A light version of the flagship from 2020, that is Xiaomi Mi 10T. It offers a 64 MPx main camera, a large IPS display with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz and a battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh. The display caused the most uproar, as AMOLED is not here. Is it really that big a minus? Is it worth it anyway?
In our editorial test, we bring you answers to these and other questions.
Xiaomi Mi 10T: Where to buy?
You can currently buy the Xiaomi Mi 10T for the best price from our partner Edwaybuy, where it is also available from a European warehouse. It will be delivered to you by courier within a few working days.
Contents of the package
Xiaomi Mi 10T comes in a white box with gold text. Once opened, there is a box at the top with instructions, a silicone case and a needle for opening the SIM card slot.
The cover is translucent, antibacterial and its back is divided into one third. The upper part is classic glossy, the lower part is matte with a large Xiaomi inscription. The cover is massive, high quality, the phone protects well, but we have some reservations about its appearance. We would expect a more elegant cover for such a phone, which would make the already quite large phone smaller.
In the case between the instructions, there is a reduction from USB-C to a 3.5 mm jack, as the phone did not receive a 3.5 mm port. Under this box, there is already a smartphone itself with a foil stuck on the display.
Furthermore, the box contains a charging cable with connectors colored orange and an adapter with a maximum power of 33 W. As usual, the headphones are not included in the package. We can be glad that Xiaomi currently supplies at least the charging adapters in the basic package.
Quality workmanship and design Xiaomi Mi 10T
The phone looks very good at first glance. All its parts fit together perfectly. However, the smartphone is really big, so it is not very comfortable in a smaller hand. Its dimensions are 165.1 x 76.4 x 9.3 mm.
The weight of the smartphone also contributes to the emotional quality. When something is heavier, many people automatically consider it to be well made with a metal structure, which is true in this case. The phone weighs 216 grams.
Larger dimensions reduce the comfort of wearing it in a trouser pocket, as not every trouser has pockets deep enough for such a phone. One-handed operation is almost impossible. Since the display has up to 6.67 ″, with the classic one-handed grip, you can't reach the entire screen with your thumb, so you can't pull the notification bar from top to bottom without folding the phone in your hand.
In this case, Xiaomi chose a display with the so-called by shooting at the camera in the upper left. Personally, we like this location on the edge more than in the middle. The selfie camera is not disturbing at all, as it is located on the edge of the top bar.
The design of the phone offers nothing revolutionary. We had it available in dark gray, the so-called lunar silver. The back is plastic, glossy with a mirror effect and very prone to fingerprints.
There are also three cameras with LED diodes, which stand out together prominently from the back. If we put the phone on the table, it "stands on the cameras" even if it is in the case.
The left side of the phone is unconventionally completely blank. On the right side there are hardware buttons for volume control and a fingerprint reader, which also serves to secure the phone.
The bottom side hides the main speaker, microphone, USB-C port and slot for 2 SIM cards. The slot is designed interestingly. SIM cards go into it from both sides, not next to each other as usual, so it is very small.
The upper part is equipped with a secondary microphone, a second speaker and you will also find an infrared port here. The speakerphone is located in a frame above the display along with a notification LED.
What is the 144 Hz display in Xiaomi Mi 10T?
Many Xiaomi were disappointed to find that the Mi 10T would get an IPS display instead of AMOLED. After all, last year's model, Mi 9T, had AMOLED, which is a kind of symbol of a quality display. Can IPS compete with it? It can, but be prepared for some compromises.
We've been to you recently brought an article describing the advantages and disadvantages of IPS and AMOLED compared displays Mi 10T vs Mi 9T. He brought the famous portal xda-developers. But the 10T came to us only now, so we can really compare it with another AMOLED display.
Xiaomi strives to attract fans to a high display refresh rate that can reach a maximum of 144 Hz. In the settings you can choose between the standard frequency of 60 Hz, medium - 90 Hz and high - 144 Hz.
There should also be an AdaptiveSync function that can change the frequency as needed, but we haven't found any mention of it anywhere in the settings.
We have to admit that the display is incredibly smooth, and with animations, games and videos, the difference compared to such a 60 Hz AMOLED display is noticeable. The maximum brightness is high and the colors are nice. At first glance, the display is very nice, and despite the fact that we have been using phones with an AMOLED display for many years, it did not seem bad at all.
But when we placed the Mi Note 10 with the AMOLED display next to it and set the maximum brightness, the difference was visible immediately. On the AMOLED display, the colors are richer and the black rendering does its thing.
Nevertheless, we could easily imagine working with the IPS display in the Mi 10T.
Performance and connectivity
Xiaomi Mi 10T got a leading processor from the Qualcomm brand, Snapdragon 865 with 5G support. Since the 5G network is not yet available in our country, we did not have the opportunity to test it. However, when inserting two SIM cards, the phone will warn you that only one SIM card can be used with 5G.
The processor is really powerful, so the phone's responses are extremely fast. There's just nothing to talk about here, Qualcomm's flagship processor for 2020 is simply one of the best.
In the AnTuT benchmark, we achieved a score of 580 and ranked 881th among phones such as OnePlus 8 or Samsung Galaxy S8 FE (Editor's note: we tested the Mi 10T, although the AnTuTu application recognized the Mi 10T Pro).
We tested the version with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB memory. A higher version with 8 GB of RAM is also available. After turning the phone off and on, we had about 6 GB of RAM free from 2.6 GB.
The internal memory is of the UFS 3.1 type. We tested the write and read speed using the PCMark application, which measured the sequential read and write speed at 1400 MB / s.
The Mi 10T does not lack support for WiFi 6, WPA 3 encryption, Bluetooth 5.1 or NFC. From the navigation systems you will find support for GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and Beidou. Of course there is a proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass or the mentioned IR.
We tested the GPS by placing the phone on a table and launching the My Tracks and Endomondo applications. Both applications recorded the movement of the phone by several meters, even though it did not move.
During another test, when we monitored the activity during the walk, it happened that the GPS signal went out for a few minutes. However, we didn't see any issues while navigating in the car via Google Maps.
There is a lack of certification for increased resistance to water or dust, so we do not recommend using the phone in heavy rain.
Stereo speakers and their quality
We were surprised that the Mi 10T got stereo speakers. As we mentioned in the introduction, there is a primary speaker on the bottom and a secondary on the top. The sound quality is good, although there is a weaker bass component compared to Samsung's stereo speakers.
A big plus for us is the level of the minimum volume, which is really low. In many phones, even the minimum volume is relatively loud and disturbing in complete silence.
The smartphone did not get a 3.5 mm jack. Instead, the package includes a reduction from a 3.5 mm connector to a USB-C. We are satisfied with the audio output via wired headphones and we have no reservations about it.
Fingerprint reader and face recognition
The fingerprint reader is located on the right side and is slightly recessed into the frame of the smartphone. The reader is extremely fast and the phone unlocks as soon as you put your finger.
Because it is on the side, it is narrow, so sometimes it happened to us that we could not put our finger correctly for the first time. But unlocking works perfectly and we had no problem even with slightly damp fingers.
However, it happened to us several times that we unlocked the phone unintentionally while carrying it. The location on the side thus also has its disadvantages. If you have the phone placed somewhere on the table and you want to pick it up from there and move it elsewhere, you may catch it exactly where the reader is located.
Face unlocking also works very quickly. However, there are no sensors for scanning the face, so unlocking only works in light with the use of a selfie camera.
Xiaomi Mi 10T: Android and MIUI superstructure
We received the Xiaomi Mi 10T with Android in version 10 with the MIUI 12 extension. Immediately after switching on, we were offered a minor security update.
MIUI is already well known to you all. The controls are intuitive and we found everything exactly where we were looking for it. The system's responses were always brisk, and not once during the testing period did the environment freeze or display anything bad.
The only reservation is to display the control center, where we do not like moving text under some symbols. In terms of design, however, we really like MIUI 12.
We appreciate the number of settings that are available to customize the environment. We were fascinated by the possibility of waking up the display, which was once known phones from the LG brand, which had a button to unlock the screen on the back.
Also interesting is the reading mode, which changes the color scheme or the dark mode. Both of these modes can be scheduled, which means they turn on and off at preset times.
There are also special features such as Game Turbo, floating windows or a simplified mode that enlarges icons and fonts.
Camera and video
Xiaomi Mi 10T got three main cameras:
- The main: 64 MPx with a focal length of 26 mm and an aperture of f / 1.9
- Widescreen: 13 MPx with f / 2.4 aperture and 123 ° range
- Makro: 5 MPx with f / 2.4 aperture
The selfie camera has 20 Mpx and its output is at a good level.
You could already see how he took pictures of the Mi 10T in our comparison with Mi Note 10. Overall, we rate the camera very positively, despite minor shortcomings. The photos are sharp, rich in color, so the Mi 10T in this direction certainly has nothing to be ashamed of.
Unfortunately, the Mi 10T does not have optical image stabilization, which is especially evident when shooting at greater magnification. We didn't like that when you open the camera settings in the horizontal position, the settings aren't turned to that position either.
An interesting feature is called a clone, with which you can capture the same person in one photo even 4 times.
In terms of video, the phone can record up to 8K video at 24 or 30 fps. Other options are 4K (60 fps, 30 fps), 1080p (60 fps, 30 fps) or 720p 30 fps. With Mi 10T you can also shoot slow motion videos.
Surprisingly, this option is not in the video menu, but especially in the menu where you switch between photo, video, pro mode and so on. You can record slow motion video in 1080p resolution at 120, 240 or up to 960 fps. The same frames per second are available for 720p resolution.
You can watch a preview of a short 8K video shot with the Mi 10T below:
The H.265 or H.264 codec can be turned on in the video settings. There are quite a few settings here and the camera application is really at a high level. The video itself shot by a smartphone is quite good, but the mentioned absence of optical stabilization can be seen.
Therefore, if you want to shoot nice videos on the move, you need a gimbal, otherwise we had the videos shaken even with a great effort to keep the smartphone in your hands as stable as possible.
Battery, charging and endurance
The Mi 10T smartphone has a 5000 mAh battery. During our test, we were pleasantly surprised that the battery will last without problems for two full days of normal use. We appreciate that Xiaomi equips its smartphones with a higher capacity battery.
The big plus is the fast, 33 W charger included. A minor minus is the short cable, which is a habit.
We connected the smartphone to the charger when the battery capacity dropped to 27%. In 30 minutes it was charged to 85%, in 43 minutes we were already at a capacity of 99% and we reached 100% in exactly 50 minutes. With such a fast charge, it would not be a problem for us to charge the phone every day.
Xiaomi Mi 10T: Final evaluation
If you are looking for a phone in the 400 price category €, Xiaomi Mi 10T is a great choice. As soon as it is switched on for the first time, it impresses with its fast display with a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Even though Xiaomi decided to use an IPS panel instead of AMOLED, it didn't bother us at all. It will also please with an extremely fast fingerprint reader and excellent performance.
The camera also does not lag behind and impresses with a number of settings and various functions. The smartphone will be especially appreciated by mobile game players, who will enjoy the aforementioned high performance and large, fast display.
