Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S slots itself between the Redmi Note 10 Pro and the Note 10 Pro Max. But, is it worth considering? We review.
Have you ever been to a 99 Varieties Dosa Stall in Bangalore or in Mumbai? Yes, the same one where a friendly stall owner hands you a copy of an unintentionally misspelled menu with 99 ‘vertys’ of Dosa written on it? I would always struggle to pick one from the smorgasbord of available options. Should I eat the special Suchezwan Masala or a Plain Ghee Roast? Or, should I experiment with the Chocolate Dosa? Decisions. Well, the under Rs 20k price range for phones in India has become a spread of different dosas. I am going to call it the Dosa problem. And, Xiaomi’s new Redmi Note 10s just adds to the confusion. T he Redmi Note 10S conveniently slots itself in the price gap that exists between the Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro. And, has a formidable competitor in the form of the Realme 8. Which one’s better? Let’s find out. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S is basically the Redmi Note 10 in a few different shades. I like the Blue gradient, it looks nice. But, considering the Rs 14,999 price of the Redmi Note 10S, I expected it to use a glass build like the Poco X3 and the Redmi Note 10 Pro, both of which cost similar. This phone has an entirely plastic body and frame. By the way, doesn’t the arrangement of the three cameras below the primary one look like a smiley? I like the design, though. It does look attractive and fits in your palm nicely thanks to the curved edges on the rear. And, in comparison, the Realme 8 is also equally comfortable to hold and use considering it is almost as slim and weighs very similar too. Basically, both the phones are slim and appropriately heavy. Although, when you compare the design, I am not a fan of the massive Dare to Leap logo on the Realme 8. But, I prefer the matte plastic frame over the Redmi Note 10S’ glossy one. Overall, thanks to the functional improvements the Redmi Note 10S has an edge compared to the Realme 8. But, the Redmi Note 10 Pro, that costs Rs 1,000 more definitely offers a far more premium finish thanks to its glass body. I really like the compact 6.43-inch size of the display on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S. Also it is an AMOLED panel with a 60Hz refresh rate and support for HDR10. You must’ve seen Xiaomi make a big deal of its 1100nits of peak brightness. Well, it does that only in HDR videos on YouTube. In fact, you don’t even get HDR playback on Netflix, which is possible on the Redmi Note 10 Pro. Anyway, in my testing, I actually found the Realme 8’s panel slightly brighter with the brightness slider pushed to the maximum. As for the tuning, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S has no light bleed and renders colours well too. But yes, I did notice some colour shifting at an angle. Another thing I noticed during my testing is the Note 10S tends to use some sort of algorithm to sharpen low res footage on YouTube and it looks odd. By the way, I like the top left-aligned punch hole on the Realme 8 as it is far less intrusive. But yes, the chin on both these phones are massive! Also read: Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Review: the Realme 8 Pro Has its Work Cut Out Anyway, this is still one of the best displays on a phone under Rs 15,000 but you can get a similar display on the cheaper Redmi Note 10.
