I love testing the latest and greatest mobile phones but not everyone is interested in spending hundreds of euros on flagship handsets. With that in mind, I’ve been testing a more affordable smartphone from Tesco Mobile to see if paying a lot less is worth it.
The Redmi 10 is mostly plastic in construction but the shimmering frosted back looks premium. The camera module does stick out the rear, but considering it features a 50MP main camera sensor that's understandable.
The 6.5-inch display has large rounded corners that match the edges of the device. The bezels are not massive but the bottom bezel is larger than the sides and top, which is less common in more expensive handsets. The display isn’t OLED and as LCD panels go, it isn’t exceptional due to mediocre viewing angles, contrast and peak brightness. The display does offer a 90Hz refresh rate, which is always welcome, although this is set to 60Hz by default.
Something you rarely find on flagship models is a 3.5mm headphone jack - the Remmi 10 has one located on the top edge. Something else you rarely see is stereo speakers which are located on either end of the phone. These provide an excellent stereo soundstage and the sound quality is above average too.
Additional hardware extras include an IR blaster which can be used as a remote for TVs, AVs and other infrared-compatible devices — Xiaomi preinstalls the Mi Remote app on the phone.
The optimal punch-hole placement for the 8MP front camera is near the upper centre and I like that the loudspeaker up top is slender and scarcely noticeable.
On the left side of the frame, there is a SIM tray where two nano SIM cards and a microSD memory card can be placed. The power button, which also contains the fingerprint scanner and the volume rocker is located on the other side.
Included in the box are a silicone case, a charger, a USB-C cable and a SIM tool and you also get a pre-installed screen protector.
Performance
The Redmi 10 comes with 4GB of RAM that can be expanded to 6GB by using a portion of the 128GB of internal storage. It runs on the Helio G88, which combined with the 90Hz display makes the phone feel good to use while not being as capable or snappy as mid-range handsets. The 90Hz makes scrolling feel smoother but there are stutters at times.
128GB of storage should be adequate for most users but this can be expanded thanks to the inclusion of a microSD card slot.
Overall performance is decent and casual gamers won’t mind the less-than-flagship levels of performance in games. If you’re a hard-core gamer then this phone won’t cut it in games like Fortnight and other graphically demanding titles.
One of the more impressive features of the Redmi 10 is the 5,000mAh battery, which is good enough for a full day on a single charge and often two with medium use. It’s also good to see a power brick included and although it’s not the fastest around,
Cameras
A 50MP main camera (f/1.8), an 8 Megapixel ultra wide-angle camera (f/2.2), a 2 MP macro camera (f/2.4), and a 2 MP depth sensor (f/2.4) are all included in the back camera module. Finally, the front of the device has an 8 MP selfie camera.
The main camera is more than capable of capturing excellent images in good lighting with lots of detail and sharpness. Although the sensor is capable of 50MP, it uses the common pixel-binning technique to save photos as 12MP. This saves on space, reduces noise and improves the dynamic range. Unfortunately, the image quality drops as the light dims and while the camera app does have a night mode, the results aren’t too impressive.
There is also a separate 50 MP recording mode, however, for most users, it serves more as a nice-to-have than a more valuable addition.
Photos taken with the ultra-wide-angle camera are decent, especially considering the price range but again, image quality suffers in lower lighting.
The other two cameras are almost unnecessary, especially the macro camera, which I rarely found a use for although the depth camera does help to improve portrait mode shots. For video chats or taking selfies, the front-facing 8MP camera is adequate.
Video capture is mediocre at best with only full HD at 30fps and no options for 4K recording.
Verdict
The Xiaomi Redmi 10 packs a lot of excellent features into a budget smartphone including stereo speakers, a 90Hz display, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a large battery, decent performance and NFC for contactless payments. There are a couple of downsides including the phone shipping with Android 11 and there is no waterproofing.
The Xiaomi Redmi 10 is available from Tesco Mobile for €179.99 on the Prepay. Tesco Mobile
