Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is here: 120W wired charging, best camera setup around
Ten years ago Xiaomi began its journey in China and a year later it debuted its first smartphone – the Mi 1. Fast forward to today and we got the Mi 10 Ultra which shows just how far the maker has come in the last decade.
The first Ultra in Xiaomi’s lineup carries notable improvements over the Mi 10 Pro including a 120Hz refresh rate display, 50W wireless charging and the absurd 120W wired fast charging. Around the back, Xiaomi is bringing a periscope module with a large 48MP sensor and 120x digital zoom next to the even larger 48MP primary shooter, shorter telephoto unit and a 13mm ultrawide camera, which is also the widest on a phone.
The Mi 10 Ultra is built around a curved 6.67-inch FHD+ OLED display with 10-bit color output.
The aforementioned 120Hz refresh rate is accompanied by 240Hz touch sampling for buttery smooth operation. The HDR 10+ panel sports a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and can reach 800nit peak brightness.
The top left corner houses the 20MP selfie shooter and there’s also an improved in-display fingerprint reader as well as stereo speakers.
Going around the back we find the large camera bump which houses some impressive hardware. The primary shooter has a 1/1.32” 48MP sensor and F/1.85 lens with OIS. Keeping it company is the 1/2.0” 48MP F/4.1 periscope which brings 5x optical and 120x hybrid zoom. Both the primary and telephoto cams also support 8K video recording.
The remaining two shooters are a 20MP ultrawide snapper with 13mm focal length and a second 12MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom.
Under the hood, the Mi 10 Ultra opts for the Snapdragon 865 paired with 8, 12 or 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128/256/512 GB UFS 3.1 storage.
Xiaomi is also bringing LiquidCool 2.0 vapor chamber alongside a six stacked graphite layer combo to ensure optimal thermal management. Cooling will also matter big time to the Mi 10 Ultra due to its blazing fast charging speeds.
The included 120W Mi Turbo Charge will be the fastest commercially available solution once the phone hits the shelves. Xiaomi claims it can fill up the 4,500 mAh battery in just 20 minutes flat. The cell itself is advertised as a graphene-based lithium-ion battery which is another first for Xiaomi. But how would these fast top-ups fare over time you ask? Xiaomi promises the Mi 10 Ultra will still have at least 90% capacity after 800 charging cycles.
Wireless charging on the Ultra is no slouch as it can pump up 50W speeds. This will also be the fastest around when it launches and can fully charge the battery from 0% in 40 minutes. You’ll need to buy a compatible wireless charger to reach these speeds though. The phone also supports 10W reverse wireless charging. The software side is covered by MIUI 12 on top of Android 10.
The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra will be available in Obsidian Black, Mercury Silver all of which feature ceramic backs. The real gem however is the limited Transparent Edition.
Pricing starts at CNY 5,299 ($760) for the 8GB/128GB base version. There’s also an 8/256GB version for CNY 5,599 ($805), a 12/256GB model for CNY 5,999 ($865) and a top of the line 16/512GB trim for CNY 6,999 ($1000).
International availability was not detailed but we’re expecting Xiaomi to hold a separate event for it soon enough.
