Initial impressions: The Redmi 10 hits all the right notes for an impressive budget phone in our unboxing for the Philippines, but we’ll have to fully test out the phone to be sure.

Pros

• Incredibly affordable
• Large battery
• Impressive main camera on paper

Cons

• Display a little dim
• The processor is a little slow

Redmi 10 Specs

• Mediatek Helio G88
• 4GB/6GB RAM
• 64GB/128GB
• 6.5-inch FHD+ IPS LCD DotDisplay, 2400×1080 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate
• 50-megapixel f/1.8 main camera f/1.79, 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera, 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor
• 8-megapixel f/2.0 front camera
• 4G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner, stereo speakers
• 5000mAh battery
• 18W wired charging, 9w reverse wired charging
• Android 11, MIUI 12.5

Xiaomi is adding yet another budget device via the Redmi 10, (which we’re doing an unboxing on) dropping in the Philippines by September 18. We’ve already started our full review process of the Redmi 10 which should finish in a few days, but until then you can check out our Redmi 10 unboxing for the Philippines below:

Packaging and contents

The Redmi 10 arrives in a package that’s all too familiar if you’re a loyal Xiaomi fan. There’s a photo of the phone in front, along with the model name printed right below.

Inside the box are a charger, USB cable, and a silicone case to keep the device nice and protected when you’re using it.

Design

While there’s no shortage of budget phones hitting the market lately, there are very few that approach the Redmi 10’s elegant looks. Despite sporting a plastic rear as most phones in its price bracket, the Redmi 10 has a nice matte coating that makes it look, and feel more expensive than it actually is.

Probably the only thing we’ll hit the phone for is the huge camera module on the upper left side of the phone. The Redmi 10 has four cameras total on the rear, but as with any budget phone nowadays, only two of those actually matter, with the other two ending up as mostly stat stuffers.

The frame of the phone is also plastic and painted with a silver finish. Our review unit comes in an Astral White colorway, though Xiaomi offers the Redmi 10 in Bifrost Blue, and Phantom Black color options as well.

Like most budget phones nowadays, the Redmi 10 uses a fingerprint scanner on the side that’s integrated into the power button for secure unlocks. The phone also has a 3.5mm jack located on the top, as well as a USB Type-C port on the bottom.

All in all the phone feels well built despite being a budget model and fits comfortably in our hand. Xiaomi also says that the phone is both dust and splash resistant, though don’t assume for one second that means the phone will be able to survive long dunks in water – it won’t.

Display

The Redmi 10 packs a 6.5-inch, 1080 x 2400 resolution (full HD+) display with a 90Hz refresh rate. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and has a selfie camera cutout on the front that contains an 8-megapixel camera.

We did notice that the display was a little dimmer than we would have liked, though we’ll have to see how it fares during our full review.

Cameras

Aside from its unusually aggressive price tag, the Redmi 10 has another thing going for it: its main camera. The phone uses a 50-megapixel main shooter that has an f/1.8 aperture lens and PDAF.

While we’re all used to 64-megapixel shooters in phones by now, that 50-megapixel shooter is a bit of an anomaly in phones in the Redmi 10’s price range for sure.

Photos taken with the cameras look decent, especially considering the awful weather we’ve been having lately, though we’ll also be including low-light results in our full review.

There are three other cameras on the rear, though only the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera is actually of note here. The other two mostly feature stuffers to round out the camera count (consisting of 2-megapixel depth and macro cameras) which is an annoying practice manufacturers still keep doing.

Performance, battery life

The Redmi 10 is one of the first phones in the country that comes with MediaTek’s Helio G88 chipset, which has an octa-core configuration (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) along with a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU.

There will be different RAM and storage variants available for the Redmi 10, but primarily the Philippine market will get the 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB units.

As far as benchmarks go the phone sits a little lower on the totem pole because of its processor. It feels a little sluggish on startup and noticeably slows down once you have too many apps open, to the detriment of overall user experience. Our review unit dampened the effect somewhat thanks to its 6GB of RAM – we shudder to think how the phone performs with just 4GB.

One bright spot here is that the phone has a massive battery, with its pack coming in at 5000mAh. We’ll have to see if the large battery is up to the task of keeping the phone’s lights on when doing our full review, but the device does look promising battery-wise.

What’s not promising is the 18W fast charging on tap, which means the phone takes considerably longer to charge than other devices in the market.

Wrap-up and early verdict

That’s pretty much it for our Xiaomi Redmi 10 unboxing for the Philippines. The phone looks to be a solid budget contender, though we’re going to keep an eye on the phone’s overall battery consumption because of the battery.

Redmi 10 Unboxing Price Philippines

The Redmi 10 has a price of Php 7,590 in the Philippines for the 4GB/64GB version while the 6GB/128GB variant is priced at Php 8,590. Both phones will be available in Xiaomi’s official sales channels (as well as Shopee and Lazada) come September 18, 2021.

Consumers who will purchase in Xiaomi’s Lazada and Shopee stores will get a Php 500 off on their purchase on Sept 18.

Both variants can be availed via Home Credit for 0% interest for six months at Php 913/mo for the 4GB/64GB variant and Php 1033/mo for the 6GB/128GB variant.