Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra announced: 120W charging, 120Hz screen, 120x digital zoom

Xiaomi is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an event in China today, and it has also launched a suitably high-end phone to mark the occasion. The all-new Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra might just be one of the more cutting-edge phones of the year.

We saw several brands tout 100W+ charging in the second half of 2020, and the Mi 10 Ultra indeed fits the bill thanks to its 120W wired charging solution. This allows the 4,500mAh battery to hit 100% juice in just 23 minutes or 41% in five minutes, according to Xiaomi. And yes, you’re getting this charger in the box.

The fast charging doesn’t end there, as the phone also packs 50W wireless charging capable of fully charging your phone in 40 minutes. Need to top up a friend’s phone or your TWS earbuds case? Then you’ve got 10W reverse wireless charging too.

The company is also selling a 100W car charger for just 99 yuan (~$14), as well as a “smart tracking” wireless charging pad and a 55W charging dock for 499 yuan (~$72) and 199 yuan (~$29) respectively.

Xiaomi claims the 4,500mAh “graphene-based lithium-ion” battery is the industry’s first mass-produced graphene battery, saying it packs 1,000 times greater conductivity than traditional “carbon black” batteries. The brand also told Android Authority that the battery remained at over 90% capacity after 800 charge and discharge cycles.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra also seems to deliver a fantastic photography experience on paper, serving up a 48MP main rear camera (1/1.32″ sensor and OIS) with 1.2 micron pixels. This unnamed sensor should deliver pixel-binned images comparable to a 12MP 2.4 micron pixel shot — ideal for shooting in low-light conditions.

The rest of the quad rear camera setup consists of a 48MP IMX586 telephoto camera (120x digital zoom, OIS, 8K video), a 20MP ultra-wide camera with a 128 degree field of view, and a 12MP 2x optical zoom camera for portraits. We’ve asked Xiaomi about the native zoom factor for the 48MP camera, and they’re in the process of getting back to us.

Meanwhile, selfies are handled by a 20MP camera in a tiny punch-hole cutout. Xiaomi calls it an in-display selfie camera, which is technically correct but not the “in-display selfie camera” many people think of.

Camera testing firm DxOMark also gave the phone a score of 130 points (later changed to 129 after retesting with an updated protocol), making it the new leader in its rankings. The firm further broke down the scores, saying it scored 140 points for photos and 106 points for video.

A flagship-tier experience elsewhere

Xiaomi’s phone packs plenty of oomph under the hood too, featuring a Snapdragon 865 processor with sub-6Ghz 5G via the X55 modem. Although it’s interesting to note that the firm didn’t opt for the Plus variant, presumably for cost reasons and because the 865 is a very powerful chipset anyway. You’re also getting the latest generation LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage for a speedier experience.

Read: The best 2019 phones that are still worth buying in 2020

All of this powers a 6.67-inch FHD+ OLED panel, packing a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother system navigation and gameplay. Hopefully the combo of 5G and a high refresh rate doesn’t kill the battery in no time flat.

Other notable Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra specs include camera-based face unlock, an in-display fingerprint sensor, IR blaster, NFC, stereo speakers, Gorilla Glass 6 on the back, and Gorilla Glass 5 on the front.

The phone starts at 5,299 yuan (~$763) for the 8GB/128GB variant, and it’ll also be available in a 8GB/256GB option, a 12GB/256GB variant, and a 16GB/512GB model. Xiaomi’s device will be available in Obsidian Black, Mercury Silver, and in a Transparent Edition.

What do you think of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra? Take our poll below!

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