The latest generation of Xiaomi’s successful Redmi Note range consists, for the moment, of four models: the Redmi Note 10 Pro, the Redmi Note 10 in 4G and 5G versions, and the Redmi Note 10S. The latter, which comes to succeed the Redmi Note 9S, is in the middle of the family, both price and performance.keep reading review.
The AMOLED screen and the 33 W fast charging add to a quad-camera with a 64-megapixel main sensor in the calling card of this new mid-range proposal. After testing it thoroughly for a few days, we will tell you below how the Redmi Note 10S performs in each section.
A screen that can be improved in a design that does not clash
Although it is also available in Ocean Blue and Stone White, the unit passed through our hands is the Onyx Gray color. This mirror-finished shade gives the terminal an elegant appearance, but it gets dirty very easily: fingerprints and specks of dust are constantly present.
The slight curvature of the back, the rounded edges, and a thickness of just over 8 mm make it comfortable in hand. Plastic is the material chosen by Xiaomi for this phone, which has two advantages: the weight stays below 180 g, and the mobile does not overheat when we use it intensively. In addition, it is IP53 certified for resistance to dust and splashes.
Although there is a certain “limp” when we put the phone on a flat surface, the camera module does not protrude much. The rest of the back is completely smooth, as we have the fingerprint reader on the right edge of the metal frame, integrated into the power button and next to the volume controls.
The card tray (two SIM + one microSD) appears on the left side, while on the lower edge, we find the USB-C port, the headphone jack socket, and one of the two speakers (the other is on the top, next to the infrared emitter). It is appreciated that Xiaomi has equipped this model with stereo speakers because, although the sound is a bit flat, it does enrich the experience when we play, watch videos or listen to music.
The viewing experience is not bad but could be improved with a higher refresh rate and more efficient auto-brightness
On the front, we have a 6.43-inch AMOLED screen with FullHD + resolution (2,400 x 1,080), high contrast of 4,500,000: 1, and a brightness of 700 nits. There are already models in this price range that offer a refresh rate of 90 Hz, so the 60 Hz of the Redmi Note 10S seems somewhat scarce. We’re not going to say the viewing experience is bad, but it could be improved with a higher rate, fewer reflections, and more efficient auto-brightness.
However, it is noticeable that we are talking about an AMOLED panel, and the customization options that Xiaomi offers in this section are appreciated; among other things, it allows us to adjust the color temperature to our liking or “ask” it to illuminate its edges when we receive a notification. By the way, the lower frame is quite thick compared to the upper one, which makes the use of the frontless than desirable.
Once we have seen what the Redmi Note 10S looks like on the outside, let’s check what is hidden inside. At the controls, we have the Helio G95 processor from MediaTek, an eight-core chipset with 12 nm architecture and 4G connectivity that is accompanied by 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM.
In everyday tasks, he performs with ease, although he does not have excess power. Although there is a slight slowness when opening and closing some apps, we have not suffered sudden closings or a delay that hinders the user experience, and it even complies with multitasking and heavy games. We can say, therefore, that it approves the performance section but cannot boast of it.
Let’s talk now about the MIUI 12.5 layer on Android 11. It is an optimized software, which does not penalize the performance of the terminal, but it does bring a lot of bloatware: a couple of games, LinkedIn, eBay, TikTok, Booking, Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix.
The good thing is that all of them can be uninstalled without a problem. There are also some duplicate apps, but in return, MIUI offers us several useful tools and a wide range of customization options. Of the 128 GB that our unit had, they came free of in about 111 GB.
We have both facial recognition and a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button concerning biometric authentication systems. Both work well in most cases, but the first shows some difficulties recognizing our faces in the dark, and the second is slow.
We have both facial recognition and a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button as biometric authentication systems.
We move on to the section on autonomy, a feature that is increasingly gaining prominence in models in this price range. And the Redmi Note 10S is no exception. It mounts a 5000 mAh battery that, even with intensive use, easily exceeds a day of use and can reach two days if we do not give it an excessive reed. On average, we have obtained 10 hours of screen time.
Redmi Note 10s Battery
And if we talk about autonomy, we cannot ignore another of the strengths of this phone: the fast charge of 33 W. With the included charger, it is capable of being fully recharged in about 75 minutes. Are you in a hurry? No problem: the Redmi Note 10S goes from 0 to 30% in less than 15 minutes and 65% in half an hour.
The number of cameras and megapixels does not matter.
Redmi Note 10s Camera
As photographic equipment of the Redmi Note 10S, we have a quadruple rear camera formed by the main sensor of 64 megapixels f / 1.79, a wide-angle of 8 megapixels f / 2.2, and two more sensors of 2 megapixels f / 2.4, one for macro photography and the another for depth reading. The front camera, meanwhile, is made up of a single 13-megapixel f / 2.45 sensor.
The camera app is familiar to any user accustomed to MIUI: intuitive, simple, and direct access to the main modes and functions. In the carousel (editable), we have the Pro, Video, Photo, Portrait modes, and the More tab, where we can find, among others, the Night, 64 MP, Panoramic, Time-Lapse, or Slow Motion modes. In addition, we have shortcuts to flash, zoom, HDR, and AI (which detects the scene and applies the appropriate adjustments). Macro mode and timer are hidden in the hamburger menu.
Photo mode
During the day, we can say that the main camera approves when it comes to image quality, although the color range is a bit poor, and the lack of sharpness and detail is evident if we enlarge the image. However, artificial intelligence is quite efficient at recognizing scenes, and HDR does a good job, especially in saving the sky’s blue. It is advisable to keep it activated.