The Redmi Note 10S is a slightly more powerful version of the Redmi Note 10, which was launched in March this year. The Redmi Note 10 is still a capable smartphone and it managed a good score in our review. Xiaomi claims to have improved upon the Redmi Note 10 by using a different processor, more RAM, and a higher resolution primary camera sensor, all for a small bump in price. Should you pay the premium for the Redmi Note 10S, or spend this money elsewhere? I put the Redmi Note 10S through our tests to find out.
Redmi Note 10S price in India
The Redmi Note 10S commands a premium over the Redmi Note 10 (Review) and is available in two variants. The base variant offers 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and is priced at Rs. 14,999. The higher variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is priced at Rs. 15,999.
Redmi Note 10S design
The Redmi Note 10S and the Redmi Note 10 look identical, making it impossible to distinguish between the two unless you get the newer model in its exclusive Deep Sea Blue colour. This new option has a gradient finish which looks fresh. Just like the Redmi Note 10, the Note 10S is also available in subtle colours such as Shadow Black and Frost White.
The Redmi Note 10S is a relatively slim smartphone, measuring 8.29mm, and it weighs 179g. The polycarbonate back is curved along the sides which makes it comfortable to hold. The camera module is on the left of the rear and doesn't protrude much. There is a silver highlight around the new 64-megapixel primary camera to draw attention to it.
At the front, the Redmi Note 10S has a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. You'll see a sizable camera hole at the top. The display has thin bezels on the sides while the chin is noticeably thicker. The frame of the Redmi Note 10S is made out of plastic. It is curved on the sides, and relatively flat at the top and the bottom.
The power button has an integrated capacitive fingerprint scanner and is well positioned on the right side of the phone, along with the volume buttons. The Redmi Note 10S has stereo speakers with a speaker each on the top and bottom. An IR emitter, commonly seen on Redmi smartphones, is at the top along with the secondary microphone. The USB Type-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack are at the bottom.
You get IP53 dust and water resistance on the Redmi Note 10S which isn't very common in this price range. You'll also see a rubber flange around the SIM tray to help prevent water from entering the device. The battery capacity remains unchanged, compared to the Redmi Note 10, at 5,000mAh. You get a 33W charger in the box which is a good addition considering the price of this smartphone.
Redmi Note 10S specifications and software
The Redmi Note 10S packs in a more powerful MediaTek Helio G95 processor than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 in the Redmi Note 10. This processor is paired with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and you get to choose between 64GB and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. There is also a dedicated slot for storage expansion.
The Redmi Note 10S has an AMOLED display with a full-HD+ resolution and a peak brightness of 1100 nits. It has good viewing angles and was legible under sunlight.You can also adjust the colour scheme and colour temperature of the display to suit your needs. The Redmi Note 10S supports Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi, VoLTE, and VoWiFi. It is a dual-SIM device and can use two Nano-SIMs.
Call of Duty Mobile ran fine without any issue. It defaulted to the High preset for graphics as well as frame rate. The game was playable at these settings without any drop in performance and I did not notice any stutters during gameplay. After playing for 10 minutes, I noticed a 3 percent drop in the battery level, and the top of the phone was slightly warm to the touch.
The 5,000mAh battery in the Redmi Note 10S is capable of delivering good battery life. I could use the smartphone for over a day very easily on a single charge. I did not notice any abnormal battery drain either. In our HD video loop test, the phone managed to run for 17 hours and 26 minutes which is a good score. Xiaomi bundles a 33W charger in the box, which took the smartphone from zero to 40 percent in thirty minutes and to 67 percent in an hour.
Redmi Note 10S cameras
The Redmi Note 10S has a quad-camera setup just like the Redmi Note 10, except that the primary camera sensor has a higher resolution. It sports a 64-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, it has a 13-megapixel shooter.
Xiaomi's camera app has most of the different shooting modes well laid out, making it easy to choose the one you want. Sadly, the Macro mode still requires multiple taps to enable. The camera app has AI and you get a quick toggle for that too.
Daylight photos taken with the Redmi Note 10S were average and looked oversharpened. There was decent detail on nearby objects but distant objects appeared blotchy. Photos shot at the full 64-megapixel resolution had relatively low detail and were not as sharp as pixel-binned ones. With the ultra-wide angle camera, you can capture a wider shot but the detail was not as good, and there was noticeable distortion at the sides.
Video recording tops out at 4K 30fps for the primary camera. Footage shot at 1080p seemed stabilised and only had occasional shimmer while walking around, whereas 4K footage wasn't stabilised. Low-light video shot at 1080p was strictly average and had a shimmer effect in the output, while 4K footage wasn't stabilised.
Verdict
The Redmi Note 10 (Review) is still great value for money. Xiaomi has introduced a new sibling with a more powerful processor, more RAM, and a higher-resolution primary camera, and called it the Redmi Note 10S. The only surprising thing is that this update was launched a mere two months after the original.
The Note 10S is more expensive though, and there's a price difference of Rs. 2,000 between variants of the Redmi Note 10 and the Note 10S with the same amounts of RAM and storage. I did not find the cameras to be a significant enough upgrade to recommend the Redmi Note 10S over the Redmi Note 10. However, for those looking for more performance, the Note 10S does have a slight edge over its sibling.
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