Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review

Our Verdict

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G is a compelling culling to Samsung's Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus with a battery that lasts much longer. However, its express availability and incompatibility with some U.S. networks brand it a risky import.

For

Smooth, captivating display
Strong performance
Fantastic bombardment life
Unique photographic camera
Keen haptics

Against

Expensive
Non available in the U.South. or U.K.
Poor speaker placement
Not IP-rated water resistant
Too much bloatware

Tom's Guide Verdict

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G is a compelling alternative to Samsung's Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus with a battery that lasts much longer. However, its limited availability and incompatibility with some U.Southward. networks brand information technology a risky import.

Pros

+
Smooth, captivating brandish
+
Strong performance
+
Fantastic battery life
+
Unique photographic camera
+
Great haptics

Cons

-
Expensive
-
Not available in the U.S. or U.K.
-
Poor speaker placement
-
Not IP-rated water resistant
-
Also much bloatware

Xiaomi is a name that's likely unfamiliar to many smartphone buyers in the Westward. The Chinese firm's handsets have never been officially sold in the U.S. — the new Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G is no exception — and the total range of products the company offers typically don't go far past Asia. Just those who accept heard of Xiaomi know that the company has earned a reputation for quality at a cut-rate toll.

Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G specs

Cost: €999 (~$1,080, £870)
OS: Android x with MIUI 11
Display: 6.67-inch OLED (2340x1080; 90 Hz)
CPU: Snapdragon 865
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB; not expandable
Rear camera: Quad-lens: 108MP wide (ƒ/1.seven), 20MP ultrawide (ƒ/2.two); 12MP "portrait" 2X telephoto (ƒ/2.0); 8MP 10X lossless telephoto (ƒ/ii.0)
Forepart camera: 20MP (ƒ/2.0)
Battery: 4,500 mAh
Size: 6.40 x ii.94 x 0.35 inches
Weight: 7.34 ounces

Right off the bat, permit's make 1 matter articulate: The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G is indeed a quality phone, simply information technology'due south not being sold at a cut-rate price. Concluding year'southward Mi ix Pro cost the rough equivalent of $520; the Mi 10 Pro 5G is priced at €999, which translates to $1,080. If OnePlus moved to a richer part of town by bumping its prices with the OnePlus viii and OnePlus 8 Pro, then Xiaomi just bought a mansion.

Simply the Mi 10 Pro 5G doesn't feel like it came from a visitor that doesn't know how to build an expensive, exquisite product. In fact, Xiaomi's phone is every chip as polished and complete as the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus.

Withal, it'southward also not without its quirks. And even though it lasts remarkably long on a charge, has a cute display and takes a unique (and by and large successful) approach to camera hardware, the Mi 10 Pro 5G's high price, difficulty to purchase and overwrought software keep it from making our listing of the best phones — very adept though information technology is.

Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G review: Pricing and availability

The Xiaomi Mi x Pro 5G isn't sold in the U.Southward. or U.K., though information technology is available in Europe, where it costs €999 and only comes in ane configuration with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. At that place is no microSD slot to expand storage on this device.

Therefore, if you live in either the U.S. or U.K. and would similar to ain a Mi 10 Pro 5G, you'll have to import an international model from a site like Giztop. As always with international models of phones, y'all'll accept to ensure the bands it tin connect to align with those used by your carrier of choice.

Our Mi x Pro 5G had no bug connecting to T-Mobile'south LTE network, though the device isn't wired to receive every single band the Uncarrier utilizes. This may result in some lacking coverage in certain parts of the country. Additionally, while the Mi ten Pro 5G supports sub-6GHz 5G, it couldn't connect to T-Mobile's nationwide 5G network during our testing, then we couldn't enjoy the benefits of faster connectivity.

Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G review: Pattern

While testing the Xiaomi Mi x Pro 5G, I frequently compared it confronting Samsung's Galaxy S20 Plus. Both phones are sized similarly, cost virtually the same and sport an identical number of camera lenses on the dorsum, then information technology seemed like an appropriate pairing, even if Samsung's phone costs a niggling fleck more. Our S20 Plus is of the Aureola Blue variety, and Xiaomi calls the shade of our Mi 10 Pro 5G review unit of measurement Solstice Grey — which is odd, because information technology definitely comes across as bluish to my optics.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review — (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Often I'd accept both phones face up on my desk, and when I'd get to reach for one, oftentimes and much to my surprise, I'd mistakenly pick up the other. I often gripe that flagship smartphones these days all look the same, but the resemblance these devices share is unlike anything I've encountered earlier. The merely immediate giveaway is that the Mi ten Pro 5G is heavier than the S20 Plus by about seven-tenths of an ounce, which you tin definitely feel.

None of this is to say the Mi ten Pro 5G's blueprint is disappointing, necessarily — simply very familiar. Information technology has that copycat aluminum frame yous see on lots of Android flagships these days, that gets all thin in the middle and flares out every bit it approaches the acme and bottom. You've got your two slabs of curved glass, with the one on the back bearing a pleasing matte finish, and a quartet of camera lenses cleaved into an unusual cluster — three lined in a pill-shaped module, and the ultrawide lens all past its lonesome quite a way down from the remainder.

That camera module is one of 2 of the Mi 10 Pro 5G's only distinctive blueprint traits. The other is its duplication of speakers. Not just will y'all run into a set of drilled holes on the bottom, but there'south another forth the pinnacle edge as well. Rather than using the earpiece for front-firing sound, the Mi 10 Pro 5G shoots audio out its sides when you're holding the device in landscape orientation. And the speakers get awfully loud, too.

But there's a problem. When yous're gaming or watching a motion-picture show, it's only natural that your palms will cradle the telephone at exactly both spots in which the stereo speakers sit. This isn't an issue for devices that place one commuter behind the earpiece and another in the frame. But when both are housed in the frame, so you have a scrap of a dilemma. There were numerous occasions in which I was playing Fortnite on the Mi ten Pro 5G and tightened up my grip for a firefight only to take the telephone sound like information technology had immediately plunged to the lesser of a pool.

Oh, and speaking of pools, hither'due south something else: The Mi 10 Pro 5G, despite its 4-digit sticker shock, doesn't boast whatsoever IP rating for water resistance. All yous get is a liquid-repellent nano-coating that might fend off some rain or a spilled drink, only isn't going to save your phone from a swoop. One of the best waterproof phones this is not.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review: Brandish

6.67-inch OLED
2340x1080 resolution
90Hz maximum refresh rate

Information technology's becoming increasingly common to see fast refresh-rate displays in flagship phones, and the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G follows that trend with a 90Hz, total-Hd AMOLED panel that delivers smooth animations and either realistic or robust colors, depending on the display profile you lot select.

The Mi 10 Pro 5G's screen might not quite match the 120Hz refresh rates and quad-HD resolutions of the Galaxy S20 serial and the OnePlus 8 Pro, though I don't consider that a loss worth pining over. Animations at 90Hz are still far more fluid than what you get from conventional 60Hz displays, and make the entire feel of using the phone tangibly more firsthand and responsive. More pixels and faster refresh rates also exert an adverse affect on battery life, and the Mi ten Pro 5G happens to terminal very long on a charge — but more on that later.

I was dazzled by the Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G's screen while watching the latest trailer for the upcoming James Bond flick, No Time To Die. Bond's stunt-driving antics wheeling an Aston Martin DB5 through the sun-kissed Italian town of Matera looked specially dramatic thanks to the console's excellent dynamic range.

Just the Mi ten Pro 5G's display can get awfully bright too, with a height total-screen effulgence of exactly 800 nits. That's just shy of the Milky way S20 Plus' 847 nits, though I was hard pressed to notice a difference in visibility between both devices while using them outside on a sunny twenty-four hour period.

The Mi 10 Pro 5G sports a range of display modes, from Original — which is more natural and tuned to the sRGB color space — to the more vivacious Saturated style that lifts those hues into the stratosphere.

The default Automobile mode, which is somewhere in between, delivers a movie that compares nicely with what the OnePlus 8 Pro offers; with this configuration, the Mi x Pro 5G rendered 109.vi% of the DCI-P3 colour space, compared to the slightly bolder 116.nine% of the premium OnePlus handset. However, the Mi 10 Pro 5G's colors exercise appear to be slightly more than authentic, as it notched a 0.22 score in the Delta-Due east test, where numbers closer to zippo are better. The OnePlus 8 Pro finished at 0.26.

Xiaomi Mi x Pro 5G review: Camera

Triple-lens rear camera: 108MP wide (ƒ/1.seven); 20MP ultrawide (ƒ/ii.2); 12MP "portrait" 2X telephoto (ƒ/2.0); 8MP 10X lossless telephoto (ƒ/two.0)
Front end camera: 20MP (ƒ/2.0)

Samsung'south 108-megapixel camera sensor is reaching more models from other phone makers. Not only is it featured in the quad-lens Motorola Edge Plus, but it likewise headlines the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G'due south iv-lens stack.

Xiaomi has flanked that super-high-resolution shooter with three other lenses: a 20-MP ultrawide optic, and, strangely, two telephoto cameras. One is rated at 12 MP and touts 2x optical power, and is used for shallow depth-of-field portraits; the other captures viii MP shots only can encounter further, with upwardly to 10x lossless zoom. A 20-MP selfie camera rounds out the repertoire.

If you lot exit that primary 108-MP sensor to its own devices, it'll capture binned 27-MP shots that allow more light to attain the sensor. The results are good, but not perfect; if you expect closely, you'll observe the wood fibers at the center of the torch are a scrap blurry, and not quite in focus. The Galaxy S20 Plus didn't suffer the same issues getting everything in the heart of the frame all nice and crisp, and avoided the smoky, warm cast over the groundwork likewise.

But if you ratchet the Mi ten Pro 5G'south main shooter up to 108 MP, it tin can take some pretty remarkable images yous can just go along zooming into for days. This suburban scene may non await peculiarly exciting, but I have to stress that in this instance, Xiaomi's device nailed the white balance, reflecting the somewhat cloudy conditions of the afternoon. The S20 Plus — which was fix to its full-resolution 64MP mode for this shot — delivered a very precipitous outcome, though the dissimilarity is a flake too dramatic and the sky more of an idyllic blue than information technology really was in authenticity.

The Mi x Pro 5G's ultrawide optic delivered a less praiseworthy result, clearly suffering some baloney at the fringes and sucking all the depth out of the shadows. The boosted colors in both shots are owing to the fact that both handsets' AI scene optimization modes were turned on. And while the Galaxy's version of events isn't perfect either — the trees have a very eerie glow to them — the more natural saturation and dissimilarity from Samsung's phones earns the S20 Plus the thumbs upwardly.

That ultrawide optic is the aforementioned one the Mi x Pro 5G employs to capture macro shots. My colleague Philip Michaels isn't a fan of dedicated macro lenses, and my sentiments echo his. However, the Mi 10 Pro 5G is different from most macro-enabled phones. Because the camera responsible for those hyper-close shots as well serves double duty for ultrawide photos, I don't mind Xiaomi's inclusion of a macro mode here. In fact, I'yard decently pleased with the intricate texture the Mi 10 Pro 5G can convey in the foliage in the example above, using that special lens.

Overall, though, I came away far more impressed by the Mi 10 Pro 5G'south zoom camera, which uses a hybrid of optical power and software to evangelize what Xiaomi calls "lossless" 10x zoom. Both shots of a street sign y'all run into above were captured using 10x zoom on the Mi x Pro 5G and the Galaxy S20 Plus, but the Mi 10 Pro 5G'due south example is noticeably more detailed, with better colour and sharpness. Xiaomi's phone is able to capture the paint chipping away from the sign within the letters — a detail Samsung's flagship misses. I wouldn't consider either "lossless," though it's still impressive.

To examination the other telephoto lens on the Mi 10 Pro 5G — the one used for portraits and bokeh shots — I asked a friendly bear to grin for the camera. The Mi 10 Pro 5G excelled here likewise, churning out a brighter image that more accurately separated the foreground from the groundwork, and crisply rendered our stuffed friend's fur. The Milky way S20 Plus applied some blur to his ears and totally blew out the light from the window in the distance — a detail Xiaomi's camera navigated better.

When things get dark, you'd probably expect to turn to the Mi 10 Pro 5G'south Night Mode to inject some lite and item into dim scenes. Unfortunately, that's not exactly what happened when I snapped a photograph of a fireplace in an otherwise pitch-blackness room. The fashion Xiaomi's software selectively applies colour — like how the fire enveloping the embers below is blue, only the big flames higher up are off-white — is admittedly captivating, though inappreciably realistic. And while the S20 Plus' take isn't perfect either — information technology's generally noisier and washed out in places — at least its fire feels warm and inviting, and not quite so spooky.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review: Performance

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 CPU
8GB LPDDR5 RAM
256GB not-expandable storage

The combination of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 system-on-chip and the 8GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM in the Mi x Pro 5G ensures a speedy and fluid user feel, whether playing games or just swiping around Android.

Unsurprisingly, the Mi ten Pro 5G's functioning is right in line with rival handsets that pack like hardware. In Geekbench 5, a test that measures overall system functioning, the Mi 10 Pro 5G delivered a multi-cadre outcome of 3,300 points, which compares well to the OnePlus 8 Pro (3,379) and Galaxy S20 Plus (3,076). The A13 Bionic chip in the iPhone 11 Pro (iii,509) remains the performance champ.

Turning to graphics performance, the Mi 10 Pro 5G produced 1,294 frames at 20 frames-per-2d in GFXBench's Aztec Ruins OpenGL examination for high-tier phones. That result is dead even with the OnePlus 8 Pro (20 fps) and a tick behind the Milky way S20 Plus (21 fps). Indeed, the Mi ten Pro 5G handles demanding titles similar Fortnite about as well equally whatsoever other phone; you might observe a scattering of dropped frames here and there at full resolution, only the feel is largely consistent, smooth and pretty.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review: Battery and charging

4,500-mAh battery
50-watt wired charging, 30-watt wireless charging
13 hours, 29 minutes in Tom's Guide's bombardment test

Smartphone batteries are getting bigger and bigger all the fourth dimension, then there'southward seemingly nothing special about the Mi 10 Pro 5G's 4,500-mAh pack — until you witness how long information technology lasts on a charge.

Xiaomi'southward flagship averaged an extremely impressive 13 hours and 29 minutes on Tom'due south Guide's custom battery test, which measures runtime while streaming websites endlessly over an LTE network. That outcome was compiled over four tests, with the telephone ready to 60Hz manner for maximum efficiency.

That isn't simply meliorate than Sansung's latest flagships — it mercilessly trounces them. The similarly-priced Galaxy S20 has a battery that is 500 mAh smaller, but clocked just 9:31 — four hours less than the Xiaomi. The S20 Plus, which has a battery with identical capacity to the Mi 10 Pro 5G's, barely fared whatever better, at 10 hours and 31 minutes. Even the OnePlus 8 Pro, one of our all-time Android phones, managed 11 hours and 5 minutes. That'due south yet awfully skillful, simply incomparable to the Mi x Pro 5G which ranks loftier among the devices with the best phone bombardment life.

Xiaomi packs a 65-watt fast charger in box with the Mi x Pro 5G, all the same the phone merely supports a maximum of 50 watts. That's a bit strange, but regardless the company claims that users should see the battery guess become from empty to 100% in just 45 minutes. Unfortunately, given that our model shipped with an EU charger, nosotros're unable to verify that merits. For what information technology's worth, the Mi 10 Pro 5G can likewise top up wirelessly at xxx watts, which equals the wireless charging speed of the OnePlus viii Pro.

Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G review: Software and special features

For those who have never used a Xiaomi phone before, the company's MIUI interface is a fleck of a surprise when you commencement begin poking around. The Mi 10 Pro 5G comes with Android 10 out of the box, though it likewise has MIUI version xi installed over top of it, which makes for an experience that is as far abroad from stock Android every bit what you'll find in whatever Android phone.

For 1, at that place's no app drawer, and so a swipe up from the shortcuts tray on your home screen brings up a page inside Xiaomi's custom browser featuring a Google Search bar and diverse YouTube videos and news stories the telephone thinks you lot may find useful. The contempo apps screen has a tiled look to information technology, rather than the cards stacked sideways that you may be more than familiar with from iOS and conventional Android. On that screen, you'll also find options to either "clean" or "deep clean" your Mi 10 Pro 5G, which seems a little redundant.

Speaking of redundancy, there are quite a lot of tools on the Mi 10 Pro 5G defended to phone maintenance. Aside from those 2 tools, you also have RAM Jet, which, as far equally I can tell, just plays a niggling animation of a rocket transport every time you worry a greedy background app might be hogging memory on your device. There's even a Mi Community app, where you can offer advice or pose questions to other users, and go on up on the latest news surrounding Xiaomi's phones.

The focus on optimization feels a bit frivolous given that modern phone operating systems are already quite skillful at prioritizing tasks and taking care of all the dorsum-end stuff so users don't have to. Nevertheless, I can excuse that window dressing. What'southward less excusable is the bloatware that the Mi x Pro 5G sports from the moment you boot information technology upwards for the offset time, which is unexpected for an unlocked phone.

There are v games, all of which are ad-supported: Block Puzzle Guardian, Crazy Juicer, Dust Settle, Bubble Story and the hilariously-named Chimera Shooter With Friends. And in the More than Apps binder, you'll notice Facebook, WPS Function, Netflix and LinkedIn. Ordinarily, when you pay $1,000 for a phone directly from a manufacturer, you lot aren't forced to do spring cleaning from twenty-four hour period 1, and and so the Mi 10 Pro 5G regrettably feels a chip more like a subsidized budget handset in that sense.

The software on Xiaomi's phone claim two points of praise: First, the Mi ten Pro 5G's haptics are surprisingly quite nice. The in-screen optical fingerprint sensor works quite well, only my favorite affair about it is really the "hummm-pop" that happens as you authenticate, which offers a pleasing flake of feedback every time you unlock your Mi 10 Pro 5G. I also enjoy the feedback when typing, which evokes the excellent keyboard haptics on Google's Pixel 4.

2nd, it should be noted that Xiaomi'southward flagship is i of an endangered species of handsets in the modernistic era to characteristic an IR blaster, significant you lot can utilize it as a universal remote for simply about any television set. It'southward a really neat inclusion yous don't often see anymore, and allows the Mi 10 Pro 5G to easily rank amidst our admittedly curt list of the best phones with IR blasters.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G review: Verdict

If the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G were piece of cake to purchase all around the world, I'd recommend information technology every bit a no-brainer Samsung Galaxy S20 alternative for anyone concerned nearly battery life. Non only does the Mi 10 Pro 5G look like Samsung's flagship, simply its cameras, display and performance are comparable, too. In that location isn't much buyers will give up here; in fact, they but stand to gain hours and hours on a accuse.

But that caveat — ease of purchase — is why the Mi 10 Pro 5G is non a device we can wholeheartedly recommend to everyone reading this review. On its merits solitary, this is indeed a very good flagship phone, and one of the all-time Android phones of the year. But importing one if you live outside Europe or Asia is risky, given that the device doesn't support all the necessary bands carriers employ due west of the Atlantic. And even if the Mi ten Pro does connect to your network'south towers, 5G support is sure to be spotty, given the emerging nature of those networks and the fact that different carriers utilise dissimilar bands for those connections, too.

It also doesn't assist Xiaomi's example that a string of reasonably-priced premium phones, like the Samsung Milky way S20 FE and OnePlus 8T, are on the horizon and wait to beat the Mi 10 Pro 5G from a performance-per-dollar standpoint.

Then, the Xiaomi Mi ten Pro 5G ends up feeling like a great phone without a good habitation, at least for prospective customers in the Americas and the U.M. Nonetheless, if you reside in a place where the Mi 10 Pro 5G is guaranteed to work as designed — or amend yet is officially sold — you shouldn't hesitate to buy i. Information technology actually is that good.

Adam Ismail is a staff writer at Jalopnik and previously worked on Tom's Guide covering smartphones, car tech and gaming. His love for all things mobile began with the original Motorola Droid; since and so he'south owned a multifariousness of Android and iOS-powered handsets, refusing to stay loyal to ane platform. His work has also appeared on Digital Trends and GTPlanet. When he's non fiddling with the latest devices, he's at an indie pop show, recording a podcast or playing Sega Dreamcast.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/xiaomi-mi-10-pro-5g

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