Revisiting Xiaomi Mi 10 5G - A great all-rounder with future-proof features

Today, we will revisit the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G which first arrived in the Philippines last June. How does it hold up?

Xiaomi Mi 10 5G revisited

As a recap, the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G has a 6.67-inch 3D curved Gorilla Glass 5 protected AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 865, Adreno 650 RAM, 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, up to 256GB UFS 3.0, and a 108MP quad-camera setup.

Build Quality/Design

Still a stylish flagship device

The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G has a metal and glass build. The unit we have is the Twilight Grey variant. It has a glossy finish which looks great. However, it is a fingerprint magnet. In terms of grip, I haven't had any problems with accidental slips which is great news.

Topside

Bottom side

Right side

You'll find the power button and volume rocker on the right side, a speaker grill up top, and at the bottom are a USB-C port and another speaker grill. There's no 3.5mm headphone port though.

It has minimal branding as well

The camera bumps are oriented on the top right of the back panel. Other than that, there's just a small Mi logo at the bottom.

Xiaomi Mi 10 5G unboxed

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G has a premium design and build. The combination of metal and glass give it substantial heft but still does not lean towards the heavy side. The curved sides also look great but it is recommended to have a protective case.

Multimedia Experience

The 6.67-inch display is great for reading

The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G has a huge 6.67-inch 3D curved AMOLED screen with 2340 x 1080 FHD+ resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, Gorilla Glass 5 protection. In terms of normal usage, the 90Hz refresh rate provides a very smooth experience when navigating and scrolling the news feeds and webpages. The In-Display fingerprint sensor was responsive and snappy as well.

Multimedia is excellent with amazing colors and viewing angles

In terms of multimedia, it really looks great. The AMOLED panel's contrast along with HDR10+ really makes the images pop out. There are some 1080p 60fps videos on YouTube with HDR and they look amazing. The deep blacks make shadows look smooth with no gray artifacts while vibrant colors add to the immersion.

Gaming is smooth with at least 60fps even at max settings

During gaming, the 90Hz refresh rate is a great advantage in games that uses it like PUBG: Mobile and COD: Mobile. Of course, it is also more immersive due to the dynamic range the AMOLED panel has.

In terms of audio, it has dual 1216 linear speakers so when used in landscape mode, it provides a stereo experience. It also has Dolby Atmos for a more immersive experience when watching movies. We used it while watching My Hero Academia on Netflix and we were impressed by how loud it got. The simulated surround sound via Dolby Atmos also upped the ante.

Performance

AnTuTu and Geekbench benchmarks

Under the hood, it houses the 7nm 2.84GHz Snapdragon 865 octa-core processor, Adreno 650 GPU, 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, up to 256GB UFS 3.0, and a 4,780mAh with 30W wired and wireless fast charging.

The Mi 10 5G scored 563,344 points on AnTuTu benchmark. For Geekbench 5,896 points on single-core and 3,260 multi-score points. In real life usage, it is a beast! Multitasking is no problem due to its fast processor and huge RAM. Switching from app to app is snappy even with a lot of apps running.

MIUI 11 provides snappy and smooth performance

Of course, there's a split-screen mode for two apps to run at the same time. This also provided a boost in productivity since you can work on two apps at once.

In terms of gaming, it can max out most of the popular games with great FPS. I tested COD: Mobile, and League of Legends: Wild Rift. Below, you can see the settings the game chose as the preset. As you can see, both games defaulted to their max settings.

Both games that we tested defaulted to max and ultra settings

The advanced cooling system helps the Mi 10 5G maintain a relatively cool temperature even under heavy load. It only started to heat up after an extended amount of time (2 to 3 hours) of continuous gaming. This is way beyond what a normal gaming session takes.

Battery life is impressive as well. It lasted around 9 hours of heavy usage with 100 percent brightness, mobile data, gaming, and Always-On display enabled. However, normal usage nets me around 12 hours with 20 percent to spare. Charging from 10 to 100 percent took around 45 to 50 minutes.

In terms of connectivity, we were not able to test 5G connectivity since it is not available in Antipolo yet. But, I noticed that my 4G LTE speeds were faster and more stable compared to my other devices.

It was able to take advantage of my 50 Mbps fiber connection over WiFi 6 too

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G provided the performance that you could expect from 2020 flagships. It takes advantage of newer tech such as LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.0 storage, advanced cooling system, and WiFi 6 to provide fast and reliable performance around the clock.

Cameras

The 108MP quad-camera setup

The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G has a quad-camera setup with 108MP f/1.69 w/ OIS + 13MP f/2.4 123-degree ultra-wide-angle + 2MP f/2.4 2cm macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth + LED flash. It has numerous camera modes including a normal photo mode, video mode, short video, slow motion, 108MP mode, Portrait Mode, Night Mode, Panorama Mode, and Pro Mode.

The 20MP selfie camera

It can also shoot 8K 30fps videos, 4K 30/60fps, 1080p 30/60fps, and 720p 30fps. It also has Vlog mode, Movie Frame mode, and ShootSteady Video. It can also shoot 960fps slow-motion video.

For selfies, it has a 20MP f/2.3 sensor. Slow Motion, Short Video, Photo, Video, and Portrait are the modes available when using the selfie camera. It can also shoot 720p and 1080p selfie videos at 30fps.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 takes great photos under varying conditions. The 108MP main sensor produces sharp, detailed photos with great dynamic range and colors. The other sensors do their jobs very well too especially the ultra-wide sensor as you can see below. The inclusion of OIS is great for videos as well.

When using Pro Mode, you can adjust the White Balance, Focus, Shutter Speed, ISO levels, EV, and the sensor used. You can use the Macro, Wide, and Ultra-Wide sensors in Pro Mode. The Macro sensor works well, especially in good lighting. 5 x zoom shots also still come out detailed despite the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens.

Autofocus is very fast. I only have to hunt focus during low light situations but even those are relatively quick compared to others. Even in videos, AF is very fast and consistent. The Xiaomi Mi 10 5G camera suite along with its sensors really allows you to explore your creativity in videos and photos.

Rear Camera Samples

Ultra-wide-angle shot

Normal dayshot 1

Normal dayshot 2

5X zoom

Close up shot, indoors

Close up shot 2

Night Mode 1

Night Mode 2

Night, Normal shot

Normal shot, low light

Macro shot, indoors

Low light, macro shot

Selfie Camera Samples

Selfie shot, daylight

Selfie shot, daylight 2

Low light, indoors

No lights with screen flash

Xiaomi Mi 10 Specs

Display: 6.67-inch 3D curved Gorilla Glass 5 protected AMOLED screen w/ 90Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, FHD+ 2340 x 1080 resolution at 386 ppi

CPU: 2.84GHz 7nm Snapdragon 865 octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 650

RAM: 8GB LPDDR5

ROM: 128GB/256GB UFS 3.0

Back Camera: 108MP f/1.69 w/ OIS + 13MP f/2.4 123-degree ultra-wide-angle + 2MP f/2.4 2cm macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 20MP f/2.3

Battery: 4,780mAh w/ 30W wired and wireless fast charging

OS: Android 10 w/ MIUI 11

Connectivity: WiFi 6, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1 (aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, AAC support), OTG, NFC, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, dual SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, face unlock, IR Blaster, Dual 1216 linear speaker, Hi-Res Audio, Dolby Atmos, X-axis linear vibration motor, Advanced cooling system, USB-C, Colors: Twilight Grey, Coral Green

Dimensions: 162.6 x 74.8 x 8.96 mm

Weight: 208 g

Price: PHP 34,590 (8GB/128GB), PHP 36,990 (8GB/256GB)

Quick thoughts

For PHP 36,990, the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G is still a competitive choice today. It has an amazing build and design, a great screen, strong specs, future-ready features, and quality-of-life features that enhance the overall user experience.

Being a flagship device, you are going to be investing in a device that can get you through 2 to 3 years. It checks all the boxes for me since it has specs for gaming, multitasking, and multimedia.

It is a superb choice if you are in the market for your first 5G device. This also has great cameras that could be a decent true-camera substitute if you forgot to bring your primary cam.

What do you guys think?