Xiaomi is not letting Samsung, OnePlus, and Google steal all the reasonably priced exciting smartphone fun, and has launched the Mi 10T Pro. It starts at 599 euros, or about $700, putting it in direct competition with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE and the OnePlus 8 (soon to be 8T), plus around the same price we expect the Pixel 5 to cost.
There are several standout features that make the Mi 10T Pro worth considering, starting with a 108-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization on the back. Xiaomi and Samsung worked together on developing the 108MP camera technology, and here it comes with some new features to entice you away from Samsung’s version. These include six long exposure modes, such as one where a static subject can be isolated against a blurred moving background, plus a burst mode that converts stills into video, and a selection of new filters.
Joining the 108MP camera is a 13MP wide-angle camera and a 5MP macro camera, plus a 20MP selfie camera set inside a hole-punch in the screen. What else can the camera do? It shoots 8K video at 30 frames per second, will take video using the front and rear cameras at the same time, and adds HDR to selfies as well. The camera module’s design reminds us of the Vivo X50 Pro, and it’s set inside a 9.18mm thick, 218 gram body made from metal and Gorilla Glass 5, and it comes in black, silver, or blue.
The 20:9 aspect ratio screen measures 6.67-inches and has a 144Hz refresh rate with AdaptiveSync technology, so the refresh rate always matches the content on the screen. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor with 8GB of RAM provides the power, and a massive 5,000mAh battery provides the energy. There’s a choice of either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, there are dual stereo speakers, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, 5G connectivity, NFC, Wi-Fi 6, and 33W fast charging.
Xiaomi has also announced two other phones in the Mi 10T family, The 449 euro/$525 Mi 10T has the same processor, screen, and 5,000mAh battery as the Pro, but swaps the 108MP camera for a 64MP camera. The 279 euro/326 Mi 10T Lite has a different design with a top-center mounted camera module with a 64MP main camera, an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a pair of 2MP cameras for macro and depth. It uses the Snapdragon 750G processor and the 6.67-inch screen has a 120Hz refresh rate.
Details on the final release date are still to come, but expect the phones to be available in the U.K. and Europe, but not officially in the U.S., although it would be possible to import one.