Update 2 (4/28/2020 @ 3:20 PM ET): Xiaomi will announce the Mi Note 10 Lite this week on April 30th.
Update 1 (4/12/2020 @ 1:56 PM ET): A new certification filing has confirmed that this smartphone will be called the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite.
Back in November, Xiaomi surprised everyone by bringing back the Mi Note lineup, which had not seen a new entry since the Xiaomi Mi Note 3 in 2017. These new devices were the Mi Note 10 and its Pro variant. Both pack a Snapdragon 730G processor, and the other specs are expectedly mid-range for an Android smartphone until you go to the camera side: it was the first phone to release with a 108MP sensor, and the rest of the penta-camera array was also pretty impressive. Max Weinbach went hands-on with it, and he found it to provide pretty great camera versatility. Now, it seems that a cheaper version of this phone may come to the market very soon.
The Mi Note 10 Dual SIM, 6GB RAM/128GB storage model has the model name "M1910F4G." And recently, Xiaomi submitted a new document to the FCC to update the phone's certification. This new document is titled "Product Equality Declaration-F4L&F4" and it lists the difference between M1910F4G (the Mi Note 10) and a phone with the model number M2002F4LG (which could possibly be this purported "Lite" model).
The document reveals the following differences between the Mi Note 10 and the new M2002F4LG:
- Screen: same (6.47" FHD+ curved OLED, 19:9, waterdrop notch)
- Rear cameras: 64MP + 8MP + 8MP + 5MP + 2MP
- Laser focus: no laser auto-focus
- Battery capacity: same (5260mAh)
- Network: LTE band 41 supported
- CPU: same (Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G)
- Software: Android 10 with MIUI 11
- Charging: same (30W charging)
The main takeaways from this list is that the 108MP sensor is being swapped for a more conventional 64MP sensor. The full penta-camera array of the standard model is 108MP + 20MP + 12MP + 8MP + 2MP. The Note 10 Lite might be able to provide similar versatility than the standard Mi Note 10 provides, with the sole difference of having lower-res sensors— which is still pretty good as the only phones to use 108MP sensors so far besides the Mi Note 10 are the Mi MIX Alpha, the Mi 10 lineup and the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. We also don't have laser auto-focus.
Other than these, the phone seems to be identical: Snapdragon 730G processor, 30W charging, and the same display. Unlike the standard model, this one would come with Android 10 out of the box, and the software would come with support for LTE band 41. The camera difference alone may bring down the price quite considerably, given how the phone was fairly expensive precisely because of the 108MP camera. We don't know yet when this device will launch or if it will launch, but it is definitely worth a look once it is out.
Featured image: Mi Note 10
Update 1: Mi Note 10 Lite Name Confirmed
A new certification filing with Thailand's NBTC, the country's equivalent to the U.S. FCC, has confirmed that the smartphone with model name M2002F4LG will be called the "Mi Note 10 Lite."
Update 2: Launch Date
Xiaomi has announced on their community forums that they will be unveiling the Mi Note 10 Lite on April 30th at 8 AM ET. The event will be live-streamed on this page. Xiaomi is hyping up this launch by saying the Mi Note 10 Lite will bring "the best performance experience in its price class."
Source: Xiaomi