Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Review: Worth Paying Extra For?

The Redmi Be aware collection has at all times stood for worth, providing options which are a step or two up from the Redmi collection whereas nonetheless remaining reasonably priced sufficient for most individuals. You'll be able to count on a giant display, large battery, highly effective processor, and spectacular cameras, which supplies these fashions a little bit of aspirational worth, when contemplating the price range market. This yr, Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Be aware 10 collection, and the top-end Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max introduces a 108-megapixel digicam which is after all its headlining function. That is the one distinction between the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max and the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional, however does it make sense for a mainstream telephone? We’re going to seek out out.

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max worth in India.

Blurring the road between mainstream and premium, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max begins at Rs. 18,999 in India, for the variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. You pay little or no extra, simply Rs. 19,999, for a similar 6GB of RAM however double the storage at 128GB, which makes the bottom variant appear pretty pointless. The most costly variant truly crosses the Rs. 20,000 mark for the primary time, costing Rs. 21,999 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

In the event you don’t want the 108-megapixel digicam, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional is equivalent in each different manner and prices Rs. 3,000 much less for a similar quantities of RAM and storage: Rs. 15,999, Rs. 16,999 and Rs. 18,999 respectively. Each fashions can be found in the identical three colors: Darkish Evening, Glacial Blue, and Classic Bronze.

The Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max in Darkish Evening (left) and Classic Bronze (proper)

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max design

Xiaomi has gone in a barely new design path with this era. The small touches that the corporate collectively calls its ‘Evol’ design language may be seen primarily across the frames and digicam modules of the Redmi Be aware 10 collection. Not a lot is completely different on the entrance, which is almost all display with slender borders and a comparatively small embedded entrance digicam proper on the high. This digicam for some purpose has a really shiny silver ring round it, which is extraordinarily distracting and considerably negates the aim of decreasing the dimensions of the digicam gap.

The facility button on the facet has an embedded fingerprint sensor however isn’t recessed and likewise isn’t any bigger than a regular button. The quantity rocker is correct above it, and the telephone’s body expands a bit in thickness to accommodate them. The glass rear panel is curved on the sides and moulded round this bulge, making for a really slick look.

The Mystic Bronze and Glacial Blue color choices have frosted backs, whereas the Darkish Evening model is shiny. I used to be ready to take a look at each finishes, and located that fingerprints have been a little bit of an issue in each instances. The frosted glass was additionally truly just a little extra slippery, however not sufficient to be a reason behind concern.

The 108-megapixel digicam on the rear is highlighted by a vibrant silver panel. The module itself has a two-tier design to account for the digicam’s thickness, and is vast sufficient to accommodate the 2 low-resolution cameras subsequent to one another. Sadly this does imply that the telephone isn’t very regular or straightforward to make use of when it’s mendacity flat on a desk.

Xiaomi has used Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the entrance, and an adhesive display protector is pre-applied. There's a 3.5mm audio jack but it surely’s on the highest, which is considerably uncommon. You’ll additionally discover a speaker cutout; the earpiece is used as a second speaker, and this permits sound to journey higher. You additionally get an infrared emitter for controlling home equipment. On the underside, you’ll discover a USB Sort-C port and the first speaker. The tray on the left has two Nano-SIM slots in addition to area for a microSD card.

There’s an IP53 ranking for water and dirt resistance, which is at all times good to see. At 8.1mm thick and 192g in weight, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max is a bit thinner and lighter than final yr’s Redmi Be aware 9 Professional Max (Overview), however it's important to think about the awkward digicam bulge.

The body widens just a little to surround the fingerprint sensor and quantity rocker

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max specs and software program

This wouldn’t be a Redmi Be aware telephone with out some very spectacular specs, and you may count on a number of premium touches. Nevertheless, needless to say the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional additionally offers you precisely the identical bundle aside from the first rear digicam for Rs. 3,000 much less. The Snapdragon 732G SoC ought to be greater than sufficient for on a regular basis duties in addition to gaming, and also you rise up to 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage.

I’m fairly impressed with the display that the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max has. This can be a 6.67-inch full-HD+ Tremendous AMOLED panel with full DCI-P3 color gamut protection, a 120Hz most refresh fee, and HDR10 assist. Brightness goes as much as 1200nits, and there’s TUV Rheinland certification for low blue gentle emission. The outlet for the entrance digicam is barely 2.96mm in diameter.

There’s a 5020mAh battery and you may cost this telephone at as much as 33W utilizing the included adapter. Different specs embrace twin energetic LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth, stereo audio system, a haptic vibrator, and all the same old sensors. Surprisingly, NavIC isn’t listed as one of many supported satellite tv for pc navigation methods, and there’s no point out of high-resolution Bluetooth audio codecs. NFC would even have been good.

As for software program, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max ships with MIUI 12.0.6 on high of Android 11. It has lots of options and customisations together with a locked Second House for personal information, Recreation Turbo shortcuts, dwelling display customisations and gesture navigation, iOS-style gestures to point out notifications and fast settings, floating home windows, Studying Mode with a paper-like texture, and a customisable always-on display.

We’ve complained for years in regards to the quantity of promoting and promotional content material there's in MIUI, from the “Glance” content material on the lockscreen to fixed notifications from sure apps. Whereas it isn’t as dangerous as we’ve encountered up to now, Xiaomi guarantees that the upcoming MIUI 12.5 will dispense with all of this completely. What’s extra, even the difficulty of bloatware shall be handled by permitting customers to uninstall all however essentially the most important apps.

My overview unit was operating the February 2021 safety patch which is okay, however not essentially the most up-to-date. Xiaomi has indicated, however not promised, that customers ought to get safety updates at the least as soon as per quarter for the following three years, plus one or two Android model updates.

You may discover the ring across the entrance digicam distracting although the outlet is remarkably small

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max efficiency

One factor that actually stands out in regards to the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max is its show high quality. The Tremendous AMOLED panel is vibrant and crisp, with every thing wanting slick. Colors pop properly and blacks are fairly deep, making for good distinction. There are three color profiles to select from, and you may override the color temperature manually for those who like. HDR video appears to be like superb. The refresh fee isn’t adaptive and is ready to 60Hz by default.

The one factor that detracts from the video expertise is the shiny ring across the entrance digicam. The always-on show implementation is a bit unusual, because it doesn’t truly at all times keep on – it's important to faucet the display to convey it up, and it solely stays on for a number of seconds, making it functionally no completely different to your lock display. Additionally, it’s good to have stereo audio system, however sound isn’t very wealthy or detailed and the bass is unquestionably missing.

The fingerprint sensor works properly regardless of being somewhat small, however can be very straightforward to hit unintentionally. You too can arrange a double-tap shortcut to carry out an motion or launch an app. Regardless of the big display, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max is pretty straightforward to deal with, however you may need to slip on the included case for higher grip. The principle annoyance is promotional notifications from Xiaomi’s GetApps retailer and Themes app, and I hope the MIUI 12.5 replace arrives quickly.

You gained’t have any bother with on a regular basis apps. My overview unit had 6GB of RAM, and even heavy multitasking wasn’t a difficulty. I obtained a rating of two,71,830 in AnTuTu, and Geekbench 5 managed 563 and 1,703 factors in its single- and multi-threaded checks. The 3DMark Wild Life check produced a rating of 1,118, and the Sling Shot Excessive rating was 2,734. GFXBench’s T-Rex and Automobile Chase scenes ran at 82fps and 17fps respectively. Heavy video games together with Name of Responsibility Cell and Asphalt 9: Legends ran properly however the again of the telephone does get a bit heat after a minute or two.

The 5020mAh battery can take you thru a full day with just a little bit left over for the following morning. In the event you play lots of video games, stream media, and take lots of photographs and movies, you must nonetheless be capable to make one cost final a full day. In our HD video loop check, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max lasted for 17 hours, 1 minute. When plugged into the bundled charger, it went from zero to 44 p.c in half-hour and 84 p.c in 60 minutes.

There’s a 3.5mm jack and IR emitter on the highest, Sort-C port on the underside, and speaker cutouts on each

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max cameras

The star of the present after all is the 108-megapixel predominant shooter. It’s based mostly on the identical Samsung HM2 sensor because the Mi 10i’s predominant digicam, however there are some variations within the optics right here, similar to an f/1.9 aperture and 6P lens. By default, this digicam combines 9 0.7um pixels into one 2.1um pixel for an efficient decision of 12 megapixels – although you possibly can override this.

Simply as fascinating although, is the 5-megapixel macro digicam which additionally boasts of 2X magnification. This could can help you get macro pictures from farther away than standard. The Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max additionally has a regular 8-megapixel ultra-wide digicam and a 2-megapixel depth sensor.

There’s quite a bit happening within the Digicam app, and even some modes that you simply don’t get on the lower-end Redmi Be aware 10 (Overview). Vlog mode enables you to bundle graphics, background music, and even results right into a single clip simply by tapping the shutter button a number of instances. Clone and Twin modes, as their names counsel, allow you to create multi-exposure pictures and superimpose video from the entrance and rear cameras, respectively. The opposite modes embrace Doc, Panorama, Time Lapse, and AI Watermark.

Some points of the app are odd, similar to the truth that it's important to go right into a Settings submenu to change to the macro digicam. You’ll additionally discover a Tilt Shift filter right here, which might have been one other separate mode. There’s a really versatile Burst toggle that permits you to select the variety of pictures and interval, plus choices for framing and object monitoring. The UI might use some enchancment, particularly in the best way textual content labels are reduce off. Fortunately, Xiaomi has additionally determined to not impose a tasteless and obtrusive branded watermark on customers by default anymore.

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max daytime photograph samples: normal (high); ultra-wide (center), 108-megapixel 1:1 crop (backside) (faucet to see full measurement)

Coming to photograph high quality, we are able to see that the first digicam does an excellent job in the case of element, publicity, and color copy. You have to be proud of the outcomes, given the value of this telephone. Shut-ups work finest, after all, however even objects at a distance look pretty good on the default 12-megapixel decision. In the event you use the 108-megapixel mode, you’ll find yourself with pictures that take up 20MB of area on common. Whilst you can amplify photographs way more earlier than shedding definition, you possibly can’t actually count on to crop distant objects to simulate optical zoom. Outcomes additionally are typically rather less sharp on the full decision.

The wide-angle digicam, as anticipated, captures duller pictures with poorer distinction. You'll be able to modify the depth impact earlier than or after taking a shot in Portrait mode, and outcomes have been good, however not particularly nice.

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max daytime macro photograph samples (faucet to see full measurement)

I discovered the macro digicam to much more fascinating than the first one. It’s a bit difficult to get the space between the telephone and topic proper, and there’s no indication on display of once you’ve obtained the optimum focus. This led to a little bit of awkward guesswork and disappointing outcomes, but it surely was higher than getting proper up near a topic and protecting it with the telephone’s personal shadow. Nevertheless, when the main target was good and the topic was properly framed, my pictures got here out wanting spectacular, with precisely the form of element and definition that make macro pictures so compelling. This may be the perfect implementation of a devoted macro digicam that I’ve used up to now on a smartphone.

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max low-light digicam samples (high: normal; backside: night time mode) (faucet to see full measurement)

Evening mode could make a fairly large distinction to low-light pictures, however element isn’t that nice regardless of whether or not it’s on or off. Color tone wasn’t very natural-looking, particularly in 108-megapixel mode. Focus was additionally more durable to get proper on the full decision. The wide-angle digicam does after all seize duller, darker pictures, however given sufficient ambient gentle, these have been truly not too dangerous.

Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max entrance digicam pattern: daytime portrait (high); low-light (backside)

The 16-megapixel f/2.45 entrance digicam is first rate within the daytime, however don’t count on essentially the most natural-looking pores and skin tones. Beautification is on by default. Selfie portraits had good depth of discipline with correct edge detection.

Video recording goes as much as 4K at 30fps. Full-HD video is stabilised, however 4K video isn’t. High quality is first rate sufficient within the daytime, even with wide-angle full-HD video. At night time, an excellent quantity of element was captured however colors tended to get pumped as much as unrealistic ranges. There was shimmer at full-HD, whereas 4K video was very shaky.

The digicam module of the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max is attention-grabbing but additionally stands proud fairly a bit

Verdict

Xiaomi normally pitches its Redmi Be aware collection as all-rounders, however the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max clearly needs to up the ante particularly with its 108-megapixel rear digicam. I’m not completely satisfied that this shall be well worth the Rs. 3,000 premium over the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional, which is in any other case equivalent. Positive, it’s nice for bragging rights and there are conditions once you may need to seize very positive element, however the general digicam high quality doesn’t actually appear to profit all that a lot. It will likely be fascinating to check these two telephones’ predominant cameras facet by facet in equivalent situations.

In all different respects, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max is a really compelling machine, however that simply makes a good stronger case for recommending its significantly cheaper twin, somewhat than this telephone itself. All of the strengths of this telephone apply to the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional as properly: its display is excellent, there’s loads of processing energy on faucet, the software program is because of get a big replace, and the design may be very slick. Battery life might have been higher, and the fingerprint sensor may develop into annoying, however these points are comparatively straightforward to reside with.

It’s fascinating that Xiaomi has not used a 5G-capable SoC for this telephone. The Mi 10i (Overview) does provide 5G and extra processing energy for simply Rs. 2,000 extra, with the identical three RAM and storage combos. In the event you do need the 108-megapixel digicam, this looks as if it may very well be a greater choice for many individuals. Realme has additionally simply launched its Realme 8 Professional (First Impressions), and the X7 5G (Overview) is in the identical ballpark.

When you have a look at the market general, the Redmi Be aware 10 Professional Max appears to deal with a really small area of interest. It’s an excellent telephone, however you will have two different choices from Xiaomi that may both prevent some cash or provide you with a beefier general bundle for not that rather more.