We cannot say that Xiaomi‘s portfolio is precisely small. If we leave aside the Poco terminals, we see how the Mi and the Redmi almost compete with each other, with devices whose technical performance does not differ greatly. This causes more than logical doubts to be generated among users when buying a new mobile of the brand, and hence we land with one of our classic comparisons. The protagonists this time the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the Mi 10 Lite.
We know that the Mi from Xiaomi take the cake in terms of performance. The Redmi meanwhile, are born as somewhat more modest versions, trying to reach more pockets. However, the price or technical differences may not be excessive. For that reason we are going to see how the Redmi Note 9 Pro and the Mi 10 Lite differ, to see the advantages of one over the other and which one is more worth buying right now taking into account their prices.
- Redmi Note 9 Pro
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite
Display and layout
The first thing that stands out is that at the design level, the Redmi Note 9 Pro has a screen that sports a hole for the front camera, while the Mi 10 Lite has a small notch for that same purpose. The Redmi has a 6.7-inch IPS LCD panel with FullHD + resolution and a screen-to-frame ratio of 84.5%. For its part, the Mi 10 Lite has an AMOLED panel with a size of 6.57 inches, also FullHD + but with a slightly higher ratio, tightening the frames more and reaching 85.1% of the front usable for the screen.
Mi 10 Lite screen
The two terminals are protected by Gorilla Glass 5, and have a panoramic aspect ratio of 20: 9 . There are quite a few differences in terms of weight and thickness, with the Mi 10 Lite being the one that takes the prize for featherweight, with its 192 grams and 7.9 millimeters thick. The Redmi Note 9 Pro is much heavier, reaching 209 grams in weight and 8.8 millimeters thick.
Snapdragon stamp with differences
When we lift the hood of both terminals, we find the Qualcomm stamp on both, but with very different bets. The Redmi Note 9 Pro features the Snapdragon 720G, a compliant performance mid-range chip, but far from Qualcomm’s other mid-range chips. For its part, the Mi 10 Lite has the Snapdragon 765G. In addition to offering superior performance, it is in charge of providing this terminal with 5G connectivity, something that we will not have in the Redmi.
In both cases, we can buy variants of 6 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of internal storage, which is only expandable through microSD cards in the case of Note 9 Pro. Returning to the performance of these hardware configurations and if we take into account the Results of both terminals in a popular benchmarking program such as AnTuTu, we see that the Redmi Note 9 Pro has reached 274,000 points, compared to 330,000 points for the Mi 10 Lite.
Only one with 64 megapixels
The two terminals have four cameras on the back, the Redmi Note 9 Pro being the only one of the two that boasts a 64 megapixel main sensor . It is also accompanied by an 8 megapixel wide-angle sensor, and 5 and 2 megapixel macro and depth sensors respectively. The Mi 10 Lite has a 48 megapixel main sensor, an 8 megapixel wide angle, and macro and depth sensors of 2 megapixels each.
At the front, the two have a 16 megapixel sensor. As we saw above, the Redmi Note 9 Pro houses it in a hole, while the Mi 10 Lite sports a more traditional notch. It is also worth seeing in detail the video recording capabilities of each device, where the differences between the two are not excessively notable.
Recording on the Redmi Note 9 Pro
- 4K at 30 fps
- 1080P at 30 fps / 60 fps
- 720P at 30 fps
- FullHD slow motion recording up to 120fps and 720P at 120fps / 240fps / 960fps
Video recording on the Mi 10 Lite
- 4K at 30fps
- 1080p at 30fps
- 720p at 30fps
- FullHD slow motion recording at 120/240/960 fps and 720P at 120/240/960 fps
Connections and battery
As for the connections, perhaps the biggest difference is the one mentioned in terms of compatibility with 5G networks, which is only available on the Mi 10 Lite. Both keep the 3.5mm jack, something appreciable in 2021. They also have NFC or infrared port, but the Bluetooth connection is slightly more advanced in the Mi 10 Lite with the Bluetooth 5.1 standard compared to its brother’s Bluetooth 5.0 .
In the capacity of the battery we find another of the great differences. The Redmi Note 9 Pro has 5,020 mAh that is also compatible with a 30W load, while the Mi 10 Lite reaches 4,160 mAh with a 20W load. The two terminals are updated to MIUI 12, but they will have to wait until the second batch of updates to MIUI 12.5 scheduled for the end of the second quarter of the year.
Prices and conclusions
5G technology, higher performance and a better panel are the attributes that stand out the most in the Mi 10 Lite. However, we will have to pay for them even when we find the terminal on sale. Right now, we can buy a 64 GB Mi 10 Lite for about 306 euros on Amazon. However, we can get a Redmi Note 9 Pro of 128 gigabytes for 218 euros . We are facing a difference of 88 euros in a price range where it can be a distance that tips the balance towards the Redmi.