Xiaomi has been on a roll this month, releasing a true successor to the Poco F1 last week and raising the value-for-money bar yet again with the new Redmi Note 10 series. The manufacturer is now wrapping up March 2021 with a new addition to its flagship series, the Mi 11 Ultra — an absolute beast of a phone with incredible charging speeds and an unheard-of camera combination. For those on a tighter budget, there's also the Mi 11 Lite, a new Mi Band, and a new projector with Android TV and Google Assistant.
Mi 11 Ultra
We've already heard a lot about the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra ahead of its release, and the flagship is now official. It includes a number of novelties and innovations. The camera array on its ceramic back is one of the most visible we've ever seen, taking up roughly a quarter of the space. There's a good reason for this: instead of an unobtrusive LED notification light, Xiaomi opted for a 1.1-inch OLED display for notifications and selfie previews.
It is situated next to three high-resolution cameras: A 50MP wide-angle developed by Samsung-Xiaomi is joined by a 48MP ultra-wide angle and a 48MP telephoto with 5x optical zooming capabilities — a combination not seen in other phones. According to Xiaomi, all of them are capable of capturing 8K video, and the new GN2 primary camera has the largest sensor currently available in the industry.
SPECS
Front display
WQHD+ 6.81” AMOLED Quad-curved DotDisplay.
20:9, 3200 x 1440, 515 ppi, Contrast ratio: 5,000,000:1 (typ)
Brightness: HBM 900 nits (typ), 1,700 nits peak brightness (typ).
120Hz refresh rate, 480Hz touch sampling rate, AdaptiveSync: 30Hz/ 60Hz/ 90Hz/ 120Hz
Color gamut: DCI-P3, 1.07 billion colors
Dolby Vision®, HDR10+
360° ambient light sensor 2.0
Corning Gorilla Victus (front)
Back display
Rear 1.1” AMOLED Display
126 x 294, 450 nits peak brightness
Supports always-on display, notification alerts, rear selfie preview
Superpower saver mode
Software
MIUI 12 based on Android 11
CPU
Snapdragon 888
RAM & Storage
12GB + 256GB (LPDDR5 RAM + UFS 3.1 storage)
Battery
5,000mAh, 67W wired turbocharging, 67W wireless turbocharging, 10W reverse charging
Rear cameras
50MP wide-angle camera :
- 1/1.12" sensor size, 1.4μm pixel size, 2.8μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel
- f/1.95, 8P lens, 85˚ FOV
- Supports OIS, dToF laser focus
- Dual Pixel Pro, Dual Native ISO Fusion, Staggered-HDR
- 8K video recording, Night mode
48MP ultra-wide-angle camera:
- 128° FOV, f/2.2
- 0.8μm pixel size, 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel
- 1/2.0” sensor size, PDAF, 7P lens
- Supports macro shooting
- 8K video recording, Night mode
48MP telephoto camera:
- 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, 120x digital zoom
- 1/2.0” sensor size, 0.8μm pixel size, 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel
- f/4.1, Supports OIS, PDAF
- 8K video recording, Night mode
Front camera
20MP front camera (f/2.2, 0.8μm pixel size, 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel, 78˚ FOV, FF)
Connectivity
Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth 5.2, USB Type-C, IR blaster, NFC
Bands
5G: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78/n79
4G: LTE FDD: B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28/32/66
4G: LTE TDD: B38/40/41/42
3G: WCDMA: B1/2/4/5/8
2G: GSM: 850 900 1800 1900 MHz
Miscellaneous
Dual speakers, in-screen fingerprint reader
Measurements
164.3mm x 74.6mm x 8.38mm, 234g
Colors
Ceramic White / Ceramic Black
Price
8GB+256GB: ¥5999 (~$915), €1199
12GB+256GB: ¥6499 (~$990)
12GB+512GB: ¥6999 (~$1070)
Xiaomi could have stopped there and rested on its laurels, but the company also included a novel silicon-oxide 5,000mAh battery with self-developed supercharge technology that allows for up to 67W wired and wireless charging, resulting in a full charge from 0 to 100 in 36 minutes (according to Xiaomi's marketing).
Wired charging is on par with the OnePlus 9's 65W support, and while wireless capabilities fall short of the 80W technology Xiaomi announced in 2020, they're still impressive. Xiaomi also claims that it did not use its 120W charging technology because it did not want to make the phone thicker. As icing on the cake, the company decided to finally add IP68 certification to one of its phones.
The rest of the phone complements the overall premium appearance and feel. It has a quad-curved 120Hz 6.81-inch 3200x1440 Gorilla Glass Victus display, the Snapdragon 888, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, dual speakers, USB Type-C, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and an in-screen fingerprint reader.
The Mi 11 Ultra starts at 5999 ($915) in China and €1199 in Europe, so a similar USD price is to be expected. Prices and availability dates will be announced later.
Mi 11 Lite 5G and Mi 11 Lite
Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G in Truffle Black.
Xiaomi would not be Xiaomi if it did not also release more affordable phones. It introduces the Mi 11 Lite 5G and the Mi 11 Lite (4G only), which share the same design language as the regular Mi 11. They're just a tad weaker in the chest and can be classified as high-end rather than flagship. The 5G variant is powered by Qualcomm's newly announced Snapdragon 780G, while the 4G variant is powered by the 732G, which is also found in the Poco X3 and Note 10 series. The phones also ditch the Mi 11's 108MP camera in favor of a 64MP sensor with ultra-wide and telemacro lenses. Their 6.55-inch OLED screens are slightly smaller than the Mi 11's and "only" support up to 90Hz refresh rate.
But, for the first time, the Lite in the name does not refer solely to the hardware specifications. The phones weigh only 159g/157g, with Xiaomi claiming that the 5G version is the thinnest 5G-capable handset on the market.
SPECS
Display
6.55” AMOLED DotDisplay (2400 x 1080 FHD+)
10-bit color depth with TrueColor and DCI-P3
90Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate
HDR 10+ support
Software
MIUI 12 based on Android 10
CPU
Snapdragon Lite 5G: Snapdragon 780G / Lite 4G: Snapdragon 732G
RAM & Storage
Lite 5G: 6GB+128GB, 8GB+128GB (UFS 2.2 + LPDDR4X)
Lite 4G: 6GB+64GB, 6GB+128GB (UFS 2.2 + LPDDR4X)
Battery
4,250mAh, 33W fast charging, 33W In-box charger
Rear cameras
64MP main camera:
- 1/1.97” sensor size, 0.7μm 4-in-1 to 1.4μm, f/1.79 aperture, 6P lens, Contrast Autofocus
8MP ultra-wide angle camera
- 1/4” sensor size, 1.12μm f/2.2 aperture, 5P lens
5MP telemacro camera:
- 1.5” sensor size, 1.12μm, f/2.4 aperture,4P lens, Contrast Autofocus, 3-7cm
Single-tone flash
Front camera
Lite 5G: 20MP / Lite 4G: 16MP
Connectivity
Lite 5G: Dual SIM,Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
Lite 4G: Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.1, headphone jack
Bands
Lite 5G:
5G NR: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n40/n41/n77/n78/n66
4G LTE FDD:1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/12/13/17/20/28/32/66
LTE TDD: 38/40/41
3G WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/8
2G GSM: 2/3/5/8
Lite 4G:
4G LTE FDD: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28/32/66
LTE TDD: 38/40/41 (120M)
3G WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/8
4x4 MIMO (Only 4G, B3, B7)
Miscellaneous
Side fingerprint sensor, dual speakers
Weight
Lite 5G: 159g / Lite 4G: 157g
Colors
Lite 5G: Truffle Black, Mint Green, Citrus Yellow (glass back)
Lite 4G: Boba Black, Peach Pink, Bubblegum Blue (glass back)
Price
Lite 5G: 8GB+128GB: ¥2299 (~$350),
8GB+256GB: ¥2599 (~$400)
While these appear to be significant downgrades in comparison to the other phones in the series, Xiaomi is almost certain to offer the hardware at a more than competitive price — and judging by these specifications alone, the phones should be more than capable anyway. It's just a shame that Xiaomi chose Android 10 for these devices. Android 11 has been available for over a year, and the majority of new phones are already running the most recent version.
In China, the Mi 11 Lite 5G will cost 2299 RMB ($350). Prices in Europe begin at €369 (Mi 11 Lite 5G) or €299 (Mi 11 Lite 5G) (Mi 11 Lite). The release date has yet to be determined.
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