Smartphone xiaomi redmi note 10S – 64GB/6GB – 6,43 – 64MP – 5000mAh

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 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.

The Redmi Note 10S in the new Deep Sea Blue colour looks fresh

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.

Xiaomi ships the latest MIUI 12.5 on the Redmi Note 10S

Xiaomi ships the Redmi Note 10S with MIUI 12.5, making this the first smartphone to run the latest version of MIUI. The UI runs on top of Android 11 and my unit had the April Android security patch. The Redmi Note 10S was running an interim version of MIUI 12.5 during the review period, and more features will be added soon, according to the company. During setup the phone did ask permission to enable Glance for Mi, a wallpaper carousel service which I declined because it shows sponsored content. There are a fair number of preinstalled apps on the device but I could remove most of them, which is a step in the right direction. I got promotional notifications from GetApps and the Themes app while using the smartphone.

Redmi Note 10S performance and battery life

The Redmi Note 10S offers very good performance and did not show any signs of slowing down during the review period. There is 6GB of RAM which makes multitasking quite easy. I found the AMOLED display to have good viewing angles, and it did get bright enough when outdoors. The stereo speakers are a neat addition and help enhance the video watching experience on the Redmi Note 10S. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is easy to reach and quick to unlock the smartphone.

Given the MediaTek Helio G95 processor, I was expecting this phone to perform better than the Redmi Note 10 and it did in the few tests that I was able to run. The Redmi Note 10S managed 330,650 points in AnTuTu, while Geekbench 5’s scores were 516 and 1,668 for the single-core and multi-core tests respectively. The Redmi Note 10S did not run the graphics benchmarks GFXBench and 3DMark.