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Xiaomi confirms launch date for its 108MP penta-camera beast
Update, November 4 2019 (12:30AM ET): Xiaomi has confirmed the European launch of the Mi Note 10. Tweeting out the announcement, Xiaomi revealed that the Mi Note 10 will be unveiled in Madrid, Spain on November 6.
Welcome to the new era of smartphone cameras!Join our event to reveal the world’s first 108MP Penta camera.— Xiaomi #First108MPPentaCam (@Xiaomi) November 3, 2019
As we’ve noted in the original article below, the Mi Note 10 is most likely the Western name for the Mi CC9 Pro. It only becomes more obvious since the Mi CC9 Pro launches in China on November 5, a day before the Mi Note 10 comes to Spain.
Besides confirming the Mi Note 10 launch date, Xiaomi also shared some camera samples clicked by the phone’s zoom lens. The images taken by the Mi Note 10’s 5MP zoom lens show London’s famous Tower Bridge captured at different levels of zoom (2X to 10X).
Zoom, zoom, zoom. Bet you’ve never seen this epic level of detail before.😉 #DareToDiscover with #MiNote10 pic.twitter.com/GWTiGJQQ6f— Xiaomi #First108MPPentaCam (@Xiaomi) November 2, 2019
In its tweet, Xiaomi highlights the level of detail its zoom camera can capture. However, we’ll only be able to test its true capabilities once we have the phone in for review.
Original Article, October 29 2019 (2:05AM ET): Xiaomi’s Mi Note series used to be one of its more prominent smartphone families, and it now looks like the company is resurrecting the name for its upcoming 108MP phone.
The company confirmed on Twitter that it’s working on the Xiaomi Mi Note 10, revealing that it has a penta-lens camera and 108MP main sensor. Check out the tweet below.
Introducing the world’s FIRST 108MP Penta Camera. A new era of smartphone cameras begins now! #MiNote10 #DareToDiscover pic.twitter.com/XTWHK0BeVL— Xiaomi #MiMIXAlpha (@Xiaomi) October 28, 2019
The camera specifications suggest that the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 is actually the Western name for the upcoming Mi CC9 Pro. Xiaomi announced the Mi CC9 Pro’s existence on Weibo yesterday, confirming the 108MP camera. An official image attached to the post also revealed that the device is packing 5x optical zoom and five rear cameras.
Xiaomi has revealed more camera details on Weibo today, confirming that the phone will have the 108MP main camera, the aforementioned zoom camera (capable of 10x hybrid zoom and 50x digital zoom too), a 20MP ultra-wide snapper, a macro camera, and a 12MP camera to assist with portraits.
It all makes for one of the most flexible camera platforms we’ve ever seen on a smartphone. It’s also the opposite approach taken by the last phone with a penta-lens camera, the Nokia 9 PureView. HMD’s early 2019 flagship boasted five 12MP cameras, with three being monochrome sensors and two being RGB cameras. So the Xiaomi device is clearly going to allow for more flexibility in theory.
We’re also glad to see the Mi Note name resurrected with the Xiaomi Mi Note 10. The range originally started out as a flagship series, with 2015’s Mi Note and Mi Note Pro, followed by 2016’s Mi Note 2. 2017’s Mi Note 3 was the last device in the series, but it was aimed at the upper mid-range market.
Oddly enough, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said earlier this year that there were no plans for Mi Note or Mi Max devices in 2019. So it seems like the company had a change of heart or Jun meant that there were no plans for China. Nevertheless, the stage is set for a rather cutting-edge release.
What do you make of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10/Mi CC9 Pro? Give us your thoughts below.