In early November Xiaomi presented the My Notes 10, basically a camera-phone with a combination of sensors and resolution never seen before. Now, after having finally been able to try it for a few days, we can tell you our opinion on this "top of the range", and why it is certainly a very interesting phone, but not for everyone.
To not miss any news, follow Tech Princess on Google News. Click on this link and bookmark us by selecting the "⭐"
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: the technical sheet
DISPLAY: 3 ”curved AMOLED 6.47D covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 5
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G
RAM: 6GB LPDDR4x
STORAGE: 128GB UFS 2.1
REAR CAMERA: 108MP UltraHD main sensor; 5MP telephoto lenses (x5 optical zoom) and 12MP (x2 optical zoom); ultra-wide sensor with 117 ° field of view and 20MP resolution; 2MP macro sensor
FRONT CAMERA: sensor from 32MP
BATTERY: 5260mAh, with 30W fast charging
CONNECTIVITY: porta USB Type-C; 4G; Bluetooth 5.0; Jack Audio; NFC
Discount
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Smartphone, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM, Screen ...
- Smartphone with 108 MP Penta camera for professional results
- 32 MP selfie camera
- The curved 6.47 ”AMOLED FHD + display offers high resolution and vivid colors
High resolution, perhaps too high?
Let's start immediately from the main focus of this mobile phone, or the photography. There is no doubt that we are faced with an incredible selection of sensors, one of a kind (literally). Selection that allows us to be very flexible in our photographs, with the possibility of shooting a wide panorama, a distant detail or, again, something small and very close to us.
The definition of the photos taken with the sensor by 108MP it is truly incredible, so much so that it is not really appreciable on a smartphone or computer screen unless you zoom in a lot. There is a bit of a difference in sharpness between the center of the photo and its edges, but it's a negligible effect considering the photos as a whole.
However, a legitimate question arises, namely: what is the use, in practice, of having such a sensor? Certainly not taking pictures for social media, where this resolution is not minimally appreciable except by cropping the photos. And in fact, in normal 'Photo' mode, the main camera is not used to its maximum potential, but for photos of around twenty MP.
To use all 108 MP you have to go into dedicated mode (with a slight slowdown of the interface and shots that take a few seconds to be processed) or in mode PRO, where you can choose which camera to use, adjust many settings and save photos in format RAW. And this is where we highlight what would be the obvious target for this camera made phone, that is photography enthusiasts. A legitimate choice, but one that perhaps reduces the value of this device for a more common user.
This does not mean that there are no useful functions even for more casual users: the ultra-wide mode and the ability to optically zoom up to 5x both are very interesting aspects, both for photos on vacation and for everyday life.
On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed with the 2MP sensor Macro: if in fact I really liked the idea of dedicating an entire camera to this mode, the positioning so low makes it difficult to use it holding the phone with one hand without covering it. The results, then, although good thanks to the very short focal distance, are somewhat limited by the low resolution of the camera itself. It turned out to be useful, more than for photographing small subjects, for photographing text e drawings, thanks to the aforementioned short focal distance.
The front camera, perhaps a secondary aspect considering the focus on the rear one, is instead very good: ignoring the beauty effects, the sensor 32MP andAI they are able to return very defined photos and with a clear separation between the subject and the background.
Finally, it is mandatory to also mention the night mode, maybe not as impressive as that of the Google Pixel or of the iPhone, but certainly interesting in its results.
If in photography the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 is certainly a champion, in the videos, unfortunately, the limitations of its processor (already a bit seen in the processing of 108MP photos) are felt. On the one hand, we have the possibility to shoot videos 4K, on the other hand the framerate will be limited (as per the specifications of the Snapdragon 730G) to 30 fps.
The modality too slow-mo, capable of registering indefinitely a 120 fps and 240 fps and to do short bursts a 960 fps, in all modes is limited to 720p for the latter two ea 1080p for the first.
Discount
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Smartphone, 6 GB RAM + 128 GB ROM, Screen ...
- Smartphone with 108 MP Penta camera for professional results
- 32 MP selfie camera
- The curved 6.47 ”AMOLED FHD + display offers high resolution and vivid colors
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: what else can it do?
The Mi Note 10 was presented by Xiaomi as a real top of the range and, in addition to the camera, it certainly has theappearance: the glass back, while a bit slippery and easily 'wrinkled', definitely gives a premium feel, while the curved screen is bright and very pleasant to look at and use.
Under the hood, as anticipated, however, we do not have a top-of-the-range processor, but a medium-high-end SoC, the Snapdragon 730G. It is not something particularly evident in everyday use, on the contrary: the Mi Note 10, also combined with the new interface MIUI 11, it is extremely smooth in every aspect. The only aspect in which perhaps the limits of this processor are highlighted, paradoxically, are the video shooting, as mentioned before, and the games: despite, in fact, it is the variant for the 'gaming' of the Snapdragon 730, the performances, for while acceptable, they weren't great, with many games not available at peak graphics quality.
The exaggerated battery, from 5260mAh, on the other hand, it lived up to expectations. In fact, taking into account my intense use, with games (including power hungry Pokémon Go), app and test, has almost always managed to get practically to one day and a half between charges. I have no doubt that, with a more 'moderate' use, it can easily reach two days of autonomy. Thanks to the charger from 30W, moreover, despite this enormous capacity, you only need to recharge the battery 1h and a half, a more than acceptable time given the autonomy.
From a software point of view, as mentioned before, we have the new one MIUI 11, which I really appreciated: smooth, with well thought out animations and just a few twists, like the advertisements in many of the stock apps and some jams in the use of some apps. All in all, a nice to use version of Android 9 Pie despite being a far cry from stock.
You read that right: Android 9, because for this phone, despite just being released, the update to Android 10 is not yet available. A pity, but we can hope that Xiaomi will soon bring this update home too.
To not miss any news, follow Tech Princess on Google News. Click on this link and bookmark us by selecting the "⭐"
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 review: buy it or not?
We come to the last price of the puzzle, or the price of this phone: Xiaomi's Mi Note 10 is currently available, on the official website, at 599,90 €. A price that places it decidedly high compared to the rest of the mid-range, even with good reason given its photographic ability.
For most users, however, Xiaomi itself, with phones like it Xiaomi 9t pro, offers a device equipped with a top-of-the-range chip, with a design, cameras and a battery that is still premium and an official price of 449,90 €, but now stable below 400 at third-party retailers.
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 is therefore not a phone that has disappointed me, on the contrary: using it was a pleasure, both as a smartphone and as a camera. But you have to be really interested in the photographic aspect to consider buying it at this price right now. In conclusion, a great phone but not for everyone.
Xiaomi Mi Note 10
For 
- One of a kind and extremely versatile camera
- Premium design
- Bright and pleasant to use screen
- Smooth and well done UI
- Huge battery and fast charging
Cons 
- Not a top-of-the-range processor
- Macro sensor can be improved
- Video limited by hardware
- Excessive price
