Mi Note 10 Pro at a price unseen on any previous phone

Xiaomi announced the launch of Mi Note 10 Pro at an expected price of Rs 50,000! The sub 15k market in India is extremely competitive and looks like Xiaomi have just handed over the advantage to another brand.

Key specs of Mi Note 10 Pro

Mi Note 10 Pro is powered by an octa core processor, Qualcomn Snapdragon 730G processor paired with Adreno 618 graphics processor. The inbuilt storage is 256 GB with 8 GB RAM. There is no expansion slot means you pay for additional storage between the Note 10 and pro version. 6.47 inch 3D curved AMOLED display takes care of the viewing protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with an in-screen fingerprint unlock.

Mi Note 10 pro is powered by a 5260 mAh battery with USB Type-C reversible connector port which supports 30 W fast charger provided in the box. Nano-SIM slots support dual SIM VoLTE HD calling.

There are five cameras in the back starting from 108 MP which is massive and the main calling card of this phone. Rest are 12 MP selfie camera, 20 MP ultra wide angle camera, 5 MP ultra telephoto camera and 2 MP macro camera. Selfie photography is handled by 32 MP front camera. Rest of the bells and whistles are present.

History of Mi phones in India

The first Mi phone was launched in 2011 in China and it sold like a craze. Mi 2 and Mi 3 were launched in quick succession, the following years and were met with even greater success. 2014 was the big move of Xiaomi outside China to countries like India, Russia, Brazil and Mexico. The year 2015 was consolidation of the Indian market.

The first major launch in India was Mi Note 4 and Note 5 in 2017 and 2018 respectively. By then users had got a habit of sorts with the price capped at 10k and 12k for the pro version. By Sept 2018, the Note 6 and Note 6 pro was launched at the same price but better hardware specs.

Within six months, Xiaomi launched the Mi Note 7 pro. It was a breakthrough with Snapdragon 675 processor, 48 MP rear camera and massive 4000 mAh battery. In August 2019, the Mi Note 8 Pro was launched with a Media Tek processor and 64 MP camera. With Mi Note 9, Xiaomi went back to Snapdragon Processor, a quad rear camera and 5020 mAh battery. The price of pro version went upto 15k but customers did not mind the hike.

Does it justify the Rs 50k price tag

• Storage – Jump from 128 GB to 256 GB
• Camera – 64 MP rear camera becomes 108 MP
• Processor – Note 10 pro moves to the more capable and top tier Snapdragon 865 which is the top notch processor.

Rest specs like fast charger, display and battery remain same. Considering the increase in key specifications, the increase in cost is justified. Xiaomi is capable of keeping the Mi Note 10 under the previous price regime of 15k by keeping the hardware under check. The move for top notch specs signals a change in the strategic thinking of top management. This leaves the sub 15k space to any new entrant. Who will benefit from this vacant space.

Samsung Galaxy M31 & Realme 6 Pro

At the 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage version, Realme 6 pro is touching Rs 20K which is very steep for a budget phone company. A decent camera, expandable storage, 30W fast charging and Snapdragon 720G.

On the other hand, the Galaxy M31 with 128 GB storage and an inhouse quad core processor with 6 GB RAM. 64 MP quad camera and the regular specs at Rs 18K. There is a lower version Galaxy M21 which has the same processor and memory storage combo but a lower specs camera at a negligible price difference.

With high speed 5G network on the horizon and ultra chic features like front and back Gorilla glass, quad cameras, fast charging we shall no longer see decent specs phones in the sub 10k or sub 15k category. This price band has moved to the sub 20k. Realme and Samsung are the new giants of the budget phone market.