Competition when it comes to flagship products has never been higher. Every phone manufacturer has stepped up its game when it comes to phones. It is now more difficult than ever to choose a good phone because a lot of them are good. And because every smartphone now is actually a viable option, the line between budget and flagship smartphones has become blurred. More and more budget smartphones function like premium phones. A good example of this is the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro.
Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro Overview
You might think that the “Pro” in the name would make it a flagship product. But contrary to this, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is actually the budget version of the original Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. The original phone is Xiaomi’s current flagship.
If you were thinking of buying the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro before but were turned off by the price, then check this phone out. It has most of the specs that the Mi 10 Pro has, albeit a bit dumbed down. Whereas the original only comes at 256 GB storage, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro can come at 128.
The Mi 10 Pro also has more upgrades with regard to both memory and storage. It can go up to 512 GB of storage and 12 GB RAM. Obviously, Xiaomi poured their all into making that phone. It’s clearly their best functioning phone to date, but it’s not for everyone.
The price of the original is too expensive for some. It’s probably one of the most expensive flagship phones to date. With that in mind, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro was released.
Check out the best and latest Xiaomi phones you can get now.
Price and Performance
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is a great overall phone with some high-end specs. But how does it fare with regard to its pricing? Will this smartphone be able to give you a lot of value for your money?
How Much Does It Cost?
| Model | Storage | Price | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro |
128 GB
256 GB
|
$600 – $800
|
|||
 Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro |
256 GB
|
$950
|
|||
On Amazon, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is priced at around $610. This version has all the essential specs and is complete with 128 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM. However, you do have the option of having upgraded storage. Its 256 GB version is priced starting at around $800.
In comparison, the base version of the Mi 10 Pro is priced at $950. That’s almost $350 more than the Mi 10T Pro. The price is reasonable though because the Mi 10 Pro has 256 GB storage. But if you can’t afford the Mi 10 Pro, then the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is definitely a good choice.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is priced closely to other mid-range phones. You can consider it as a sub-flagship phone. It’s supposed to be a mid-range phone, but its specs beg to differ. Essentially, it’s a flagship phone disguised as a mid-range phone. It’s mainly targeted at people who want flagship-level specs but don’t have the money for it.
Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro Specs and Performance
This phone is considered a mid-range phone, but it doesn’t feel like a mid-range phone. Like we said earlier, it has many of the specs that the regular Mi 10 Pro offers. The only difference is that it’s a bit dumbed down for the price.
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor that includes 5G support. It also runs on Android 10 out of the box. As far as software is concerned, it uses the usual MIUI 12 interface that Xiaomi uses.
The user interface has some level of versatility to it since it’s customizable. Additionally, its speakers blow most phones at its price range out of the water. This device is fairly strong and is near the level of flagship smartphones. In fact, it’s probably one of the most powerful phones in its price range.
Everyday Use and Gaming
Xiaomi has done an excellent job on this smartphone. It rarely lags, has great RAM, and even has a 144 Hz display. On top of that, it has a decent battery and supports fast charging to a great extent.
Since its Snapdragon processor is state-of-the-art, you probably won’t see much lag when you use it. And it is precisely because of its processor that gaming on the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is virtually seamless. It even has a Game Turbo app, which allows you to adjust certain settings like anti-aliasing and touch sampling rate.
If you love mobile games and are looking for an excellent phone to game on, consider the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. Not only does its chipset work perfectly, but its cooling is also great. Whereas other smartphones would heat up when you play games, the Mi 10T Pro stays relatively cool all throughout.
Gaming feels really immersive on this phone. It’s so good that it feels like it was made with gaming in mind. You can practically feel its performance when you game.
Design and Display
We already know that the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has great specs. So, how does it fare when it comes to its design and display? Is it largely the same as other mid-range smartphones out there, or does it still stand out even then?
Design
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is pretty slick. Similar to most other modern smartphones, it has a minimalistic look to it. Honestly, it kind of looks like every other phone available on the market.
The overall build quality of the phone is very good. It has a metal frame, making it quite durable. Plus, it has a glass back and display. But when it comes to looks, it doesn’t stand out, although this doesn’t mean it’s bad. As a matter of fact, it’s quite pleasing to the eye.
It has rounded edges that make it quite pleasant to hold in comparison to phones like the Samsung Note 20. The phone is a bit hefty though, as it weighs in at 218 grams. This is reasonable considering its high-end features and build quality.
On its back is a high-quality camera as well as two additional cameras. The back itself is really pleasing to look at since it reflects light off its surface. The only problem with it is that your fingerprints can easily get on it, ruining the look.
Resolution
The resolution of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro isn’t anything far off from other smartphones in its price range. You can stream videos up to 1080p60 with it, which is great. It has a 20:9 aspect ratio as well as HDR10+.
The biggest game-changer for this phone is its refresh rate. It has a 144 Hz refresh rate, which stunned many when it got announced. This is because most phones in the same price range are capped at 60 Hz.
Having a 144 Hz refresh rate is immensely impressive. It means that this phone is better than a lot of monitors out there. Many monitors also only have a refresh rate of 60 Hz. One might say that the screen is essentially a gaming monitor. Its refresh rate will also adapt based on what you’re doing.
Its stupendous refresh rate means that videos and games are extremely pleasant to look at. You’ll be able to stream videos and play mobile games seamlessly without any problems. There will be little to no screen tearing, so you can rest assured that your eyes will be safe.
Display Quality
The screen is 6.67 inches long, which means you have a whole lot of screen to work with. And although the screen is 144 Hz, the display itself is an LCD screen instead of OLED. This was the compromise Xiaomi made to make the screen have a higher refresh rate.
But who cares about what screen type it has? In all honesty, its screen is good enough to look at. The colors are vibrant and it has good brightness as well. To add to this, it has motion smoothing, which is sure to make your screen look astounding.
Additionally, the flow of transitions from app to app is smooth and tolerable. If you like natural colors, you also have the option of going with the default screen settings. But for people who like more dynamic color schemes, then don’t worry. There are display settings that can be tinkered with to your liking.
Battery Life
The 5,000-mAh battery isn’t necessarily the best, but it’s certainly up there. It can easily last up to a day and can go for even more time without dying. Although, that depends on what you’re doing.
But it matters not how much you game on it or stream videos on it. The battery will always last for a whole day after being fully charged. Usually, it lasts for about a day and a half. But depending on what you’re doing, it has the potential to last two whole days.
The only thing is that the fast charging on this device isn’t up to par with some other smartphones. It only has a 33W charging speed, which isn’t that fast compared to some other mid-range phones. Despite this, it still can still charge fully in an hour or less.
One of the main reasons why the battery life is as long as it is is probably the LCD screen. Having an OLED screen with 144 Hz on it can drain a phone’s battery power relatively quickly. Thankfully, they decided to go with an LCD screen on the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, which is less power-hungry.
Camera and Editing Software
We’ve talked about the battery life, the specs, and the design. The only thing left to talk about is the camera quality, which is something paramount for smartphones. So, how is the camera of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro? Well, it’s pretty good.
Main Camera
The main camera has a 108 MP camera. This means that it has one of the sharpest cameras on the market. You can take a picture from really far away and still have excellent quality when you zoom in.
That, or you can zoom in a lot and it will still display a lot of detail. The quality of each image is surprisingly sharp and pleasant to look at. Even when you crop an image, it’ll still give you good quality.
Each and every image that you take with the front camera will be sharp and clear. The colors will stay more or less the same. However, when you go to dark areas, the camera quality will dip a bit.
The image quality depends largely on how dark the picture you take is. The darker the image is, the less quality there will be. Additionally, in darker areas, pictures will have a lot less detail. Nevertheless, the image quality is usually great.
Rear Cameras
There are two other cameras on the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. These rear cameras have 13 MP quality, and they also have a 5 MP macro snapper. These cameras are mainly used for ultra-wide shots.
You won’t use these cameras all the time, but they’re definitely a plus. If you’re taking pictures of a cityscape, then they’ll definitely be useful. People who love taking photos will love the cameras on the Mi 10T Pro for sure. The rear cameras can have problems occasionally though, but they aren’t big problems.
Video Quality
One of the biggest advantages of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is its amazing video quality. You can take videos in 4K up to 60 fps. And not only that, you can even record in 8K at 30 fps, which is almost unheard of for a smartphone in its price range.
The video quality looks absolutely stunning, to say the least. It’s actually so good that you can use it to film YouTube vlogs and videos. There are also extra features that make the video shooting experience a lot better.
Photo and Video Editing
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has its own photo editing software. If your photos are looking a little bland, try using the software to brighten them up. It can add a lot to your photos and occasionally change how they look entirely.
For instance, there’s a Sky mode. This mode will replace the ordinary sky in your photo with a more dynamic one. You can choose whether the sky will look cloudy or sunny. There are a lot of other modes to choose from, too.
In addition, its video editing is great as well. You can go into vlog mode, which allows you to shoot multiple videos and then mash them into one. There’s even a mode that lets you record using both the front and back cameras at the same time.
The Verdict
The Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro is an excellent sub-flagship smartphone. It has all the qualities that a flagship smartphone needs at a mid-range price. It has a sleek design, is quite durable, and has a high refresh rate. What’s not to love?
We’ve talked about all there is to know about the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro. So now comes the big question: should you buy it? Well, if you want specs on the level of a flagship phone but can’t sell your soul, then it’s a good option. You should also consider getting it if you want an excellent device to game on. Its high refresh rate makes it excellent for gaming.
