Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite smartphone review with key features

On April 30, 2020, Xiaomi announced several new products at once. A simplified version of last year's Mi Note 10 was presented online. The manufacturer cut some characteristics, slightly changed the design and the phone took its place in the budget segment.

The Xiaomi Mi Note 10 line is generally popular. The Lite version, given the flagship options and price, has every chance of becoming a hit this year among fans of the Chinese company. Our detailed review will help you understand whether Xiaomi's new product will be able to take high steps in the ranking of high-quality and productive gadgets.

Case Mi Note 10 Lite

The design of the new Lite almost completely repeats the appearance of the previous generation of Note 10 smartphones. The front panel with a borderless waterfall screen has a wide diagonal of 6.47 inches. At the top there is a hole for the front camera in the form of a drop.

The dimensions of the smartphone are quite large and amount to 157.8 * 74.2 * 9.7 mm, weight - 204 grams. For a man with a large palm, the control will be comfortable, but for a woman with a small hand, the smartphone will seem heavy during prolonged use.

The back panel, however, as well as the front, is covered with tempered glass Gorilla Glass 5, which allows the phone to survive numerous drops. On the back side there is a vertical block with four cameras, which combines LED flashes.

The glass case is united by a thin aluminum frame. And it's really metal, not painted plastic, like inexpensive models. At the bottom there are speaker holes, USB Type-C charging and a 3.5 jack for connecting headphones. At the top end, the developers placed an infrared port. On the right side of the frame there are power and volume buttons. There is also a dual SIM slot. The manufacturer did not consider it necessary to provide the body with full protection against moisture and dust.

The smartphone was presented in three color options: Midnight Black - charcoal black, Glacier White - pearl white, Nebula Purple - blue-purple. The developer abandoned the glossy surface and made the back side matte, which will appeal to users who are tired of gloss. But the slippery case remained uncomfortable and unstable on the table and requires a mandatory cover.

Screen

A reliable and stylish display can become one of the main selection criteria for the user.The front panel with a diagonal of 6.47 inches and an aspect ratio of 19.9:9 is protected by fifth-generation Corning Gorilla Glass, which is resistant to minor scratches.

The AMOLED capacitive touch screen with rounded edges completely repeats its predecessor, it has not lost its resolution of 1080 * 2340 pixels. It has a dot density of ~398 ppi and a brightness of 430 nits, which give clarity and contrast to the image.

DC Dimming technology successfully copes with the PWM effect, which makes the picture unpleasant for the eyes. The highly sensitive display is great for gaming and allows you to watch high-definition videos.

Good anti-reflective properties of the display allow the screen to be used outdoors in the sun.
On the front panel there is a fast under-screen fingerprint scanner for unlocking. The scanner area is highlighted when the phone is picked up.

Overview of the internal characteristics of Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite

CPU

Unlike other Lite versions, the developers did not save money and the new Mi Note received the same nimble eight-core Qualcomm SDM Snapdragon 730G processor, made using an 8-nanometer process technology and having managed to prove itself on the positive side. The single-chip system is characterized by energy efficiency and high performance.

The Adreno 618 graphics processor is great for active games, but do not forget that we still have a mid-budget device. It is not tailored for gamers, but is able to provide a fairly high level of graphics.

The Lite-smartphone is presented in 2 versions: 6/64 and 8/128 GB, which is undoubtedly a lot. 6 and 8 GB of RAM cope with multitasking, and a capacious storage allows you to take numerous photos, videos, but there may not be enough RAM for “heavy” games.

Do not count on additional memory. SD card support is not provided in the current version of the phone. You have to make do with what you have. The only option is to add memory, in case of urgent need to connect an external drive via the USB connector. It is worth considering in advance how much volume you will need and whether you need to consider buying with 6 GB of RAM.

Xiaomi has installed the Android 10 software platform on Mi Note 2020, which supports the MIUI 11 shell, a fresh interface from the manufacturer. The version is updated over the air and has numerous settings for various parameters.

Cameras: photo and video

The popularity of the 2019 model is due to the fact that Xiaomi Mi Note was the first to receive a 108 MP lens. The key difference between the current "little brother" was the lack of a large rear camera. The user will see a quad module with familiar matrices:

• main camera with laser autofocus - 64 MP, f 1/9, 26 mm (wide), 1/1, 72 ″, 0.8 microns, PDAF;
• wide-angle lens - 8 MP, f 2/2, ¼, 0 ″, 1.12 microns;
• depth sensor - 5 MP, f 2/4;
• macro sensor - 2 MP, f 2/4.

The front camera with 16 MP and 2/5 aperture also received a panorama shooting mode and HDR with good photo sharpness. True, examples of photos from the new device can only be seen in the presentation of the company. There you can also get acquainted with how the smartphone takes pictures at night.

The Samsung S5KGW1 sensor provides panoramic shooting and HDR dynamic range for bright and contrasty photos. Optical image stabilization and focus tracking enable the user to capture sharp images. Scene selection mode and macro shooting provide high-contrast portrait photos. Using the geotagging function, the owner of the phone can leave geographic tags on their own photos and videos.The quad-camera module is complemented by a Quad-LED flash.

The front camera with a wide 16-megapixel lens and 2/5 aperture captures panoramic shots and has HDR mode. The high resolution of the sensor provides excellent image detail, however, a weak aperture reduces the quality of images in the evening.

The quad module and selfie camera shoot video with the following resolution: , /60 / 120fps. The video sequence is characterized by natural colors, but the sharpness and detail are rather weak. The sound is recorded without distortion, very clearly. Smartphone Lite-version is capable of decoding and playing the following formats for viewing video: AVI, 3GPP, H.263/264/265, MKV, MP4, VC-1, WebM, WMV, Xvid.

Initially, it may seem that the new Lite 2020 is comparable in quality to the older version. But in fact, all cameras are much weaker, which is reflected in its cost. Completing the light version with four cameras is a marketing ploy that turned out to be a dummy in practice.

The main camera, of course, will please with high-quality photos and videos in different modes. But the rest of the sensors have performance far from ideal. An 8-megapixel lens with a small aperture will create questionable shots in the evening.

A close-up macro camera with a resolution of 2 megapixels is completely useless, with a higher result, you can use the main lens. A depth sensor is often found on phones, but Apple has proven that such sensors are of little practical value. The quadromodule is a strong "middling", and you should not expect anything supernatural from it.

Communication and sound

The Mi Note 10 Lite model supports all Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b / g / n / ac, Wi-Fi Direct protocols, from legacy to the most advanced. The receiver has a dual-band antenna for simultaneous reception and transmission of information and a Hot-Spot for distributing the Internet to other devices.

Bluetooth 5.0 technology with A2DP dual source audio distribution allows the user to listen to audio through wireless headphones. The BLE profile reduces power consumption when in Bluetooth mode. Adaptive audio codecs aptX HD, aptX play music in stereo sound.

Not only Russian navigation is installed, but also additional systems of several countries GPS / A-GPS / GLONASS / GALILEO / BDS to determine the exact location. And with the help of an NFC chip and special payment applications, the owner can pay contactless for goods in retail stores.

Mi Note 10 Lite does not have stereo sound, but the mono speaker and Hi-Res Audio profile play audio files clearly and vividly in high quality. The built-in equalizer with presets and audio profiles allows you to create individual settings for comfortable sound and decodes many popular formats: AAC, AAC +, AMR, AMR-WB, eAAC +, FLAC, MIDI, MP3, OGG, WMA, WAV.

The included 3.5mm wired headphone jack can be used to connect to the built-in FM radio. Also, the phone has a slot for dual Nano-SIM, working alternately.

Battery

The autonomy of the new Lite-smartphone is beyond praise. The manufacturer installed a non-removable 5260 mAh lithium-polymer battery for continuous operation of the device in moderate mode for about two days.It also comes with a 30-watt fast charger that charges the large battery in 60 minutes.

Additional options

Xiaomi Lite is equipped with a light sensor to adjust the brightness of the screen and a proximity sensor that saves battery power and turns off the screen when you approach your ear.
The gyroscope, accelerometer and digital compass determine the position of the phone in space. A convenient and fast under-screen fingerprint sensor unlocks your phone with just one touch.

Preliminary price and release date in Russia

The online presentation in other countries took place on April 30, the smartphone will go on sale in May 2020. The presentation of the gadget in Russia has not yet taken place, the release date is kept secret, but approximately the Lite version will appear on our market only in the summer. Then the question of where it is profitable to buy a new device will disappear. Many online stores will provide an opportunity to purchase a novelty online.

The preliminary price of the launch version 6/64 is set at 349 euros, for version 8/128 Xiaomi is asking for 399 euros. How much the model costs on the Russian market is not yet known. Presumably the price of a new phone will start from 30,000 rubles.

Summary table of technical parameters

Advantages and disadvantages of Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite

• large amount of RAM and ROM memory;
• attractive design;
• high quality display;
• productive processor;
• capacious battery;
• fast charger included.

• weak macro lens;
• weak depth sensor;
• no memory card support;
• overcharge.

In general, the new creation of Xiaomi evokes positive emotions. But a detailed analysis did not reveal any significant advantages over competitors from the best manufacturers.

And the average price looks somewhat overpriced and unjustified. Why spend more when for the same money you can buy last year's Mi Note 10 with a huge camera and no cut-down functionality. But if we proceed from the possibility of raising prices for Xiaomi products, the high cost of the new device becomes logical.

However, for all its shortcomings, Mi Note 10 Lite will become a strong “middle peasant” among popular Xiaomi models. And the main advantage of these smartphones has always been high quality at a price lower than that of competitors. And the final choice on the question of which model is better to buy, as always, is yours.