Since March 2021, Xiaomi launched three Redmi Note 10 series phones and followed up with Note 10S series and recently, it introduced the Note 10T, the company's most affordable 5G phone.
It will be available in two configurations-- 4GB RAM + 64GB storage and 6GB RAM + 128GB storage-- for Rs 14,499 and Rs 16,499, respectively.
I have been using it for quite some time, here are my thoughts on the latest Redmi Note 10 series model.
Design, build-quality and display
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10T shares the design language of the previously Redmi Note 10 series models. It has a small vertically aligned 'Redmi 5G' engraving at the base and in the same line, there is a dual-tone curved rectangular camera module at the top.
The Mint Green model looks lovely in the sunlight. As you can see in the cover photo, the camera's black, silver shades blend so beautifully with the green colour of the back panel.
Kudos to Xiaomi's engineering team for coming up with such creative designs for the camera, which add value to the visually appealing. Rival brands can learn a thing or two on how to make the phone look brilliant with minimalistic design.
Xiaomi's new Redmi Note 10T also comes in three other colours--Metallic Blue, Chromium White, and Graphite Black. They all look gorgeous too.
Xiaomi phone also features an IR sensor along with a speaker on the top and at the base, it has a Type-C USB port along with a mic and a speaker. The design ensures the phone produce a stereo effect when music is played.
On the right, it features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the right side, which also doubles up as a power button. It works wonderfully well in terms of recognising the thumb impression and quickly unlocking the home screen.
It also features hybrid dual SIM slots ( nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 or microSD card) on the left.
On the front, it features a 6.5-inch full HD+ (1080 × 2400p) bright LCD screen and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It comes with a 20:9 aspect ratio, supports a 90Hz display refresh rate, and offer peak brightness of up to 500 nits.
It should be noted that the company pre-fits an additional layer of the shield on top of the display, which protects it from the daily wear-and-tear such as scratches from pens and keys when kept in the pant pocket.
Also, Xiaomi is offering a soft transparent silicone case with the retail box of the device. It will keep the phone safe from screen crack or getting dented during accidental fall.
Performance
Under-the-hood, it houses 7nm class MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G octa-core CPU (2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 x 2 + 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 x 6) and is backed by Mali-G57 MC2 graphics engine, Android 11-based MIUI 12.0.3 OS, 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB UFS 2.2 (expandable up to 1TB).
The phone works without any hitches in terms of day-to-day activities such as browsing the web, scrolling through social media platforms, binging on videos on OTT (Over-The-Top) apps and other stuff.
Even while operating the camera and playing games for a long, I did not find any pressing issue to complain about. The phone does get warm a bit when used for more than an hour on a stretch, but nothing serious to be concerned about, as most phones exhibit such behaviour.
It comes with a Lithium-Polymer-based non-removable 5000 mAh cell. Under normal usage, it can easily last more than a day. I used to browse the web for news,
Whenever the cellular infrastructure gets improved, Redmi Note 10T 5G owners will be able to enjoy super-speed internet.
With 5G support, Redmi Note 10T promises to offer up to 2.77Gbps download speed.
Photography
It houses a triple camera module-- main 48MP (f/1.79) + 2MP depth + 2MP (f/2.4) macro sensors with LED flash.
It takes decent pictures in a sunny environment. It manages to capture details of the subject and even colours look almost natural, a noteworthy feat considering the fact this is a budget phone. However, during a cloudy overcast, the camera's focus loses speed.
In the night mode too, the resultant pictures come with a lot of noise. On the bright side, the photos when taken with LED flash on, come off really great. This indicates the phone's camera hardware is good but can be made better with a software update.
It can take decent quality full HD videos and even with shaky hands, they came out stable too.
The Redmi Note 10T features an 8MP (f/2.0) camera on the front. It takes decent pictures and offers numerous value-added editing tools and filters, which can any turn a mundane selfie session into a fun activity.
You can change several aspects of the face such as the colour tone, reduce acne-related scars, slim the face's bone structure and even adjust the size of the eye. I can't blame the company for offering superficial face-altering features, as it is just catering to the demand of the people. There are third-party apps on the Google Play Store with millions of active user-base that offer the same thing, but this company is giving it in the native camera app.
Overall, when Xiaomi Redmi Note 10T is compared to rival branded phones in the mid-range class, it has a slight edge. But, it comes up short against other variants of the Redmi Note 10 series.
If you are looking for a mid-range phone with great cameras, go for the Redmi Note 10 Pro models. They have the best photography hardware for under Rs 20,000.
Final thoughts
Xiaomi's Redmi Note 10T 5G is a decent budget phone. It performs smoothly without any fuss and also the battery life is really good too.
But, in terms of the photography aspect, as you can see in the sample pictures, it is a mixed bag. The phone has the right camera hardware on par with other Redmi Note 10 series models, but it struggles a bit in low-light conditions. It can be improved with a software update.
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