When Xiaomi first launched the Redmi Note series, it was supposed to be this affordable (starting at sub-Rs 10,000) yet competitively specced range that covered the basics better – make that “WAY better” – than its competition. Fast forward to the present, the line-up includes Pro and Pro Max variants that have been pushing both spec and price boundaries beyond the low-budget segment realm. This is great for those looking for the Note badging and legacy to be attached to their mid-range smartphone but the Pro and Pro Max variants do not really follow the Note series’ footsteps in some manner. Yes, both are competitively priced and specced but one of the biggest highlights of the Note range used to be affordability and that comforting proximity to Rs 10,000, something which both the Pro and Pro Max miss out on.
But that does not mean Redmi has completely let go of Note that serves the masses. Along with the fancier versions that come with bells and whistles Redmi also has introduced the base variant, the Redmi Note 10. The Redmi Note without any suffix. The Redmi Note for the masses.
Note-like looks
When it comes to looks and design, the Note series’ smartphones have usually been that kid in the class who does not get an A in every subject but is nowhere near failing either. The smartphones in the Note range look good, very good some might even say but their design will seldom turn heads. And the same applies to the Redmi Note 10 as well.
The phone comes with great looks but it is unlikely to be a topic of conversation. The front of the phone is covered by the tall Super AMOLED display which is paired with a dot notch that houses the camera. It has a polycarbonate back that can easily pass off as matte glass and does not look anything remotely like plastic. The big, black, almost rectangular, slightly raised camera unit is the only thing that breaks the matte white monopoly. There is a Redmi logo that sits near the base of the back but that is hardly an attention seeker.
The phone has soft, curvy edges that help it sit well in your hand and the matte polycarbonate back keeps it from getting scratched and smudged at the drop of a hat. It packs a big battery but does not feel too heavy which is again a plus. If you like your phones to stand out in the crowd and cannot do with a smartphone that ‘just’ look good then perhaps you can give the Redmi Note 10 a skip. But in its price segment, it is among the better-looking devices out there. And there are not many options in the price range that can even pass off as good-looking. To read more about the design read our first cut.
A new chip that rocks gaming, but with a few stutters
The Redmi Note 10 may be suffix-less but the phone does have an edge over its Pro and Pro Max siblings. It is the only new Note that comes with a new processor. The Redmi Note 10 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 processor paired with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage which can be expanded up to 512 GB and comes with a MicroSD card slot which means you will not have to sacrifice a SIM card’s space for it.
Smartphones have now reached a phase where it is pretty much a given that they will handle your day-to-day chores well. All of them may not be able to handle high-end gaming, video editing, or many such high-power requiring tasks well but they are all pretty much expected to handle routine stuff – the mails, the social networks, the odd image filters, the messages – smoothly. Now, although most of the time the Redmi Note 10 behaved well, it did trip up from time to time in this zone. No, the experience was not all laggy and crash-y. but the fact that it happened on a device that bears the Note tag was surprising.
Much to our surprise, we sometimes found our Note 10 lagging while performing elementary tasks. It once actually froze when we were accessing Google Drive. And these blips did not happen just once. Sometimes it would take us multiple taps to get a single action done and even the most basic of apps would crash. And generally when we were casually using the smartphone, and not really pushing it. Yes, these were rare occasions, but then…this is a Note, and we have expectations.