At Radisson Blue on 6th April 2021, a Chinese smartphone marker, Xiaomi made history by unveiling the most competitive and yet affordable sophisticated smartphone ranges in Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Xiaomi refreshed its Redmi Note-series by announcing a brand ambassador for Redmi Note 10 series in Austin JJ Okocha, a giant footballing figure, who is renowned to have made number 10 jersey in world football iconic.
Okocha in turn promised to make Redmi Note 10 series that is Note 10 and Note 10 Pro even more memorable than he had ever made jersey number 10. The announcement has sent jitters down the spine of huge competitions like Samsung, Techno, Oppo and others.
The brand introduced the Redmi Note 10 series, which consists of four models: the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10, Redmi Note 10S, Redmi Note 10 5G and the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Competition analysis:
The table below will come handy so, you can quickly identify which phone is a better fit for your needs, but bear in mind that Nigeria only launched the Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro officially (first two phones in the table).
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
As the Goldilocks model of the series, the Redmi Note 10 represents the ideal mobile experience Xiaomi hopes to bring to the masses.
The phone has a 6.43-inch AMOLED DotDisplay. The display offers FHD+ resolution, with 20:9 aspect ratio, and dual speakers. Inside is an entry-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 chipset (a 2021 release, without the performance of a Snapdragon 888).
It also packs a quad rear camera configuration led by a 48MP main lens, alongside an 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. Together with a built-in Night Mode (improved) and time-lapse features, the phone covers just about every common shooting scenario, save for optical telephoto imaging.
As an everyday driver, the phone comes with IP53 water resistance.
Other important numbers include its battery capacity (5,000mAh) and fast-charging capabilities (33W). Notably, it lacks NFC, so it’s ideal if you’re not into cashless payments beyond personal transfers or QR codes.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
As the name implies, the Redmi Note 10 Pro offers everything that the regular version above already has, but more, Mr. Somoye Habeeb, the Marketing Director Xiaomi said.
For starters, it has a bigger display at 6.67-inch at the same resolution and aspect ratio but it also packs in 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. Put together, the Pro variant would be palatable to both gamers and video-watchers, Habeeb Somoye said.
Instead of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, the Pro variant uses Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. It’s expectedly IP53 water-resistant, too.
Even the chipset comes with a slight upgrade. The Redmi Note 10 Pro’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G mobile platform is just half a step away from the chipset brand’s mid-range offering, but it’s still a more powerful variant next to the SD678 on the regular model.
The quad rear cameras are slightly more capable too. The main lens is a 108MP shooter instead, with 9-in-1 pixel-binning (likely a Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor since the sensor size and capabilities tally). There’s also an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 5MP telemacro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. Unlike the regular variant, the Redmi Note 10 Pro has telephoto shooting covered under its telemacro lens, Somoye said.
The 108MP shooter isn’t just there for show – the choice of sensor allows Xiaomi to offer dual-native ISO, high dynamic range, and Night Mode 2.0 powered by RAW multi-frame algorithm for low-light use. Time-lapse video recording is available in Pro and Telemacro modes. Photo-taking frills include Photo Clones, Video Clones, Dual Video, and Long Exposure, Somoye said.
While the 33W fast-charging remains the same, the Redmi Note 10 Pro has a slightly bigger battery at 5,020mAh. Another feature is NFC, which the regular version doesn’t have.
Both Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro use a USB Type-C port, are 4G/LTE devices, and have its iconic multi-purpose IR blaster. Both also have dual speakers and a 3.5mm audio port to cover your listening needs.
Nigeria pricing and availability
Redmi Note 10 comes in 6GB RAM+128GB storage at N97, 900, 4GB RAM+128GB storage at N88, 500 and 4GB RAM+64GB storage at N77,500. They can be found at Raya, Finet, Slot, and otherofficial Xiaomi retailers in Nigeria. Users have a choice between Onyx Gray, Pebble White, and Lake Green. Sales begin on 7 April 2021.
Redmi Note 10 Pro comes in 8GB RAM+128GB storage at N135,000, 6GB+128GB storage at N126,000and4GB+64GB storage at N116,000. They are similarly found at Raya, Finet, Slot, and other official Xiaomi retailers in Nigeria. Available colours are Onyx Gray, Glacier blue, and Gradient Bronze.
Okocha as ambassador
If there is anything brands in Nigeria erroneously get wrong is the choice of celebrities that bear their brands. Most times, organisations pick their brand ambassadors on the basis of popular and trending activities.
But, Xiaomi has gotten this one right. Redmi Note 10 and Okocha 10 could be one of the best brand and celebrity collaboration ever. Okocha even alluded to this at his introduction as the brand ambassador in Ikeja.
He said, “I want to assure the brand that I will carry this brand on my back and take it everywhere I go. Number 10 is a key player in world football as well as Note 10 in the smartpohone world,” he stated.
