A big upgrade over the Redmi 9?

We’re well used to seeing leakers drop details of smartphones well ahead of time, but not often does a company publish their full release by accident. This is precisely what Xiaomi did with its forthcoming budget contender, the Redmi 10.

The official announcement blog post has since been taken down, but we managed to save a snapshot beforehand. Based on the details revealed, the budget phone is a significant upgrade over the Redmi 9.

It also presents a more exciting visage, borrowing several aesthetic traits from Xiaomi’s more premium phones. It’s available in three colorways, two matte options in Carbon Gray and Pebble White, and a shiny Sea Blue option.

Let’s go through the key specifications, starting with the screen. Redmi 10 lands with a 6.5-inch adaptive 90Hz display with FHD+ resolution. The screen will automatically pick the preferred refresh rate based on usage to save battery or improve performance. A MediaTek Helio G88 pulls processing duties, paired with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. A 5,000mAh battery with 18W charging power this cocktail. A 22.5W charger is included in the box.

As for camera hardware, the Redmi 10 brings the base series’ first 50MP primary camera. This seems a sizeable upgrade from the 13MP shooter on the Redmi 9, which did struggle in low light. It’s joined by three other shooters, namely an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor. There’s also an 8MP punch-hole selfie shooter up front.

Other key features include dual speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and MIUI 12.5 out of the box.

Redmi 10 price and availability

The blog post didn’t reveal the phone’s pricing, but we don’t expect Xiaomi to push far beyond the Redmi 9’s £159 (~$220) launch price in Europe. The firm will have plenty of competition in this bracket, too.

As for availability, the announcement post bears August 18 as the planned publishing date. It’s unclear if this coincides with Xiaomi’s planned release date. Nevertheless, expect more details to surface fairly shortly.