Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has appointed Panmi Pty Ltd as its sole distributor of Xiaomi and its partner’s new generation of ‘smart’ products into Australia.
But what is Xiaomi? It is a Public listed Chinese electronics company founded in April 2010. HQ is in Beijing. It makes smartphones, mobile apps, laptops, bags, earphones, shoes, fitness bands, and many other products. Pronunciation is ‘She-O-me’.
It is one of the world’s top four smartphone makers – Samsung, Apple, Huawei, BBK (Oppo/realme/vivo/One Plus). Global website here.
Previously Xiaomi’s mass-market Redmi and Mi models were legitimately sold via JB Hi-Fi, and this popular Chinese brand is widely grey marketed in Australia.
Panmi’s authorised retailers are JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Office Works and digiDirect. It also has an official reseller (to other computer/smartphone retailers) called PCByte that also handles a broader array of Xiaomi accessories. It has official Xiaomi Mi stores on eBay and Amazon Australia.
Before we cover any new brand, we seek to establish Xiaomi bona fides.
- Panmi has submitted a declaration of conformity to the Australian Communications and Media Authority. This is a self-declaration that Xiamoi phones function on Australian networks, not that they have been carrier tested and approved. That is mostly now only used for phones the carriers sell.
- The Mi 10 Pro series has the Australian C-Tick (RCM) mark on its Regulatory page, box and charger. It indicates compliance with the applicable technical standards for Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and establishes a traceable link between the device and the supplier responsible for placing it on the market.
- SARS (RF radiation) ratings must be available to the public – here
- Warranty is fully ACL compliant and provided by third-party Service is via PTC (Phone Tech and Comm) that have kiosks in several Australian shopping centres.
- And we like to get detained specification sheets (not just what you see on a website).
So, welcome Xiaomi to the Australian market.
BTW Xiaomi does more than smartphones. It has affiliations with Segway Ninebot, Yeelight and a vast range of Xiaomi accessories (if you count smart toothbrushes, luggage, air purifiers, vacuums, scooters and many more categories!).
Xiaomi Me 10 Pro and Mi 10 (Mi 10 series)
Where are the M10-series aimed? The natural target is the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, but it has things like 4K AMOLED, IP68 and microSD, not to mention its 108MP camera uses NanoCell binning versus TetraCell. Given the Samsung reputation and support that is going to be a hard one to beat.
It also competes with the OPPO Find X2 Pro and all coming Qualcomm SD865 flagships.
Without having reviewed these its hard to say if they are better or worse – but they do present a strong challenge.
Forgive us for getting techie – it is what we do.
Item | Mi 10 | Mi 10 Pro |
Price | $1699 | $1999 |
Display | 6.67” 2340×1080, 386ppi AMOLED 19.5:9 aspect ratio 90Hz, 180Hz touch rate (adjusts to 60Hz) 500/800/1120nit (typ/max/peak) 5,000,000:1 (typ) contrast ratio 100% DCI-P3 HDR10+ △E<1.11, JNCD 0.55 Dual ambient light sensors (front & back) TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Gorilla Glass 5 AOD | Same with 1200nit peak |
Colour | Glossy: Twilight Grey Coral Green | Matte: Solstice Grey Alpine White |
Dimensions | 162.58×74.80x 8.96mm x 208g | Same |
5G Network Support | Qualcomm X55 modem 5G: Sub-6 n1/n3/n7/n28/n77/n78 | Same |
4G | Single SIM VoLTE 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/20/28/32/38/40 | Same |
Wi-Fi/Comms | Wi-Fi 6 4/5G+Wi-Fi 2.4/5Ghz MultiLink BT 5.1 AAC/LDAC/LHDC /LLAC Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus Multifunctional NFC IR blaster Dual Frequency GPS | Same |
Processor | Qualcomm SD865 5G 1×2.84GHz+ 3×2.42GHz+4×1.80GHz Adreno 650 | Same |
Storage | 8GB+128GB 8GB+256GB LPDDR5 + UFS 3.0 | Same |
Cooling System | LiquidCool 2.0 Vapour Chamber + multi-layer graphite + graphene with up to 10.5°C | Same |
Specs continued
Rear Camera 1 | 108MP main lens (binned to 25MP) Samsung Bright S5KHMX 7P F/1.69 .8um (binned to 1.6μm) 82° FOV OIS/EIS PDAF 2x Digital cropped zoom 8K@30fps | Same with 8P lens and Laser AF |
Rear camera 2 | 13MP ultra-wide-angle lens 123° FOV f/2.4 FF EIS | 20MP ultra-wide-angle lens Sony IMX350 117° FOV f/2.2 1.4um 2-pixel autofocus |
Rear Camera 3 | 2MP depth sensor lens 1.75μm f/2.4 | 12MP telephoto portrait lens Samsung ISOCELL Fast S5K2L7 2x optical zoom f/2.0 1.4μm 2-pixel phase detection autofocus |
Rear camera 4 | 2MP macro lens 1.75um f/2.4 AF | 8MP telephoto lens OmniVision OV08A10 1.0um f/2.0 5X zoom 10x hybrid zoom and OIS |
Camera Features | AI 2.0 Dual Flash Pro Mode HVEC compression | Triple flash |
Selfie | 20MP in-display camera Samsung ISOCELL Slim S5K3T2 .8um f/2.0 FF 1080p@30fps | Same |
Selfie features | Panorama selfie | Full-screen camera frame | Palm shutter | Front camera HDR | Front camera flash (via display) | Selfie timer | Eye light | AI Beautify | AI feature adjustment | AI makeup | AI portrait mode | AI scene detection | AI studio lighting | Same |
Security | Biometric optical in-screen fingerprint sensor 2D face recognition | Same |
Battery & Charging1 | 4,780mAh 30W USB-C QC4.0+/PD3.0 fast charge (57 mins to 100%) 30W wireless fast charge 5W Reverse wireless charging 18W in-box charger | 4,500mAh 50W USB-C fast charge (45 mins to 100%) 30W wireless fast charge 5W Reverse wireless charging 30W in-box charger |
Audio | Dual 1216 linear speakers symmetrical system 1.0cc sound chamber Hi-Res Audio certification Dual mics Earpiece speaker | Same with 1.2cc sound chamber |
Motor | X-axis linear vibration motor | Same |
System | MIUI 11 based on Android 10 Slated to get MIUI 12 | Same |
Build | GG5 glass sandwich over a metal frame | Same |
Missing | No microSD slot Only a single SIM No IP rating ‘splash resistant.’ No formal Android update policy | Same |
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