Xiaomi’s extensive reach in the Indian smartphone market is largely due to its entry and mid-tier phones popularized under the Redmi sub-brand.
The company did branch out to budget flagships with the Mi Mix 2, Poco F1, and the Redmi K20 Pro in the last couple of years, but it kept this crucial market devoid of a real flagship. That changes now as Xiaomi has introduced its premium Mi 10 5G in India, along with a pair of truly wireless earbuds and a 4K Android TV box.
ABOUT MI 10 5G
Starting with the handset, Xiaomi is launching only the non-Pro Mi 10 model, though it doesn’t really matter since there’s little for the Pro to boast about anyway.
The Indian Mi 10 5G variant can be configured with up to 256GB of storage, but 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM remains standard across the board. It comes powered by a liquid-cooled Snapdragon 865 chip and has a 90Hz FHD+ AMOLED that curves along the edges. If you are a gamer this for you.
Compared to the Pro, the standard Mi 10 uses a bigger 4,780mAh battery that can wirelessly charge at 30 watts, although its camera arrangement is slightly different. The primary 108MP sensor, capable of taking 8K 30fps videos, is paired with a 13MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. You’ll find a hole-punched 20MP selfie cam on the front.
MI BOX 4K
Finally, today’s launch lineup also includes the Mi Box 4K, which is nothing but a relabeled Mi Box S that has been selling in the US for about two years now. The 4K-enabled Android TV box can play HDR10 content, has Chromecast built-in, and supports Google Assistant. Xiaomi has partnered with a ton of Indian streamers, including Disney+ Hotstar, to localize its media offering, as it did with the Mi TV lineup.
The price of Mi Box 4K at ₹3,500 (~$46), which is precisely what the 1080p Chromecast 3 costs in India. Google has so far refrained from bringing its 4K dongle to the South Asian market, leaving only the Fire TV Stick 4K (priced ₹6,000/$80) as Mi Box’s only prominent competitor. It’ll start shipping from May 10 via Mi’s own and partner stores (both online and offline) along with flipkart.com.