We’ll say one thing for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G: it doesn’t look like a slightly compromised budget phone. We’ve been using it alongside the similarly pitched Realme 8 5G and the Oppo A54 5G, and it’s considerably nicer to hold and behold than either. Anyone who needs an Android phone to tide them over between pricey flagships, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is also perfect for you. Design At its price, you’re kidding yourself if you’re expecting the Redmi Note 10 Pro to be a fancy glass and metal mix. Instead, it’s one of the best plastic phones we’ve tested. While it’s not what you’d call a mainstream component, the Dimensity 700 is perfectly capable of running day-to-day applications reasonably well. It’s quite capable in CPU-heavy tasks, as a Geekbench 5 multicore score of 1,677 goes to illustrate - though that falls a little short of the Realme 8 5G’s 1,765.

It’s not a particularly speedy processor by any means, and it’s not helped here by a relatively meagre 4GB of RAM. The aforementioned Realme 8 5G pairs the same chip with a choice of either 6GB or 8GB, which leaves more headroom for app switching and the like.

The phone is available in the US, but retailers are harder to find than in the UK. We can't see the 64GB variant on sale in the US at the time of writing, so it seems you can only buy the 128GB. We have to confess that familiarity has bred a certain level of contentment with MIUI. It’s a highly customizable UI, with the potential for a neat split notification pane and a fully fleshed out themes store. The Redmi Note 10 5G’s night mode shots turned out better in both situations than the Oppo A54 5G, and while they were a lot noisier than the Realme 8 5G’s in full night conditions, they had better clarity in low ambient light.

Even nice-to-haves, like the selfie camera and 4K video recording, perform very well at the phone’s price, instantly making it our favourite affordable camera phone. The Note 10 Pro also starts with 64GB storage, and has an SD slot, so tonnes of potential space for photos and videos, or you can pay extra for the 128GB version. Why oh why... We can’t think of a more compromise-free budget phone than the Note 10 Pro, it really is that simple. We should note that in all of these discussions the Redmi Note 10 5G’s display was set to 90Hz. Suffice to say, if you keep it at its 60Hz default, you’ll get even more mileage out of a single charge. But even if you don’t, AdaptiveSync technology means that the display’s refresh rate will adjust according to the task at hand. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G runs on a MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G, which is the exact same 7nm chip used by one of its closest rivals, the Realme 8 5G.Like with the Realme 8 5G, PUBG Mobile defaults to HD and high frame rate settings, which is a couple of notches above the minimum. Jumping into a game of the trusty old Battle Royale, everything moves reasonably smoothly - though you won’t get the benefit of stereo sound through the Redmi’s mono speaker. Typically with such cheap phones, the best you can hope for is either a 120Hz refresh rate (like the Poco X3 NFC) or a vibrant OLED panel (like the Realme 8). The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G has neither. You only have to look at the shared nomenclature of these three handsets to see why this might be. 5G modems are some of the most power-hungry components to be found in any modern smartphone. The fingerprint scanner, for example, is curved to match the rounded frame, and it feels considered; the stepped camera bump is also a clear sibling of that of the flagship Xiaomi Mi 11; the frame’s dual-texture has a buffed flat top, and high-gloss sides.

By far the standout feature of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G is its stamina. With a 5,000mAh battery on board, alongside those otherwise modest specifications, it has the potential to last a full two days on a single charge. In keeping with that, we were rarely outright impressed during our time shooting with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G. It seems to struggle in very bright conditions, completely blowing out highlights and skin tones on sunny days. HDR management is really not its forte. That means no dedicated telephoto and no ultra-wide. The former is no great surprise in a phone of this price, but the latter is slightly more noteworthy. True, we often decry budget ultra-wides as being scarcely worth the space they occupy. But if you offered us one in return for that dodgy macro sensor and depth sensor, we’d probably take it. The best camera in the world can’t detract from the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s adverts. Yep. Ads for third-party apps pop up when you install a new app. They’re pretty gross, but you can turn them off. Nevertheless, to get away with such an eye-sore, the Note 10 Pro would have to be the best phone money can buy at its price, which, as you’ve probably gathered by now, it is. So, should I buy it? The 5G-prompted compromises continue with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G’s mediocre camera setup. It’s a fairly bare-bones effort made up of a 48MP main camera, a 2MP macro sensor, and a 2MP depth sensor.Xiaomi’s AI does a reasonable job with the phone’s portrait mode, for a budget phone at least. It’s far from perfect, with a slight hazy halo around the subject, and with certain elements (such as hats) losing corners to the algorithm. But the subject was given plenty of pop, and there was plenty of detail to be found in the skin. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G features a 5,000mAh battery. That’s a large cell by modern smartphone standards, but it’s also the exact same size as the batteries found in the Oppo A54 5G and the Realme 8 5G. With such a standout screen and stereo speakers, The Redmi Note 10 Pro is a streamer’s dream. Its 20:9 aspect ratio makes it a perfect fit for new cinematic widescreen movies and shows like Mandalorian, and the quality is beyond reproach for the price. You won’t go far wrong if you choose the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G as your next budget phone. It's arguably one of the best cheap phones and one of the best Xiaomi phones, just know that you can get a more rounded alternative if you’re happy to forgo 5G data speeds for another smartphone cycle. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G: price and availability

The provision of an 18W charger here isn’t the most generous around. The Poco X3 NFC gives you a 33W charger in the box. It’s equal to the Realme 8 5G’s provision, however, and is better than the 10W Oppo A54 5G charger. More unique is the provision of an IR blaster on the top edge of the phone, which enables you to use it as a remote control. This isn’t unusual for anyone familiar with Xiaomi’s previous work, but it does set the phone apart from the Realme 8 5G and the Oppo A54 5G. Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G: display

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G is classy but compromised

Just like the aforementioned Oppo A54 5G and Realme 8 5G, the Redmi Note 10 5G goes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor rather than the more fashionable in-display method. We really don’t mind such an approach at this end of the market, where in-display methods are generally slow and unreliable. In addition to its 108MP main camera, the Redmi Note 10 Pro features an 8MP ultra-wide lens for action-cam-a-like shots, and a 5MP macro camera, which, thanks to autofocus, isn’t a massive waste of space. There’s also a depth sensor for good measure. The 2MP macro sensor is truly terrible, to the point where a whole series of what we thought would be usable examples of flower close-ups turned out to be nothing of the sort. The camera completely failed to pin their subjects, yielding a blurry, noisy smudge of colors.