The Redmi Note 10 is the latest addition to Xiaomi’s popular mid-range series. It offers 5G connectivity, a large 5000mAh battery, and a sleek design at an affordable price. But how does it compare to other budget phones in terms of display, camera, performance, and user experience? Let’s find out.

Display: A decent but not outstanding screen

The Redmi Note 10 has a 6.43-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels and a peak brightness of 1100 nits. The screen is sharp, vibrant, and responsive, but it lacks some features that are common in other budget phones, such as a higher refresh rate and HDR support. The Redmi Note 10 has a standard 60Hz refresh rate, which means that the animations and scrolling are not as smooth as on phones with 90Hz or 120Hz screens. The display also does not support HDR content, which means that the contrast and colors are not as rich as on phones with HDR10 or HDR10+ screens.

Camera: A good main camera but no ultra-wide lens

The Redmi Note 10 has a quad-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 48MP main camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro camera, and a 2MP depth camera. The main camera can take decent photos in good lighting conditions, with accurate colors and details. However, the quality drops significantly in low-light situations, where the photos become noisy and blurry. The ultra-wide camera can capture more of the scene, but it suffers from distortion and lower resolution. The macro camera and the depth camera are not very useful, as they produce low-quality images that are often out of focus.

The front-facing camera of the Redmi Note 10 is a 13MP sensor that can take selfies and video calls. The selfies are generally good, but they can look overexposed and unnatural in some cases. The video recording capability of the Redmi Note 10 is limited to 1080p at 30fps, which is acceptable but not impressive.

Performance: A mediocre processor but enough RAM and storage

The Redmi Note 10 is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset, which is a mid-range processor that supports 5G networks. The processor has eight cores, four of which run at 2.2GHz and four at 2.0GHz. The processor is paired with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. The storage can be expanded via a microSD card slot.

The performance of the Redmi Note 10 is adequate for everyday tasks such as browsing, messaging, and social media. However, it struggles with more demanding applications such as gaming and multitasking. The games run at low settings and frame rates, and the phone can lag or freeze when switching between apps or opening multiple tabs.

Battery life: A long-lasting battery with fast charging

The Redmi Note 10 has a massive 5000mAh battery that can easily last for two days on a single charge with moderate usage. The phone also supports fast charging with a 33W charger that can charge the battery from zero to 50% in about 25 minutes and to full in about 74 minutes.

The battery life of the Redmi Note 10 is one of its strongest points, as it can outlast many other budget phones with smaller batteries or higher power consumption.

User experience: A smooth software with some bloatware

The Redmi Note 10 runs on Android 11 with MIUI 12 on top. MIUI is Xiaomi’s custom skin that adds some features and tweaks to the stock Android experience. Some of these features are useful, such as the dark mode, the app drawer, the gesture navigation, and the floating windows. However, some of these features are annoying, such as the ads, the notifications spam, the bloatware apps, and the permissions requests.

The user experience of the Redmi Note 10 is generally smooth and intuitive, but it could be improved by removing some of the unnecessary clutter and interference from MIUI.

Price: A competitive price for a budget phone

The Redmi Note 10 is available in Zimbabwe for around ZWD75,650 or $150+ for the base model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. This is a competitive price for a budget phone that offers 5G connectivity and long battery life.

However, there are some other budget phones that offer better value for money in terms of display quality, camera performance, or processing power. For example, the Poco X3 NFC has a better screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10 support, a better camera with a 64MP main sensor and a 13MP ultra-wide sensor, and a better processor with the Snapdragon 732G chipset. The Poco X3 NFC is also cheaper than the Redmi Note 10, as it costs around ZWD68,107 for the base model with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage.

Conclusion: A budget phone with some compromises

The Redmi Note 10 is a budget phone that offers some advantages such as 5G connectivity, long battery life, and a sleek design. However, it also has some drawbacks such as a mediocre display, a limited camera, and a weak processor.

The Redmi Note 10 is a good choice for users who value 5G and battery life over other aspects of a smartphone. However, for users who want a more balanced and well-rounded budget phone, there are some better alternatives available in the market.