Ever since Xiaomi officially entered Nepal, they have been focusing mainly on their mid-tier series of devices. Last year, the company launched the flagship killer 2.0, the Redmi K20 and the Redmi K20 Pro. These devices were well-liked by the market and people were wanting to see more from the company. And last month, Xiaomi Nepal launched the flagship Mi 10 and the premium mid-tier Mi Note 10 Lite. So, let’s take a look at the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite and see how it fared in our initial impressions.
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite Initial Impressions
The Mi Note 10 Lite comes in some pretty good packaging. The phone comes in a black box with some shiny graphics representing the product. Popping off the lid, you are immediately greeted by the phone itself in all of its glory. Moving the phone aside and lifting the divider, you get another smaller box. Under this small box is a neat looking SIM-ejector tool! Pulling the contents of the box, we get a transparent TPU case and some paper works. Putting them aside, the last two items in the box are a 30W wall adapter and a USB Type-C cable.
Holding the phone for the first time, I felt it heavy. The phone weighs about 204 grams and given the massive 5260mAh battery, it was expected. Looking at the phone more closely, I felt it to be a lot more like the Huawei P30 Pro. The phone has similar display curves, similar rear camera layout and, a similar notch. You get a glass on glass design sandwiched by a metal frame. The phone feels sturdy and is easy to hold as both front and back have some curves.
Display
Peeling off the screen protector we’re greeted by 6.47 Full HD+ Super AMOLED display which looks amazing. The display looks amazing with a variable scale of brightness. We had no problem with the display even at the broad daylight. Watching Youtube videos and firing up a quick game was a pleasant experience on this device. The screen is vibrant, the colors are deep and, black is just black, nothing else. The display doesn’t feature a high refresh rate but even with the 60Hz refresh rate, the phone feels smooth. I will choose a 60Hz AMOLED panel over a high refresh rate LCD panel anytime.
Cameras
Talking about cameras, the phone has the main 64MP f/1.9 Sony IMX686 sensor on the rear coupled with an 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 5MP depth sensor. The camera sensor is really good and it can take some beautiful photos in the daylight. The phone is also capable of taking some amazing low-light images. However, I noticed some blueish tint to the images taken with the AI Mode turned on. Also, the wide-angle shots are good despite being taken from an 8MP lens. The portraits are good too but Xiaomi needs do some improvements in that area.
Hardware & Software
Powering the Mi Note 10 Lite is the gaming-centric Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G chipset. The phone is smooth and for daily usage, the phone is just enough. Right after setting up the device for the first time, I downloaded and started playing PUBG. The game didn’t feel smooth and the phone was heating up. I played the game again after installing the software update and this time the game was smooth and the phone’s temperature was all under control. So, I suggest you install the software updates right away.
The phone comes with MIUI on top of Android 10 out of the box. Personally, I am not a stock Android fan guy and I rather prefer MIUI over other UIs out there. I love the personalization options provided with this UI and how this looks and feels. The User Interface depends on one’s personal preference. This version of MIUI is different. The company has replaced its own dialer, contacts, and messaging app with Google’s stock apps. I missed the call-recording feature on this phone a lot as I’ve been using for a long time. Also, one will agree that the skins of Always-on-display that we find in MIUI look far better than any in the market.
Battery & More
Like any other Xiaomi phones in the market, the Mi Note 10 Lite is definitely not value for money device. It is a premium mid-range phone with some sweet spots providing it a really good value. The curve display, fast in-display fingerprint sensor, premium-looking design, and good battery life are some areas that one cannot miss. Also, the 30W charger that comes in the box can fully charge the device from 10% in just about an hour and ten minutes. The 5260mAh cell got me somewhere around 9 hours of on-screen time with the phone. This without a doubt will be enough to get users through a day or two of usage on a single charge.
Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite Initial Impressions: Verdict
The Mi Note 10 Lite is an amazing smartphone that has a lot to offer. Looking at the competition, the phone stands tall in many aspects. The phone has less powerful chipset than last year’s Redmi K20 Pro but it kicks back with some really interesting specs. So, for anyone looking for a good premium mid-tier smartphone under the price of Rs 45,000, the Mi Note 10 Lite is a great smartphone. We highly recommend it!
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