Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G review

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Introduction

The least expensive 5G smartphone you can buy in Europe, the Mi 10 Lite 5G was launched at a base price of €350, showing that next-gen connectivity doesn't have to require shelling out flagship money. We're reviewing it a couple of months after the initial release and it can now even be found for a little less than that, keeping its title in the face of the just announced Moto G 5G Plus - Motorola's most affordable point of entry into 5G.

So what is Xiaomi giving you for that price, other than high-speed data transfers and improved latency, in a few lucky spots here and there? The 5G support comes courtesy of a potent Snapdragon 765G chipset, but the base version comes with just 64GB of storage and with no microSD slot that could be limiting (the 6 gigs of RAM should be just fine). The camera setup is nothing fancy, a 48MP main unit joined by a basic 8MP ultra-wide and a couple of 2MP cams for close-ups and depth detection.

The display leaves a little to be desired on paper too - it's a large FullHD+ OLED with HDR10+ capability, which is all great, but there's no high refresh rate. The battery capacity could potentially raise an eyebrow, the lowest of the current crop of 5G midrangers, though the 4,160mAh number would have sounded a lot just a year ago. The 20W charging support is also hardly impressive.

But Xiaomi has put together a very well balanced specsheet within a seemingly impossible budget and you can't have everything at the Mi 10 Lite 5G's price point. Here's a rundown of the specs, before we move on to examining how they translate into real-world performance.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G specs

• Body: 163.7x74.8x7.9mm, 192g; Gorilla Glass 5 front and back, plastic frame. Colors: Aurora Blue, Cosmic Gray, Dream White.
• Display: 6.57" AMOLED, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 401ppi; HDR10+.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon 765G (7 nm): Octa-core (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver); Adreno 620.
• Memory: 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM.
• OS/Software: Android 10, MIUI 11.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 15mm, 120˚, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4; Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.06", 1.0µm; HDR, panorama.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps.
• Battery: 4160mAh; Fast charging 20W, USB Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 4+.
• Misc: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass; NFC.

Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G unboxing

The Mi 10 Lite 5G comes in a black cardboard box like all them other Mi 10s and Mi 10 Notes. Inside, you'll get a fairly typical Xiaomi bundle - adapter, cable and a case, no headphones.

The adapter is rated at up to 22.5W, though the phone is specified to support 20W charging - more on charging speed in the battery section. It's got a USB-A port so the cable is a matching A-to-C type. The case is a soft silicone one, transparent too.