Redmi 10 Prime first impressions- Not(e) your typical budget smartphone

Redmi 10 Prime first impressions: Not(e) your typical budget smartphone1/10

One of the big USPs of the Redmi Note, until a few years ago, used to be its starting price. As if like clockwork, Xiaomi somehow always managed to price it at Rs 9,999. That threshold began to move upwards eventually. We won't go so much into the nitty-gritties of why that happened, or why Xiaomi has so many Redmi Note phones today, but can't say, it was totally unexpected. Such is the world of tech. Things keep evolving. In Xiaomi's defense, the company did not abandon that golden Rs 9,999 price point completely. The Redmi 'number' series replaced the entry-level Redmi Note. The last generation spawned three models: Redmi 9, Redmi 9 Prime and Redmi 9 Power. For the context of this first impressions piece, let's just stick with the Redmi 9 Prime. This was the phone that was launched in India at a starting price of Rs 9,999. It is currently listed on Mi.com at 10,499. A lot of Xiaomi phones have received a price hike in the last few months. The company says this is due to shortages across the supply chain and an 'unprecedented' increase in shipping charges. Which brings us to the Redmi 10 Prime, the successor to the Redmi 9 Prime that is launching in India today. There is obviously a lot to talk about in this phone, but there's one thing that stands out more than anything else. That it starts at Rs 12,499. The threshold is moving upwards one more time and that should set alarm bells ringing. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)2/10

There is no telling between the Redmi 10 Prime and Redmi Note 10 as far as the overall design aesthetics are concerned. Yes, the Redmi 10 Prime is a slightly bigger (and heftier) phone with a tweaked rear camera array but unless you’re really looking for those differences, you’ll most likely never going to notice them. If anything, the Redmi Note 10 feels wee bit more premium (and more compact) which is on very expected lines. Both phones have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, dual speakers, headphone jack and an IR blaster. Xiaomi says the Redmi 10 Prime has a ‘splash-proof’ design though there is no official IP-rating whatsoever. The Redmi Note 10 is IP53-rated making it splash and dust resistant. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

3/10

The bigger differences are coming on the front. The Redmi 10 Prime has a 6.5-inch 1080p+ IPS LCD display with a 90Hz ‘adaptive’ refresh rate. The Redmi Note 10 has a smaller 6.43-inch 1080p+ Super AMOLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate. IPS versus AMOLED debate aside, the Redmi Note 10’s screen can get brighter and has a smaller hole punch cutout that gives it a more immersive look and feel. Both phones come with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

4/10

Under the hood, the Redmi 10 Prime has an 8-core MediaTek Helio G88 SoC paired with up to 6GB LPDDRX4 RAM and 128GB storage. The phone supports ‘extendable’ virtual RAM feature letting you access ‘up to 2GB’ memory from internal storage when you’re short on RAM. This means the 6GB RAM version of the phone can theoretically extend to 8GB (the 4GB RAM version can extend to 5GB similarly). The Redmi Note 10 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 SoC. More on the performance side comparisons of both phones in our full review. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

5/10

For photography, the Redmi 10 Prime packs a quad camera setup on the rear with a 50MP primary sensor (this is unspecified) with f/1.8 aperture lens paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle and two 2MP sensors, one for macros and another for portraits. The Redmi Note 10 has a 48MP Sony IMX582 main sensor while the rest of the set up is same as the Redmi 10 Prime. The Redmi 10 Prime has an 8MP front camera, while the Redmi Note 10 has a 13MP front camera. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

6/10

The Redmi 10 Prime is backed by a 6,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging and 9W reverse charging turning the phone into a portable power bank to charge other devices. The Redmi Note 10 has a smaller 5,000mAh battery but it supports 33W fast charging. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

7/10

The Redmi 10 Prime runs MIUI 12.5 software right off the gate. The Redmi Note 10 runs MIUI 12 out-of-the-box. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

8/10

The Redmi Note 10 also has tighter haptics than the Redmi 10 Prime. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

9/10

If you’re wondering why this Redmi 10 Prime first impressions piece turned into a comparison with the Redmi Note 10, well, it’s because the Redmi 10 Prime is flying too high, too close to the sun. Yes, it does a couple of things better, on paper, at a slightly lower price, but as an overall package, there is simply no competition. The Redmi Note 10 is currently selling for Rs 13,999 post a recent price hike. And then, there is the competition (which we will talk about in depth in our full review). The Redmi 10 Prime, as loaded as it is, does not make a lot of sense then at its launch price. The phone starts at Rs 12,499 for a version with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. The top-end version of the phone with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage will set you back by Rs 14,499. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

10/10

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with the Redmi 10 Prime. The phone is literally stacked, but problem is the trajectory that Xiaomi has taken in the last few years. There are just way too many phones, too many good phones (like say the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max), some not so good even (like say the Redmi Note 10T), to choose from. As good as the Redmi 10 Prime appears on paper, there’s absolutely no denying that Xiaomi could have priced it better. As for whether or not you should save some money and get it over the Redmi Note 10 and competition, be sure to stay tuned for our full review coming soon. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)