By Md Waquar Haider

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS): Budget and affordable smartphone leader Xiaomi has welcomed the new year with a bang, launching a mid-price segment device Mi 10i.

Part of the premium flagship Mi 10 series portfolio, Mi 10i features a the 108MP camera coupled with Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G and future-proof 5G technology.

According to the company, the "i" stands for India and the device is customised specifically for the domestic market.

The smartphone is priced in India at Rs 20,999 for the 6GB RAM + 64GB storage option, Rs 21,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage option and Rs. 23,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage model.

The phone has been made available in pacific sunrise, midnight black, and atlantic blue colour options.

We used the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage model in atlantic blue colour option for around a week and here is what we think about the new device.

The camera module on the rear is rather large that gave us very Poco X2 and OnePlus 7T feels. There's Gorilla Glass 5 on the front, rear and camera module.

The sides of the device are made up of plastic. On the right side of the device are volume rockers and right below, you get a power button that comes with an integrated fingerprint scanner.

To the left, there is a hybrid slot that can take two nano SIM or one nano-SIM and a microSD card.

On the top, you get an IR blaster, secondary mic and at the bottom, the phone features a USB Type-C port for charging, along with a headphone jack.

The smartphone features a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,400 pixels) waterdrop-style notch display with up to 120Hz adaptive sync refresh rate. Further, the display is HDR and HDR10+ compliant.

Mi 10i features one of the class-leading displays available in the market - 120Hz Intelligent AdaptiveSync display with 6 step refresh rate technology.

The Intelligent ‘AdaptiveSync Display' technology automatically matches the screen refresh rate with the content frame rate, guaranteeing a smooth experience and optimum battery usage.

The HDR10+ capable panel appeared good while playing games as well as while streaming content on various OTT platforms.

The Mi 10i has a quad rear camera setup that includes a 108MP Samsung HM2 sensor with 1/1.52-inch sensor size, 9-in-1 pixel binning, 2.1um superpixel, and f/1.75 aperture.

There's an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor as well with 120-degree field of view and f/2.2 aperture.

Additionally, there is a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth lens as well.

Rear camera features include six long exposure modes, HDR, Google Lens, Night Mode 2.0, Pro mode, panorama, raw mode, 4k video recording and more.

During the tests, the Mi 10i managed to click some great shots.

Upfront, the Mi 10i has a 16MP selfie camera with f/2.45 aperture and 1.0-micron pixel size. Front camera features include Night Mode 1.0, AI Beautify, AI Portrait Mode, full-HD video recording, and more.

The selfie camera is good enough and selfie portraits captured sharp images too.

Mi 10i is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G based on 8nm Process Technology for power efficiency.

Joining the 5G bandwagon, this smartphone features X52 modem for lightning-fast 5G connectivity.

The phone ran without any issue. Playing games like Call of Duty: Mobile on the device didn't disappoint either.

The Xiaomi Mi 10i still runs on MIUI 12 based on Android 10. The OS is stable with no noticeable lags.

The device packs a 4,820mAh battery with 33W fast charging support. With the moderate usage, the battery lasted around a day.

The phone went from 0 to up to 100 per cent battery in just 58 minutes.

Conclusion: Mi 10i integrates the best of both hardware and software, giving a seamless user experience.

At the given price point, the smartphone is definitely a winner and will pose a stiff challenge for its competitors like OPPO, Vivo and Realme.