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Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is priced at roughly 40% of the retail price of the OnePlus 8T. But does the price difference actually gets translated into an appreciable difference?. This post explores 15 areas where the smaller contender wins big-time.

1- Larger Screen Size

Redmi Note 10 Pro Max’s screen is 6.67 inches in size while the OnePlus 8T’s is 6.55 inches. Though the difference is small in numbers, it’s appreciable when they phones are kept side to side. See the difference in the below picture. You can appreciate the slight difference in screen size in the previous pic

2 – Smaller Camera Hole

Despite having the same 16 MP front camera sensor, the Sony IMX 471, the front camera hole on the Note 10 Pro max is noticeably smaller than the OnePlus 8T. The difference is again obvious on first inspection itself. Moreover the camera hole of OnePlus 8T is located further down than the Redmi Phone. This combined with the larger size, camera hole on the OnePlus phone eats up some more display space.

3 – Larger Battery

The battery capacity of OnePlus8T is 4500 mAh and that of Note 10 is 5020 mAh. Larger battery coupled with a mid-range processor makes the Redmi Note 10 pro Max last longer on a single charge.

4 – Better Battery Backup

Larger battery coupled with a less powerful chipset gives the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max a sizable advantage over OnePlus 8T in the battery backup. Even the standby drainage of battery is better than that of OnePlus 8T.

5 – Faster Fingerprint sensor

In-display fingerprint sensor of the OP 8T is no match for the speed and accuracy of the side-mounted fingerprint sensor of Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. Although a novelty, in-display fingerprint sensor technology is still in its infancy and has a long way to go before it truly replaces the side-mounted and rear mounted ones. The problems I encountered with the in-display sensor of OnePlus 8T were the following,

• Needs the screen to be partially switched-on to work. If screen is off, fingerprint won’t work
• Slower than the side mounted sensor of Redmi Note 10 Pro Max
• Smudges on the fingerprint area will make the sensing very difficult

6 – True dual Speakers

In the world of hybrid dual speakers where the ear piece doubles as a top mounted speaker, Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is a rarity. It features speakers on both the top and the bottom of the phone along with the ear piece. On the other hand, the OnePlus 8T’s ear piece functions as a second speaker when needed. There is a difference in sound output between the main speaker located at the bottom and the hybrid one.

7- IP Rating

Redmi Note 10 Pro Max is IP53 rated which means it is protected from dust and sprays of water to some extend. OnePlus 8T does not have any such ratings. In the era of sanitizers, absence of waterproofing is not comforting for the OnePlus users. The IP53 rating of Redmi Note 10 Pro Max comes with one or two caveats though. There is no splash resistance and liquid damage is not covered under warranty.

8 – IR Blaster

Redmi devices traditionally have IR blasters included and the Note 10 is no different. The IR blaster comes with a companion app that helps in pairing the blaster with the device. the IR blaster is located at the top of the phone along with the speakers and the 3.5 mm audio jack. We tested the blaster with a Samsung smart TV and it worked perfectly.

9 – Expandable Storage

Both the phones are dual sim capable but R has a dedicated slot for microSD card. Storage in OP is as always non-expandable. In Note 10 Pro Max, memory is expandable by up to 512GB. In OnePlus 8T, the SIM card is placed on both sides of the tray while Note 10 pro max opts for a more traditional approach

10 – 3.5 mm Audio jack

Redmi Note 10 Pro max features a 3.5mm audio jack on the top and it subs as an antenna for FM Radio. OnePlus 8T does not have one as is the case for every OnePlus phone since the 6T.

11 – FM Radio

Along with the 3.5mm jack goes the FM radio for the OnePlus 8T. If you need FM without 3.5mm jack, you need another internal antenna and OnePlus didn’t seem to bother about the feature.

12 – Reverse Charging support

Reverse charging is the ability of a phone to act as a power bank and Redmi Note 10 is up for the job. I would say OnePlus did a good job if they can keep the charge in their phone for a sufficient amount of time let alone charge another device with it.

13 – Pro Controls in Video recording

I was absolutely stunned that OnePlus 8T being a flagship and all did not allow users to have pro controls while capturing videos. Clearly Redmi administration heard differently and allowed pro controls for videos. This is a shame for a flag barer device as phones priced half is having it.

14 – Camera Modes

There are so many custom camera modes in Redmi Note 10 which simply is a no show in OnePlus 8T. Redmi phone simplifies taking short videos and is made for social media. The modes include,

• Short Video
• Vlog – This itself is a treasure trove of quick video making
• Dual Video
• Clone – Your movement can be captured as separate representations of you

15 – Better Macro Lens

Telephoto macro lens in Redmi Note 10 Pro Max can take stunning pictures with little effort. On the other hand, OnePlus 8T’s macro capturing is very cumbersome as it is very difficult to take pictures if target is moving even slightly.

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