Which is the better mid-ranger of the two? Xiaomi or POCO?
The mid-range segment is the most popular segment for buying smartphones in India. In this segment, there are smartphones that provide most of the features from the flagships when it comes to the display, processor, charging technology, etc. When you hear about a smartphone having a 120Hz AMOLED display, the first smartphone that comes to mind is the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max (Review) is a good all-rounder smartphone in the mid-range segment as it brings with it a 120Hz AMOLED display, a good build and design, a 108MP camera setup, stereo speakers, and a quite powerful Snapdragon 732G which handles everything fine.
Then speaking about performance, the POCO X3 Pro (Review) is a solid smartphone as it is the most powerful smartphone with a Snapdragon 860 chipset that completely destroys its competitors in terms of performance and gaming. As it is a POCO smartphone, it does not have ads and the cameras are quite decent while it also has stereo speakers, a 120Hz LCD display.
How does the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max which has been a great all-rounder compete with the POCO X3 Pro? Are you the person who values style and classic features or the one who is a true gamer where gaming is only the one you are looking for?
Let’s find out in the full comparison between the two and see which one to choose?
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Design:
In terms of design, both smartphones have a completely different design where the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a frosted glass back with is slightly curved to the sides. The POCO X3 Pro, on the other hand, has a combination of matte and glossy finish at the back with the huge POCO logo. The camera module is also different on both.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a rectangular camera module that houses the quad cameras with a LED flashlight whereas the POCO X3 Pro has a circular camera module that has the quad cameras with a LED flashlight. The camera hump is slightly protruded on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max compared to the POCO X3 Pro. The frosted glass finish on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max catches fewer fingerprints.
The back of the POCO X3 Pro catches fingerprints and smudges easily and this back is a polycarbonate back which feels slightly cheaper compared to the glass back on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max also weighs around 193 grams which makes it lighter compared to the 215 grams on the POCO X3 Pro. Both do get IP53 ratings which makes them splash resistant.
To the sides, on the right side, both have a power button with volume buttons, and to the left lies the SIM tray where the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a triple slot that houses two dual SIM cards and an extra microSD card, the POCO X3 Pro has a hybrid slot that accepts two dual SIM cards or one SIM card with a microSD card.
The bottom has the USB Type-C port, a primary microphone, and a loudspeaker grill common on both.
On the top, both get a secondary noise-canceling microphone and an IR Blaster to control devices and the 3.5mm headphone jack of the POCO X3 Pro is located at the bottom whereas the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max one is located on the top. On the front, both get a single punch-hole to the top with a speaker grille on top.
Looks are a personal preference but with a glass body, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a better build and design of the two.
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Display:
Both the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and the POCO X3 Pro have a large 6.67inches Full HD+(1080×2400 pixels) display with a screen-to-body ratio of 20:9. Both have a punch-hole located at the top in the center but the display technology is different on both. Xiaomi has gone for an AMOLED display whereas the POCO X3 Pro has an IPS LCD display.
Both these displays have a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate. The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is the first smartphone to have a 120Hz AMOLED display ever in a mid-range smartphone and as we all know AMOLED displays are much better in color reproduction and viewing angles compared to IPS LCD displays.
This does not mean that the LCD display on the POCO X3 Pro is bad but when you compare it with the display on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, the one on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has better color reproduction with deep blacks and blues and the viewing angles are far better also. The POCO X3 Pro display is good but still, the colors do not pop up as well as the AMOLED display on the Xiaomi.
In terms of brightness, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is much brighter compared to the POCO X3 Pro as it can go as high as 1200nits compared to 534nits which means under direct sunlight, the display is much better on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and the one on the POCO X3 Pro is slightly reflective. Under low-light or dark, the display goes very dim on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max thus ensuring better visibility in the dark of the two.
Both smartphones have support for Widevine L1 and HDR content support so streaming HD contents from OTT platforms is much easier and not a problem. The one area where the POCO X3 Pro holds the edge over the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max in the display is the 120Hz refresh rate. In the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, you can either use the display in 120Hz or the standard 60Hz.
The POCO X3 Pro, on the other hand, when set to 120Hz uses something similar to the Adaptive refresh rate which where the refresh rates switch from either 40Hz, 60Hz, 90Hz, or 120Hz depending on the application running in the background or can be switched to standard 60Hz.
The 120Hz refresh rate works better on the POCO X3 Pro as it also has the powerful Snapdragon 860 chipset also which we will talk about in the later section. The display on the POCO X3 Pro is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 6 compared to Gorilla Glass 5 on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. Both have a side-mounted fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button and both are equally responsive.
So with an AMOLED display, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max takes one more point over the POCO X3 Pro.
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Performance:
The one area where the POCO X3 Pro destroys its competitors is in terms of performance as it has a flagship Snapdragon 860 chipset which is a rebranded Snapdragon 855+ chipset that was seen on many flagship smartphones of 2019. The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max houses the latest Snapdragon 732G chipset which is a mid-range chipset also found on the POCO X3.
The Snapdragon 860 has 1×2.96 GHz Kryo 485 Prime Cortex-A76 + 1×2.42 GHz Kryo 485 Cortex-A76 core and another 4×1.8 GHz Kryo 485 Cortex-A55 cores built on a 7nm process and has the powerful Adreno 640 GPU whereas the Snapdragon 732G has 2×2.3 GHz Kryo 470 Cortex-A76 cores and another 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Cortex-A55 cores with Adreno 618 GPU and is built on 8nm process.
So in terms of daily activities like multitasking, scrolling through webpages, or watching videos felt much easier felt smoother on both smartphones but there was a slight stutter on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max when using the display at 120Hz. The POCO X3 Pro at 120Hz display just completely blows away the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max whether it is app opening/closing times.
All heavy games like Call Of Duty Mobile, Asphalt 9 Extreme ran smoothly on both but there was a lot of frame drops noticed on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max whereas the gameplay was extremely smoother on the POCO X3 Pro where both were set to the highest graphics and maximum frame rate. The 240Hz touch sampling felt much smoother on the POCO X3 Pro while gaming.
After a long time of gaming, both smartphones felt slightly warmer but in many cases, the POCO X3 Pro had a slight heating issue but still it a much stable chip compared to the Snapdragon 888 which has overheating issues. Both have LiquidCool Technology 2.0 to dissipate heat while playing games. In terms of benchmarks, the POCO X3 Pro scored higher than the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is available in three variants which includes a 6/8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 64/128GB storage which has UFS 2.2 speeds. On the other hand, the POCO X3 Pro is available in two variants which is the 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 128GB storage which has the faster UFS 3.1 speeds so storage and RAM, the POCO X3 Pro holds the edge.
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Software:
Both the POCO X3 Pro and the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max run on MIUI12 with Android 11 out of the box. With MIUI, there is a lot of bloatware installed and the presence of GetApps throws in a lot of notifications and the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has some ads present in the user interface. The POCO X3 Pro has no ads as such and the 120Hz display feels great on the POCO X3 Pro.
In terms of software experience, the POCO X3 Pro holds the edge over the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Cameras:
The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has the 108MP f/1.9 Samsung HM2 sensor for the main camera whereas the POCO X3 Pro has the older 48MP f/1.8 Sony IMX582 sensor for the main camera. The other three cameras are similar on both with an 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera, a 2MP f/2.4 macro, and the depth camera. The front camera on the POCO X3 Pro is a 20MP camera compared to a 16MP one on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
The images from the main camera come out with good details on both. The colors look punchier on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max and it has a better dynamic range compared to the POCO X3 Pro. When you zoom into the images on the POCO X3 Pro there is a lot of noise present whereas the noise is well controlled in the images of the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
The images taken at night come out with better details on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max but the dynamic range and contrast is better on the POCO X3 Pro though it has only a 48MP camera compared to the 108MP camera on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. This is due to the slightly lower f/1.8 on the POCO X3 Pro compared to f/1.9 on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. The noise is present on the POCO X3 Pro when you zoom in.
Without Night Mode:
Both have a dedicated Night Mode that reduces noise on both smartphones, but here the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max takes better images as it brings better highlights in shadows and the dynamic range is also compared to the POCO X3 Pro. The images shot at the highest resolution on both smartphones i.e. 48MP/108MP come out good on both but still the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has the edge in terms of details.
With Night Mode:
The 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera is similar on both but here due to the better image processing of the Snapdragon 860 chipset on the POCO X3 Pro results in better color saturation and contrast on the POCO X3 Pro compared to the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. However, the dynamic range remains above average on both and has a 119-degree field of view.
At night, the images come out with an average dynamic range on both with a lot of noise present. The dedicated Night Mode does reduce the noise and improve the dynamic range. The colors look oversaturated on both and the images a lot of softness when you zoom into the images.
The third camera on both smartphones is the macro cameras where the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a 5MP tele-macro camera which means it also doubles up as a telephoto camera as you can go 2x zoom and can focus as close as 2-3 cms whereas the POCO X3 Pro has a fixed focus 2MP macro camera. The one on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has autofocus.
As a result, the images from the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max have better details and dynamic range compared to that of the POCO X3 Pro. The POCO X3 Pro, on the other hand, has a lot of noise and the colors look washed out with slightly blurry details. The 2MP depth camera does a good job on both smartphones with the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max having better dynamic range and edge detection.
On the front, there is a 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max compared to a 20MP camera on the POCO X3 Pro. The POCO X3 Pro has much better details with good dynamic range and has the more natural-looking skin tones of the two. The noise is less on the POCO X3 Pro with better edge detection and also in terms of portraits, there is no overexposure as seen on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
On the video side, both smartphones can record 4K videos at 30fps. The POCO X3 Pro can record videos at 4K at 60fps something which the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max misses out on. The videos are better on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max in terms of colors and dynamic range but the stabilization is better on the POCO X3 Pro with a low amount of noise.
The 1080p videos at 60fps/30fps come out with good details on both as they have EIS implemented which results in a much better dynamic range. Both have Ultra Stable Mode for stabilized videos from the main and the ultrawide camera but it is limited to 1080p only. On the front, the POCO X3 Pro has a better dynamic range and details compared to the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max.
When it comes to rear cameras, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is better but for selfies, the POCO X3 Pro is the better one but with a larger and newer camera sensor, a better macro camera, and decent front cameras, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has the better cameras of the two.
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Battery Life:
The POCO X3 Pro has a slightly larger 5160mAh battery compared to the 5020mAh battery on the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. Both can easily last for two continuous days with normal usage and the display being set to 120Hz. If you switch it to standard 60Hz, both can last very well. With heavy usage, the smartphones can easily last for one single day with some more charge left.
As the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has an AMOLED display it consumes less power compared to the IPS LCD display on the POCO X3 Pro but with MIUI12 and the Snapdragon 860 chipset being built at 7nm process, the battery life is a touch better than the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max in most scenarios and both smartphones could achieve 6-7 hours of screen on time with the POCO X3 Pro providing slightly more.
In terms of charging, both have a 33W fast charger included inside the box which charges both the smartphones from 0 to 100 percent within 75 minutes which is good but still the charging speeds are slower compared to the Realme X7 which supports 50W fast charging.
The battery life on the POCO X3 Pro is better compared to the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max but by a hairsbreadth.
POCO X3 Pro vs Redmi Note 10 Pro Max Audio Quality:
Both the POCO X3 Pro and the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max have stereo speakers which sound extremely good and there is also the 3.5mm headphone jack through which the audio output is good. Both have support for Dolby Atmos for enhanced sound effects while playing games, listening to music, or while watching videos.
Verdict:
It is a very close fight between both smartphones and simply to put if you consider the various aspects of each, you can easily decide which is the better of the two. The Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a nice and well-built design, a 120Hz AMOLED display, a large 108MP camera, and a good set of stereo speakers. However, the performance with the Snapdragon 732G is good enough for all tasks.
The POCO X3 Pro, on the other hand, is focused more on performance rather than other aspects. The Snapdragon 860 chipset is the one that sets it apart which gives a flagship performance and gaming capabilities, the storage speeds are UFS 3.1 which is the fastest and the 120Hz LCD display is very responsive in all day-to-day tasks.
The cameras of the POCO X3 Pro are not as good as that of the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max but still good enough for clicking images and taking videos. The battery life of the POCO X3 Pro is slightly better than the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max but the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max has a better display in the form of AMOLED and a frosted glass design instead of plastic on the POCO X3 Pro. The POCO X3 Pro has a slightly cleaner software experience with no ads of the two.
Overall, if you want a smartphone that has a premium glass design, rather than gaming spending most of the time watching contents on the display, a premium camera experience with decent performance, the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is the better pick but if you are focused more on gaming and performance and want to have decent cameras, clean software experience, and that smooth 120Hz display, then the POCO X3 Pro is the one to choose.
So it all depends on personal preference whether you go for the flagship features like a glass back, a 120Hz AMOLED display, and that 108MP camera, or if performance matters the most above all other things, you cannot go wrong by going with any of these.