5G makes the Xiaomi Mi 10 the most expensive Mi phone yet

The deadly coronavirus didn’t stop Xiaomi from launching its first flagship phone of 2020 just two months after opening its second headquarters in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. A face mask-wearing Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, kicked off the online-exclusive Mi 10 launch event on Thursday to the recorded sound of people clapping -- since very few people were actually allowed in the audience.

Despite the headwinds faced by every Chinese phone maker right now, Xiaomi’s 10th anniversary phone is the most expensive of the Mi series to date. Starting at 3,999 yuan (US$570), it costs US$140 more than its predecessor, the Mi 9. About half of that added cost comes from Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 processor, Lei said. The chip is costly because it’s sold bundled with a 5G modem.

But the Mi 10 is, of course, much cheaper than Samsung’s latest flagships, which start at US$999. Lei was quick to point out that every model in the Mi 10 series sports a 108-megapixel camera, which for Samsung is only true of the priciest S20 model, the S20 Ultra. But while a higher megapixel count gives you higher resolution pictures, they aren’t always better images. As we found out with last year’s Mi Note 10, the small sensor often doesn’t gather as much light, resulting in granier pictures in darker environments.