
Main camera, 12MP
The Night Mode takes about 2 seconds and we recommend it. It cleans up the noise, restores some blown highlights, and may even expose a bit more detail in the shadows. It offers the same balanced exposure and good color saturation, so don't expect any major benefits. But when shooting with Night Mode, you lower the chance of a blurry photo, believe it or not.
Main camera with Night Mode, 12MP
The 8MP ultrawide photos taken at nighttime are usable, and that's the best we can say about them. They are often dark and noisy but retain enough detail and colors to make those usable.
There is no Night Mode on the ultrawide camera, and we'd usually stay away from it at night.
Ultrawide camera, 8MP
Finally, here are some shots taken with the dedicated Long Exposure modes - they look nice but are rather poor when zoomed-in 100%.
Neon trails • Light Painting
We also shot our usual posters with the Redmi Note 10 Pro. Here's how the phone stacks up against the competition. Feel free to browse around and pit it against other phones from our extensive database.
Redmi Note 10 Pro against the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the Realme 7 Pro in our Photo compare tool
Video quality
The Redmi Note 10 Pro captures 4K@30fps videos with its primary camera and 1080p@30fps with the ultrawide and macro shooters. The 1080p at 60fps is available only for main camera.
There is also optional electronic stabilization working on all 1080@30fps modes.
The audio in all of the videos is captured at 96Kbps, stereo. The low bitrate didn't result in awful audio captures, but we did expect more even from a mid-ranger.
The 4K footage we shot with the main camera is great. The detail is plenty, the noise is low, and the video excels in everything else - smoothness, sharpness, colors and contrast. The high video bitrate (41+Mbps) surely helped, though.
The 4K low-light videos are a bit noisy, yes, but still look good and will probably outdo many other mid-rangers in terms of quality.
The 1080p clip from the ultrawide camera is outstanding - rich in detail, with excellent colors, contrast, and dynamic range. The noise is kept low, too, and overall - this is one of the better ultrawide videos we've seen recently in this price bracket.
Finally, closing this camera section off, here is the Redmi Note 10 Pro in our video comparison database.
2160p: Redmi Note 10 Pro against the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the Realme 7 Pro in our Video compare tool
Alternatives
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is without a doubt one of the hottest offers this year, and it will be a tough one to match. By putting a 120Hz OLED screen on such an affordable phone, Xiaomi has finally put an end to the 60Hz OLED or 120Hz LCD dilemma. How about that, Realme?
Indeed, Realme has been known for prioritizing 60Hz AMOLEDs over HRR LCDs for a while, and the most recent Realme 7 Pro is one of these specimens. The 7 Pro costs as much as the Redmi Note 10 Pro, but it offers an inferior 60Hz OLED and lower-res primary (108MP vs. 64MP) and macro (5MP AF vs. 2MP FF) snappers. It impresses with its 65W SuperDart Charging, though. The Realme 8 Pro is expected to premiere in a few weeks with a 60Hz OLED, a Helio G95 chip, and a 108MP primary camera, so you may want to wait for that one.
Ah, the Poco X3 NFC has a lot in common with the Redmi Note 10 Pro. It has the same size screen, 120Hz at that, but it's an IPS LCD unit. It uses the same Snapdragon 732G platform, has the same speakers, similar battery with 33W charging. The Poco X3 NFC also packs a quad-camera on the back, but the important bits - main and ultrawide - are 64MP + 13MP instead of 108MP + 8MP. The Poco X3 NFC is €100 cheaper though, so if you decide against paying extra for an OLED panel, you may as well find the Poco X3 a good fit for you.
The €280 Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite, just like the Poco X3, features a 120Hz LCD screen, while matching the rest of the specs, more or less. But the Mi 10T Lite is a 5G-capable thanks to the Snapdragon 750G 5G SoC and it makes it a good alternative to the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Another incredibly cheap 5G phone is the €250 Samsung Galaxy A42 5G. It has a 6.6" 720p AMOLED and runs on the Snapdragon 750G 5G chip. It has a similar camera (even if the primary is not a 108MP but 48MP), and an equally beefy 5,000mAh battery. There are no stereo speakers or IP53 rating, but the Galaxy is a reliable phone, especially for gaming, and will last you for days per our battery life test.
Realme 7 Pro • Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC • Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G • Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
Xiaomi has also brought three more Redmi Note 10 phones. The Redmi Note 10 5G with a 90Hz OLED and 5G connectivity, but it has no stereo speakers and no ultrawide camera. The Redmi Note 10 and Note 10S will tempt you with 6.43" 60Hz OLEDs, stereo speakers and ultrawide snappers, but they differ by chipsets - the N10 runs on Snapdragon 678, while the 10S employs Helio G95. Obviously, none of these can match the 108MP camera and the 120Hz screen refresh rate, but they are worth considering if you are on the budget.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G
The verdict
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is so likable, and it aced our tests, so it's really hard to find any faults. This one easily becomes our current favorite bang for the buck offer and one of the easiest "go for it" we've written in a while.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro is not a perfect smartphone, but its imperfections are easily forgivable and forgettable. And while this Note wasn't made to be a flagship killer, it is shrinking the gap and may soon be breathing down their necks.
Pros
- Beautiful design; IP53-rated.
- Excellent 120Hz AMOLED, smooth and responsive.
- Outstanding battery life, fast to charge.
- Very good stereo speakers.
- Dependable performance, no overheating.
- All cameras excel in daylight, photo and video.
- MIUI 12 is smooth on top of Android 11.
- IR blaster, 3.5mm jack, FM radio, NFC, microSD.
Cons
- A higher grade chipset would have been more exciting.
- No reverse charging.
- The low-light camera quality is mediocre.
- No Night Mode for ultrawide camera.
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