Trusted 
Telecommunications: With the newly launched Redmi Note 10 series, Xiaomi is hoping to cement its position in India, after a pandemic-marred year which saw the Chinese brand slip down to second position in Q3 2020 a first in two years.
The Redmi Note 10 series includes three new smartphones – Redmi Note 10 (starts at ₹11,999), Redmi Note 10 Pro (starts at ₹15,999) and Redmi Note 10 Pro Max (starts at 18,999).
Also Read | Why India needs to look east at Taiwan
Here is our review of the Redmi Note 10:
Display
Redmi Note 10 has a 6.43-inch AMOLED screen with 60Hz refresh rate and resolution of 2400x1080p. The screen looks a tad smaller next to Micromax IN Note 1’s 6.67-inch screen, which may feel like a bit of a letdown for movie buffs and gamers. However, the Xiaomi phone’s screen looks a lot more vibrant and handles colours much better than most of its rivals, which makes movie playback a lot more enjoyable, despite the smaller screen.
Design
Xiaomi has taken the design up by a few notches in the new smartphones. Redmi Note 10 looks slimmer (8.3mm), feels more premium and has a truly bezel-free screen. It also comes in some eye catching colour options such as aqua green and frost white. At 178g, it feels light, compact and easily manageable with one hand.
TOP GADGETS
See All
The fingerprint sensor is integrated with power button and though it looks smaller than an in-display or back facing fingerprint sensor, it is accurate and quick to unlock the phone.
Among rivals, we liked the design of Nokia 5.4 a lot. It has flat edges, weighs just 181gm, fits comfortably into the palm and also comes in attractive colour options.
Performance
The Redmi Note 10 runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 chipset with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. It is not as powerful as the chipset used in Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, but the difference in performance is barely noticeable with everyday tasks. It is clearly not cut out for heavy gaming and we did notice lags while playing PES 2021 on highest graphics.
Battery back-up is impressive. The 5,000mAh battery lasted more than a whole work day of use quite comfortably.
Camera
Quad cameras have become common in budget smartphones these days. The Redmi Note 10’s camera setup includes a 2MP macro sensor, 8MP ultra wide angle sensor, 2MP depth sensor and the 48MP Sony IMX582 sensor. The macro shots look mostly washed out. The 48 MP camera is the phone’s main draw. It was able to muster a lot more detail with more vivid colours in comparison to some of its immediate rivals such as Nokia 5.4. However, like most budget phones it falls short in low light performance.
The selfie camera was able to produce well lit and colour accurate shots. Detailing is a not so impressive though.
Verdict
The Redmi Note 10 is a solid addition to the sub-15k segment, where it competes with the likes of Nokia 5.4 ( ₹13,999) and Micromax IN Note 1 ( ₹11,499). While the rivals have some very good points such as clutter-free stock Android UI and bigger screen in case of the Micromax phone, the Redmi Note 10 trumps over them in camera performance and display quality.
If you don’t mind the clutter that comes with MIUI, the Redmi Note 10 is the smartphone to reckon in the budget segment.
