Samsung's S20 Ultra price put to shame by new Snapdragon 865 flagship with 108MP camera
While Xiaomi intended to announce its new Mi 10 series flagships on Unpacked day to juxtapose them directly with Samsung's wares, it held off until today to lift the veil from its next value-for-money warriors that exemplify the CEO's oath to never exceed 5% profit on the quest to expand market share.
The strategy seems to work, as Xiaomi is now the world's fourth-largest phone maker, and a quick look at the new Mi 10 Pro phone that is priced from $700 makes abundantly clear why it has managed to climb in the top three in the span of a year.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro specs and 108MP camera features
- Display: 6.7" FHD+ OLED 90Hz display with 1200 nits peak brightness
- Processor: Snapdragon 865
- Memory: 8/12GB RAM, 128/256/512GB storage
- Primary camera: 108MP, 1/1.33-inch sensor with 25mm-, f/1.69-aperture lens, OIS (25MP output resolution)
- Short telephoto: 12MP, 2x zoom for portraits, 1/2.6-inch sensor with 50mm, f/2-aperture lens
- Long telephoto: 8MP, 10x hybrid zoom, 1/4.4-inch sensor with 94mm, f/2-aperture lens, OIS
- Ultra-wide: 20MP, 1/2.8-inch sensor with 16mm, f/2.2-aperture lens
- Battery: 4780mAh/4500mAh (Pro), up to 65W charging
That's right, not only does the new Mi 10 family also sport a 108MP camera like on the Galaxy S20 Ultra, albeit in a Tetracell instead of Nonacell virtual pixel configuration, but it also has two telephoto cameras for long and medium range zooming/portraits, shunning complex folded optics altogether.
Mi 10 camera sample
The 2x optical magnification with the 12MP sensor is used for portraits, while the 8MP sensor comes with 10x hybrid optical that includes cropping from the large main sensor for lossless zooming. Last but not least, since the phone is powered by a Snapdragon 865 chipset, it can record 8K video at 30fps, but the 4K sample below is more representative of what you would actually do with the 10 Pro on a daily basis:
Last but not least, the large battery comes with a 50W charging abilities which means that you will be able to top the large capacity in under an hour from dead state, a commendable achievement.
Since the Mi 10 Pro has a 1080p display resolution, it will last as long, and most likely longer on a charge with its 4500mAh battery, compared to the Galaxy S20 Ultra that has a 5000mAh pack but a 1440p display. On top of that, it is able to reverse charge your other wireless gadgets with 10W output, a tad more than Samsung's 9W reverse charge abilities on the S20.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G price and release date
The Mi 10 Pro will be the world's first Snapdragon 865 phone available to buy when it launches tomorrow, February 14. Its price range goes from $715 to $860, depending on the memory and storage amounts, which still puts the tag of the 512-gigger at half the $1600 price that the S20 Ultra commands, and you aren't losing much camera quality in the process.
Granted, these prices will be slightly higher when the global version is released February 18, but it will still be a bargain compared to the Galaxy S20 range, and the first phone you can get with Qualcomm's latest high-end chipset, albeit not in the US, as relationship with Chinese companies here is a bit complicated at the moment.
The Mi 10 Pro will only be available in blue and white versions for now, but, knowing the company, more colors and even build materials for the body, are likely to be released soon after the initial launch. Check out Qualcomm waxing poetic about its 5G collab with Xiaomi over the 10 Pro.
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