At the end of last year, Xiaomi promised that it would flood the 5G mobile market in 2020. Although it has been a most complicated year, the truth is that it has been fulfilling its promise and has not only launched many mobile phones for all types of users, but has also brought that 5G technology to many pockets with terminals like the Mi 10 Lite – analysis -.
These last weeks we have been analyzing the Xiaomi Mi 10T-Lite, another ‘Lite’ that has a lot to say and that is one of the best-selling mobile candidates in the coming months thanks to a combination of screen, battery and processor that seems unbeatable for the 300 euros that it costs at the moment.
It is also the “little one” of the Mi 10T family (a few months ago we analyzed the MI 10T Pro) and, after the presentations, we give you our opinion on this Mi 10T-Lite, a mobile that has arguments to surprise.
Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite | |
---|---|
screen | IPS LCD panel | 6.67 “diagonal | 84.6% of the front is screen | Resolution 1,080 x 2,400 pixels | Density of 395 pixels per inch | Supports HDR10 | 120 Hz |
Processor | Snapdragon 750G |
RAM | 6 GB |
Storage | 64 GB | 128 GB UFS 2.1 | Micro SD |
Main Chambers | 64 Mpx f / 1.9 main | 8 Mpx f / 2.2 120 ° wide angle | 2 Mpx f / 2.4 macro | 2 Mpx f / 2.4 depth |
Frontal camera | 16 Mpx f / 2.5 |
Drums | 4,820 mAh | 33W fast charge |
OS | MIUI 12 (Android 10) |
Dimensions and weight | 154.4 x 76.8 x 9 mm | 214 grams |
Price | 299 euros |
The Poco X3 NFC and the Mi 10T-Lite are like two drops of water
As is tradition, we are going to start the analysis of the Xiaomi Mi 10T-Lite with the design section. Xiaomi is a company that launches so many mobiles per year that it is difficult for the designs not to be repeated or to look more than necessary between them.
In this case, we have something similar to what happened in its day with the Mi 10/10 Pro and the Mi 10 Lite. The first two had an identical design while things changed in the Lite (the camera module was different and the Mi 10 had a hole in the screen while the Lite had a drop-type notch).
Now we find that the Mi 10T and the 10T Pro are traced while in this Mi 10T-Lite we have a different design very, very inspired by the Poco X3 NFC – analysis -.
We have a hole in the screen, but instead of on one side it is in the center and the camera module is round in the middle, instead of rectangular on one side.
That said, we are facing a mobile that has quite large dimensions. Its 165.4 cm high and 76.8 wide do not go unnoticed in the hand and, in addition, it has a thickness of 98 millimeters and its weight of 214 grams.
Well, it is a large and heavy mobile, but it is what we have to do if we want to have a 6.67 “screen in our hands. The screen occupies 84.6% of the front and the truth is that the frames, even though they are thick, are quite optimized for its range.
The sides are made of plastic and on the right, we find the fingerprint sensor (yes, a side sensor, like so many mobile phones from the Chinese company) and the volume control. On the left side, we have the slot for the DualSIM and the micoSD.
The fingerprint reader is fast and accurateAt the bottom, we have the USB Type-C charging, a microphone, the speaker and a 3.5 mm jack. In the upper one, we have a microphone and an infrared port, classic from Xiaomi and Huawei. In addition, the call receiver acts as a second speaker in multimedia.
If we go to the back, after some rounded edges that make holding the mobile very comfortable despite the size and weight, we have a “cover” with a glass finish, although the truth is that it does not have that premium finish of other mobile phones. crystal.
It is rather ‘plastic’, but it is pleasant to the touch. Of course, what is not so pleasant is to see that with the slightest touch all the traces are impregnated. It is a rather dirty mobile in this aspect, but the truth is that seeing this finish on a 300-euro terminal is not usual.
The attention-grabbing camera module is the culprit for the resemblance to the Poco X3 . It is a rounded module that has a couple of ‘claims’. On the one hand, the “created for 5G” at the bottom of the module and the “premium AI camera” at the top.
It is something that, in my opinion, is unnecessary: all cameras currently use AI for photo processing and scene recognition and, in addition, we already have the 5G logo at the bottom of the terminal.
This is something that I mention getting fussy, but the truth is that when you hold the terminal in your hands it seems that you have a more expensive mobile than it really is. It is that feeling of premium mobile or, at least, high-end with which Xiaomi is impregnating almost all its terminals.
The included case protects the device perfectlyAnd yes, it has the same screen diagonal, the same screen/body percentage and almost dimensions and weight as the Poco X3 NFC, but it is somewhat more premium for that glass back instead of a plastic back. Now, what about the screen?
IPS FullHD + panel that puts 120 Hz within everyone’s reach
The truth is that here we also have a terminal traced to the aforementioned Poco. My partner Rubén analyzed the Poco X3 a few months ago and in this text I am going to repeat, almost point by point, what he said. And the thing is, the panel is exactly the same, with its lights and shadows.
We are facing an IPS that offers good colors and that has the mentioned diagonal of 6.67 “ . This diagonal is huge for some and perfect for others, and the truth is that to play games, watch videos and consume content, in short, It is a real joy.
It has a FullHD + resolution that translates into the typical 2,400 x 12,080 pixels and 395 pixels per inch that we have seen in so many phones from the Chinese company. It is more than enough to not distinguish pixels with the naked eye.
However, the strong point is the 120 Hz refresh. This rate is becoming common in the high range, but in the mid-range it is not so, since those that go up from 60 Hz usually stay at 90 Hz.
The Mi 10Ts had 144 Hz, but honestly, I don’t notice the difference. From 60 to 90 it is very noticeable and from 90 to 120 a little less, but it is also noticeable. More than 120 Hz, for me, is making the mobile consume more battery.
It is an adaptive frequency, so it does not always go to 120 Hz. We have seen this in other mobiles this year and it is a measure to save battery.
If the content goes to 120 Hz, the screen shows 120 images per second. If it is a game that goes to 90 Hz, the screen adapts and if we are watching content that goes to 60 Hz or less, the screen lowers the frequency.
The fewer images per second, the less battery consumption, of course. The go to say that the battery holds lite Mi 10T a day of demanding use with the 120 Hz activated, but that I will discuss later.
An advantage of having a frequency of 120 Hz is that the sampling is 240 Hz, which allows the keystroke to be more precise and, in addition, the screen reacts earlier to the keystroke, something that is especially noticeable in games.
In addition to coming with 120 Hz as standard, the mobile has several color profiles and, in my unit, the default was saturated.
It is not a mode that I like very much because it lives up to its name and saturates the colors very much, so I prefer the natural one. We can configure the tone so that the panel is warmer or colder, something that goes according to taste.
To consume content, due to its color quality, response and dimensions, it is a quite attractive panel. The videos look great and the games give us plenty of room so that our thumbs don’t interfere with the action.
Now, it is not a perfect panel (for this price, something had to “pay the duck”). The brightness is about 450 nits and the truth is that it is fine for indoors, but outdoors when there is a lot of light a little more is missing. Of course, the automatic brightness sensor works quite well, being precise and fast.
Also, when there is content with a white background, I notice a kind of shadow at the bottom. The logical thing in an IPS panel with a hole for the camera is to notice that shadow around said hole, but in this case, where I have noticed it the most has been on the chin. It is nothing alarming, but it is there.
Despite this, as I say, taking into account its price of 299 euros, it is a good panel that offers something that very few offer in that price segment: good colors, FullHD + and 120 Hz.
And yes, lovers of dark mode have the possibility of adjusting it, although being an IPS panel it does not serve to save battery, it does to take care of our eyes when night falls.
Performance: how good you arrived, Snapdragon 750G
If the screen and dimensions are the same as the Poco X3… why should you buy the Xiaomi MI 10T-Lite? Well, apart from the camera that we will now talk about, we have two quite differentiating elements. The first is 5G, something that Poco does not have. The second is the Snapdragon 750G.
This is a Qualcomm processor that we really wanted to test and that certainly did not disappoint. We are talking about an SoC built on an 8-nanometer lithography that has an 8-core CPU (two at 2.2 GHz and 6 at 1.8 GHz) and the Adreno 619 as a GPU.
It is accompanied by 6 GB of RAM memory and in our tests it performs well above the 732G that the Poco X3 NFC released, being notably faster in tests that require more work from the GPU:
Xiaomi MI 10T Lite | Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite | POCO X3 NFC | Realme 6 | Oppo Reno 2 | Motorola Moto G 5G Plus | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Processor | SD 750G | SD 765G | SD 732G | Helio G90T | SD 730G | SD 765 |
Geekbench 4 Single | 3,059 | – | 2,626 | 2,595 | 2,557 | 2,697 |
Geekbench 4 Multi | 7,940 | – | 7,003 | 7,755 | 7,031 | 7,354 |
Geekbench 5 Single | 660 | 607 | 567 | 501 | – | 581 |
Geekbench 5 Multi | 2,000 | 1,912 | 1,544 | 1,649 | – | 1,796 |
3D Mark OpenGL | 2,744 | – | 2,697 | 2,581 | 2,399 | 2,994 |
AnTuTu | 331,527 | 318,815 | 284,403 | 288,272 | 264,032 | 303,413 |
PC Mark | 8,316 | 8,108 | 8,225 | 10,601 | 7,351 | 8,269 |
The numbers are numbers, but in the day to day the truth is that these figures correspond to what we notice with the terminal in hand. It’s stable, it’s fast, in games it performs like a titan and there’s no app that can resist it.
The truth is that Qualcomm is entering a field in which the user does not notice the passage from a 7XX to a Snapdragon 8XX, if we talk about the last generations of both, because unless we get into video editing tasks with heavy programs, the SD 7XX performs beautifully.
Now, in games, I have noticed some heating right in the back, in the camera . It is noticeable that the GPU is up by turns compared to the rest of the SD 7XX family and when an app -games- pulls a lot from this GPU, the terminal heats up.
It is not alarming at all, but it is there and we think it is convenient to comment on it. Of course, passing AnTuTu several times in a row, I have not noticed throttling, so it heats up… but there is no thermal throttling.
In the memory section, we have LPDDR4X and UFS 2.1 ROM with capacities of 64 and 128 GB, expandable via microSD.
The camera area gets hot when we play demanding games, but it is not a concernWorking with mobiles with UFS 3.1 is a joy and once you get used to it, it is hard to go back, but the truth is that in this terminal, taking into account the 2.1 standard, we have a higher speed than other mobiles with the same configuration:
Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite | POCO X3 NFC | Realme 6 | Oppo Reno 2 | Motorola Moto G 5G Plus | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sequential write | 336 MB / s | 200.24 MB / s | 118.16 MB / s | 107.32 MB / s | 347.13 MB / s |
Sequential reading | 569.82 MB / s | 495.76 MB / s | 471.82 MB / s | 499.33 MB / s | 409.52 MB / s |
Random write | 25.97 MB / s | 14.73 MB / s | 8.82 MB / s | 12.36 MB / s | 21.86 MB / s |
Random read | 17.59 MB / s | 19.03 MB / s | 13.14 MB / s | 19.06 MB / s | 17.58 MB / s |
Memory copy speed | 5.59 GB / s | 4.76 GB / s | 5.45 GB / s | 5.12 GB / s | 5.81 GB / s |
Multitasking is agile, but there are times when it costs you more than necessary to reopen some applications. But hey, you have to put your feet on the ground and bear in mind that we are talking about a 300-euro mobile and, as far as performance is concerned, we can not fault it.
MIUI 12 half-cooked and full of bloatware
MIUI 12 is a layer that I like. It runs on Android 10 and I really appreciate that it’s such a customizable system. Any type of user can find a theme and options to make the mobile to their liking and, the truth, that is appreciated.
It is a fast interface that follows in the footsteps of the rest of the Xiaomi family and that is capable of offering a great user experience. All the options are within reach, we have Google Discover and the truth is that the use of the terminal is the most intuitive.
I really like the one-handed control options, Xiaomi’s app drawer seems to me to be one of the best in the sector and it has a search engine that, sometimes and if we want to fiddle with the device, is necessary.
This is because the MIUI configuration menu has been getting more and more complicated in recent versions. Xiaomi has been adding options as the system and its mobiles had more features, but sometimes those options do not have the most intuitive name nor are they where they should. The good news is that, the search engine is quite efficient.
Keeping the finger on the apps, we can do quick actionsAlthough at the moment we do not have Android 11, MIUI 12 incorporates functions such as floating windows and notifications that allow you to use several applications at the same time in a very pleasant way and, in addition, we have a game mode that “kills” notifications or prevents the brightness from changing automatically, among other options.
Now, there are a couple of details that I would like to comment on. The first is that it gives me the feeling that optimization is missing. When I have many -many- apps open, the mobile indiscriminately closes some of them, killing that feeling of speed and continuity in multitasking.
This is something that, with 6 GB of RAM, should not happen, but it does happen… and not always. In addition, I need to optimize MIUI 12 for this SoC, since there are times that slowdowns occur not when opening apps, but when navigating through the terminal’s own configuration menu.
This is something “logical” to a certain extent due to the number of processors with which MIUI 12 works and the 750G is still new, but it is something that should not be produced.
Also, we have the bloatware. There are many apps pre-installed in the terminal. Those of Xiaomi cannot be eliminated and yes, some are useful, but others ‘duplicate’ what Google already offers as standard. Those from third parties such as Amazon or eBay can be uninstalled.
Where there are no complaints is in the precision of the biometric unlocking elements. The side sensor works accurately and quickly and facial recognition with the photo from the front camera is also fast.
It does not recognize us with a mask or at night because, basically, there are no infrared sensors to make this possible, but even indoors with poor light conditions it is able to recognize the face and unlock the terminal.
Four cameras, but only the main sensor and the wide-angle count
Xiaomi has accustomed us in recent years to a more than worthy photographic performance in practically all its ranges. The combination of decent lenses, good sensors and successful processing allows that, even on mobiles like the Mi A2 in its time, they give us photos with good processing, being attractive and more than enough for social networks.
Some more recent phones, like the Mi 10 Pro – review – with its equivalent 50-millimeter sensor, allow us to get more artistic, but in general, the main sensors are the ones that shine on Xiaomi phones. And that does not change with the Mi 10T-Lite.
We have the same main sensor that we find in the Poco X3, the 64-megapixel Sony IMX682 that has an f/1.9 aperture and that allows us to shoot both at full resolution and at 16 megapixels.
The sensor has a correct size of 1 / 1.73 “and the pixel size is 0.8 µm. It is a sensor that behaves well outdoors and even indoors with good light conditions, offering a good HDR and with processing that works quite effectively.
In fact, the Snapdragon 750G does the processing calculations very quickly and we do not have to wait for practically anything from when we take the photo until we see the result in the gallery. This is important because there are shots, especially in which the sky contrasts with dark areas, in which the sky itself appears burned out if we are focusing on the shadiest part of the scene.
It appears like this in the “viewfinder” of the camera, but when we take the photo we see that, in most cases, the software is capable of recovering detail from the sky. It is not the fastest camera app with the shutter, but the truth is that the behavior is more than correct in practically all situations.
It makes a good blur when necessary without having to activate the portrait mode and when we see it slacken something else it is at night. In these situations, your software goes more aggressively to eliminate noise from the scene, and it shows since the result is photos with an obvious loss of sharpness.
We leave you some examples, but as always, you have the original images and more examples in this link:
The 8 megapixel wide-angle is the second most important sensor. It offers good results, although with those 8 megapixels the images lack sharpness. Yes, megapixels aren’t everything, but 8 megapixels on a 1/4 “sensor is pretty low.
I miss that the processing corrects better the distortion at the edges of the image, especially in vertical photographs, but the result is not bad for certain moments and I like the color rendering.
On the other hand, we have the two sensors that many manufacturers are introducing well… well, to be able to say that they have four cameras. One is the 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth that I honestly don’t notice at all, since the blur is done by software.
The other is a macro, also 2 megapixels f/2.4 that requires a lot of patience and light to take a photo in good conditions and that well, it is not bad, but with 2 megapixels the sharpness is conspicuous by its absence and we can forget about any minimum cutout.
On the other hand, we have the 16-megapixel f/2.5 front camera. Make a correct cut and the truth is that they are ‘selfies’ that are valid for social networks. No bragging.
On the other hand, we have the video. Here Xiaomi and the main sensor again deliver a good video that can record at 4K30 maximum and that offers a fast and convincing focus.
In short, there is a sensor -the main one- that shines with its own light in a photographic section, as almost always in the Chinese brand, which convinces in almost all kinds of situations. It is a good camera, certainly, in that range of 300 euros and a video that has surprised us.
The wide-angle is there for certain types of scenes or if we want to get more creative, but I still do not understand (on a practical level) the inclusion of the macro and the depth camera.
33 W load and 10 hours of screen without giving up 120 Hz
Cameras are important, sure, but the battery is another fundamental component and, I would say, the one that has surprised us the most as we progressed in our review of the Xiaomi Mi 10T-Lite.
The terminal mounts a 4,820 mAh battery and, at first, the figure surprised us because Xiaomi had accustomed us to 5,000 mAh this year. However, in our tests with automatic brightness and the adaptive frequency at 120 Hz, we have achieved a spectacular result.
About 8:30 hours of screen average throughout the weeks of use with a specific peak of almost 10 hours in a day that I used it for everything (except for writing on the web). It is a very good figure that, in the end, translates into more than a day of demanding use with the terminal or a day and a half on a weekend in which, perhaps, I do not give it so much cane.
Surely a more conventional user is capable of reaching two days of use without too many problems. In our synthetic test, with maximum brightness, we achieved 11 hours and 46 minutes of autonomy.
The best thing is that when loading it, you do not have to wait for the night. The Mi 10T lite includes a 33 W charger that is capable of charging 100% of the terminal in just over an hour, with a 50% charge in just 23 minutes.
It is a really fast charge and the truth, although I have lately been with models that charge faster and a few days ago we told you that the Reno 4 Pro takes half an hour to reach 100%, the 33 W charge is still a very interesting option and for the moment and I at least don’t need more speed.
5G, stereo speakers and 3.5mm jack for icing on the cake
And in the section of connectivity and sound, the truth is that few buts, if not none, we can put. Let’s start with the sound repeating that it has two speakers (one dedicated and another that takes advantage of the call headset). This is not common in this price segment and the truth is that the experience is very satisfactory.
Above 75% volume, the speakers squeak a bit, especially in the treble, and it is true that the bass is not the strongest on the market, but for those 300 euros we have a very good experience when watching videos and play video games.
They are a fantastic complement to a very powerful multimedia section in this terminal thanks to both the screen and the performance of the Snapdragon 750G.
In connectivity, we come across Bluetooth 5.1, infrared port, NFC, USB Type-C and Wi-Fi 5. In addition, of course, we have the aforementioned 5G, which is one of the main claims of the terminal, and in our tests, I have had a very good download rate.
The rise is somewhat slow, but in the end, as it happened to me with the iPhone 12, I imagine that it will be something from the telephone company, the antenna or the power that is being assigned to it.
In addition, I am from Movistar so my 5G is not the most powerful currently, so it will be necessary to wait a bit to see how the frequency performs in all its splendor.
The good thing is that, again, for 300 euros we have a mobile that does not lack anything in connectivity with 5G SA/NSA. Yes, it could have Wi-Fi 6, but I think it is currently more of a minority than 5G.
Conclusion of the analysis of the Xiaomi Mi 10T-Lite: candidate for the best mobile of 2020 in the mid-range
As I poured my opinion of the Xiaomi Mi 10T-Lite along these lines, the more I realized that I am describing one of the most balanced mobiles that I have been able to test in recent months.
I have had some of the best phones of the year in my hands, but although they surpass this terminal in cameras, load or performance, the truth is that they are not as balanced as this one from Xiaomi.
In fact, I think it is the best mobile, in this sense, that the company has launched in recent times. That was something that was said of terminals like the Mi A1 and Mi A2 and I think that, although without the special factor of Android One in that family, the Mi 10T-Lite follows that philosophy.
It is also difficult not to see here that philosophy of the Poco terminals, that of putting the latest technologies within reach of more modest pockets, such as the Snapdragon 750G or the 120 Hz screen.
In terms of performance, the Qualcomm SoC is a true beast that can handle anything and that offers, together with that high adaptive refresh of the IPS panel, one of the fastest experiences of the year.
In this sense, it is a mobile that will delight those who consume many social networks, but also those who watch many series, videos and play games on the phone, since that power and quality of the panel is complemented by a good pair of speakers.
If you like photography, with good conditions we have a very good main sensor and a competent wide-angle, although as usual in Xiaomi, the processing of images may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is something that we can always fiddle with. little with programs on the phone itself.
The battery, in addition, although it does not go to the madness of 6,000 or 7,000 mAh, gives us about 10 hours of the screen in normal mode, without resorting to saving modes or removing 120 Hz, and that is excellent news.
The call handset serves as a secondary speaker and hides a notification LEDYes, it is big and heavy, the macro and depth sensors could have been saved, there is a lot of bloatware and MIUI is not to everyone’s liking for some design decisions, but in general terms, we are facing one of those perfect mobiles for give away on these dates and one of the easiest to recommend in 2020.
The best
- Quality display at 120 Hz
- Autonomy and charging speed
- Main sensor
- Multimedia performance
Worst
- Bloatware and duplicate apps
- Macro and depth sensors
- Screen brightness somewhat fair
- It will be big and heavy for some users