Home Tech Reviews Redmi Note 10 Pro Review – The P12,000 Flagship Killer?

Redmi Note 10 Pro Review – The P12,000 Flagship Killer?

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Redmi Note 10 Pro Review
Redmi Note 10 Pro Review

Recently, we tested the cRedmi Note 10 Pro Review amera and gaming capabilities of the Redmi Note 10–it showed a good impression–now the Pro version is now in our hands and this time it has unique abilities. It is a mid-range phone but I could say that it has specs that can only be seen in flagships. Can it be the first lower midrange phone to be a flagship killer?

First things first, I know being a flagship killer in a sub P13,000 price range is quite unbelievable because the chipset is a mid-range processor. But the thing is if you are eyeing some good numbers at a lower price. This might be the phone of choice.

Pros

  • 120Hz plus AMOLED
  • power-efficient chipset
  • 108MP night shooter
  • good set of battery
  • featured pack

Cons

  • There’s no 5G here
  • bloatware and ads
  • ultrawide isn’t that impressive

READ: Redmi Note 10 Review – Is it the New Midrange Killer?

Design

Housing the big numbers is the Gorilla Glass 5 back with a glossy finish that is prone to fingerprint smudges. The build is premium for the price and even it has a large battery and glass back it is not hefty. It weighs 193 grams and just 8.1mm thick. The phone is easy to hold but it doesn’t have a tight grip on the hand.

The Redmi Note 10 Pro has three color variants; Onyx Gray, Glacier Blue, Gradient Bronze. I really like the gradient bronze as it is a classy-looking phone. The glacier blue is more aesthetic but our device is the Onyx Gray which is also a good color but it feels plain and simple looking for me.

Around its plastic frame, it has dual speakers at the top and bottom, an IR blaster, a headphone jack, and a fingerprint scanner integrated into its power button. It is also IP53 dust and splash resistant so it can endure some water splashes like rain and spills. I do not recommend submerging the phone underwater as it is not IP68. So it has a premium touch with a great feature you can have under the Php13K price range.

Display

For its display, The Redmi Note 10 pro has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and it boasts a 6.67″ FHD+ AMOLED display. It has a smaller chin compared to the Redmi Note 10, and also a tad taller. But the main highlight on the display is the 120Hz refresh rate, however, it doesn’t have an adaptive feature that adjusts the refresh rate based on how you are using the device to save up battery. Still, it is AMOLED and the 120hz is a cool feature to have on a not-so-hefty price tag.

READ: Why You Should (and Shouldn’t) Buy the POCO F3

Talking about the quality, It is bright–visible outdoors– the display is crisp with rich colors, deep blacks, and good viewing angles. However, if we are to compare the device to the flagships, I want you to know that they usually use a higher generation of AMOLED panels, so brightness and quality are quite unmatched. But compared to other devices within the price bracket, the blacks are great and the colors are punchy means it will still feel premium because of the smoothness of the 120Hz. A very worthy price in my opinion.

Camera

Now heading to its cameras, the camera module of the Redmi Note 10 Pro is a bit taller compared to its little brother. The device wobbles when it is placed on a flat surface even if you put a protective case. Nonetheless, it consists of a 108MP Main cam 8MP Ultrawide, 5MP macro with autofocus, and 2MP depth sensor.

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The outputs of the 108MP main cam sometimes have a warm tone due to the scenery. Images have a few deep shadows but the colors are true to life. You will not notice the blacks because the outputs are so sharp, detailed, and bright thanks to 108MP pixel binning.

READ: Honor Play 5T Life with 6.6” HD+, Quad-Camera, 6000mAh Battery Launched in China

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With HDR on colors gets a little saturated look but with balanced exposure. The blacks are now lifted and details pop up a bit more but not aggressively.

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For its night mode, it still captured using pixel binning technology. The 108MP’s final output is a 12MP shot and it is bright despite the low light situation, it doesn’t have a pale-ish look, details are still visible compare to what I see with my naked eye.

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Switching to Ultrawide, sharpness is good however the colors or color temperature is in the cooler tone resulting in a bluish-magenta color spectrum. Shadows are quite deep but the dynamic range is impressive. One thing I don’t like about the ultrawide is the grains and stretched corners.

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Now on for the macro, the 5MP macro, or what they call the Tele macro, is equipped with a telephoto cam. It has an autofocus that works between 3 to 5cm which adds flexibility to your macro photography. The results are quite impressive, images are sharp, it outputs good colors and details and it is not a gimmick lens.

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The depth sensor has a good subject to background separation, and it does output goods colors since it uses the same 108mP sensor for the output.

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Switching to selfies, Redmi Note 10 Pro has a 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera. Photos are binned down to 4-megapixels. It seems they also used the pixel binning in the front cam which is excellent. The overall quality is quite amusing. Photos are sharp, detailed, and outputs true to life skin tone.

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The selfie camera also has a night mode and at night time, although you will need to wait 3-5 seconds in night mode to capture your selfie which is a bit awkward in public, however, the results show a good quality photo, but with softness on the frame with a less blurry photo even handheld.

READ: Redmi K40 Gaming Edition: 120Hz AMOLED, Dual Triggers, JBL Speakers Starting at ~₱15K

Moving on to its video recording, it can shoot up to 4k@30fps and 1080p@60fps and of course in 30fps. Slow-motion is also available in the camera feature, 120fps@1080p, and 960fps@ 720p resolution. Expect that slow-motion will have less exposure due to shutter speed but with the great light source, it output quality clips.

Overall, the cameras are impressive in their own ways, the 5MP macro is not gimmicky. The Redmi Note 10 Pro has reliable features such as pro mode, clone mode, movie effects, etc. which makes the camera features reliable.

Performance

As I said earlier, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 732G with an 8nm architecture. It is a G series therefore it is optimized for gaming and it is paired with 6GB of ram and 128GB of internal storage. If that storage is not enough for you, you still have a dedicated micro sd slot that is expandable up to 512GB. If you need some heavy multitasking you may opt for the 8GB ram variant which costs a thousand pesos more.

READ: realme Q3 5G Offers 120Hz, Snapdragon 750G, vapor chamber for ¥1299(~₱9K)

The chipset isn’t good nor bad, it’s still more than enough when browsing and some heavy gaming. However, it barely hitting 60fps when it comes to graphic-intensive games like Genshin Impact and a little stutters in Honkai Impact. But playing your favorite esports title is great as it is a power-efficient chipset. The 8nm processor and architecture of the device didn’t compromise smoothness as it regulates heat well.

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For its software, out of the box it runs on Android 11 with MIUI 12 on top. It is jam-packed software with bloatware and ads. The 120hz display plus its interactive and lightweight UI is really a smoother experience for me and it is stutter-free.

Battery

Again the Redmi Note 10 Pro is packed with big numbers, and those big numbers are backed with a 5020mAh battery, which is paired with a 33W fast charging. Juicing up the device from 0-100% took about 1hr and 30 mins. It isn’t bad since it can charge up to 50% in just 30 to 40 minutes. It can keep you running if you are always on the go.

READ: POCO X3 Pro Review – Worth the Downgrade?

Verdict

Overall, for the starting price of P12,590 (6GB+128GB), Redmi Note 10 Pro is not as good as flagship devices. It doesn’t have wireless charging nor waterproofing, it doesn’t come with 5G connectivity as well which is one of the features we seek for future-proofing our device. It is also not equipped with a flagship chipset and it doesn’t have that flagship feel.

But if you are nitpicking a device with unique abilities and specs with almost what other flagships offers–fast 120Hz AMOLED display, huge 108MP camera, and a large 5020mAh battery–there is no problem with the Redmi Note 10 Pro if you aren’t looking forward on having a 5G device.

READ: Redmi Note 10 Pro vs Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite Specs Comparison – Affordable AMOLED Phones!

Redmi Note 10 Pro specs, price, availability in the Philippines

  • Display: 6.67 inches, AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10, 450nits
  • Design: Glass front, Glass Back (Gorilla Glass 5) plastic frame
  • Dimension and Weight: 164 x 76.5 x 8.1 mm, 193g
  • Chipset: Snapdragon 732G (8 nm)
  • CPU: Octa-core (2×2.3 GHz Kryo 470 Gold & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver)
  • GPU: Adreno 618
  • RAM: 6/8GB
  • Storage: 64/128GB, UFS 2.2, microSDXC (up to 512B)
  • Main Camera: 108MP, f/1.9, 8MP Ultrawide, 2MP Macro, 5MP Depth AF, 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps
  • Selfie Camera: 16MP, f/2.5 | 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps
  • Connectivity & Ports: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go, 3.5mm audio jack
  • Security: Fingerprint (side-mounted)
  • Features: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
  • Battery: Li-Po 5020mAh, non-removable, 33W fast charging, Reverse charging
  • Audio: with dual loudspeaker
  • OS: Android 11, MIUI12
  • Colors: Onyx Gray, Glacier Blue, Gradient Bronze
  • Price: P12,590 (6GB+128GB)

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