When looking for a new Smartphone, you can sometimes end up finding yourself dealing with a tricky task, as there are simply too many models available nowadays. Nevertheless, the Xiaomi Mi 11 is a great 5G Smartphone for 2021.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 is a powerful 5G Smartphone that features a WQHD+ 6.81 inches AMOLED Display with a 1440p resolution, 128GB of Storage Space and 8GB RAM (can have its configuration up to 256GB with 12GB RAM), a 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup at the back and a 20MP Selfie-Camera at the front, close to 24 hours of battery life, and wide support to different types of Wireless Charging.
While its WQHD+ 6.81 inches AMOLED Display Screen boasts a 3200×1440 resolution with a 120Hz Refresh Rate, and the phone also features support to HDR10+. Not only that, but the Xiaomi Mi 11 also comes equipped with a In-Display Optical Fingerprint Sensor that allows you to unlock the phone in a safer way.
Additionally, this awesome 5G Smartphone also integrates a 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup at the back that allows you to record video in 4K, and it also has a Single 20MP Selfie-Camera at its front side that’s capable of shooting photos and video in 1080p.
Last but not least, while its 4,600mAh Battery can offer you close to 24 hours of battery life, its battery not only supports 55W Wired Fast Charging, but also 50W Wireless Fast Charging and 10W Reverse Wireless Charging, thus making this phone very versatile when it comes to its recharging functionalities.
Now, without any further ado, let’s have a more detailed look at the Xiaomi Mi 11’s design and overall specs, and check out everything that you can get out of this gorgeous 5G Smartphone.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the Smartphone’s size, the Xiaomi Mi 11 measures exactly 2.93 inches wide by 6.46 inches tall (74.6 x 164.3 mm), coming at your typical “nowadays” somewhat large size.
Nevertheless, this 5G Smartphone features a very slim build, as the Mi 11 measures just 0.31 inches (8.06 mm) thick.
While the phone’s somewhat large size might make it look heavy at first, the Mi 11 actually features a super-lightweight body, and that’s all thanks to its ultra-slim design, which only gives it a total weight of just 6.91 oz. (196 g).
All that makes the phone fairly easy and quite comfortable to hold in either of your hands. Overall, the phone is not heavy at all, and its smooth and curved design means you won’t have any “pointy” / “spiky” edges, which ultimately makes it very easy for you to hold it in absolute comfort.
The Xiaomi Mi 11’s reasonably sturdy body is based on its aluminum frame, all while also having the phone featuring an elegant curved glass build, with its back side being made of Gorilla Glass 5.
In our pictures, we have the Horizon Blue model, which features a gorgeous glossy finish that makes the phone look absolutely astonishing, as its colors and light-reflection all shift back and forth while the phone’s glossy back side catches light at different angles.
Additionally, if we have a closer look at the phone’s Quad-Curved design, you’ll notice that the way the phone’s glass tapers to its edges also helps with making the Xiaomi Mi 11 look as well as feel impressively thin, which all ultimately contributes to a more immersive experience.
Now, moving onto the Smartphone’s components. Starting with its Display Screen, the Mi 11 integrates a gorgeous WQHD+ 6.81 inches AMOLED Display, which boasts a 1440p resolution (meaning 3200×1440) with a 120Hz Refresh Rate. It’s also worth to note that phone’s display screen comes protected by a very sturdy Corning Gorilla Glass Victus screen covering, which makes its screen fairly drop-resistant as well as very scratch-resistance.
In fact, the phone’s screen is quite curved, and its even a much sharper curve than what other Smartphone manufacturers are coming out with these days, like Samsung’s latest Smartphone models, for example. So keep that in mind if you value a more curvy design.
It’s also worth to mention that the phone’s video display settings also feature support to HDR10+ (and the same goes for its camera’s video recording settings – which we’ll cover further ahead), which ultimately allows you to get a higher quality and much more clarity for whenever you’re looking at an image or a video that’s playing on the phone’s screen.
Not only that, but the Xiaomi Mi 11 also comes equipped with a In-Display Optical Fingerprint Sensor that allows you to unlock the phone in a safer way.
Other than that, we also have a few other sensors integrated into this Smartphone, such as a Proximity sensor, an Ambient Light Sensor, an Accelerometer and Gyroscope Sensors, an Electronic Compass, a Linear Motor, and a InfraRed blaster.
In addition, the phone’s Optical Fingerprint Sensor also supports an In-display Heart Rate Monitoring functionality, which is actually pretty cool to use, especially if you’re a fitness enthusiast or simply a health-focused person.
I’d also like to mention that for those that prefer to unlock their Smartphones via AI Face Unlock, the phone’s frontal punch-hole Selfie-Camera (which comes integrated at the top left of the phone’s Display Screen) also supports that, so you don’t really need to rely on using its In-Display Optical Fingerprint Sensor if you prefer to go with an AI Face Unlocking system instead.
For the phone’s Memory Specs, our review unit featured 128GB of Storage Space that was accompanied by 8GB of RAM, but know that you can also get your Xiaomi Mi 11 5G Smartphone in 2 other variations: 256GB with 8GB RAM, or 256GB with 12GB RAM (this last Storage & RAM Memory configuration is only available at a few selected Smartphone distributors, so keep that in mind).
Regarding the Smartphone’s CPU, the Mi 11 comes equipped with a Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680) and also integrates a Adreno 660 GPU, which end up making this phone fairly capable of running a lot of newly released games, thus making it great for short 1-hour’ish gaming sessions overall. (I’m saying “short” here because this is not a laptop, and longer gaming sessions of 2 or more hours might get the phone to overheat, so keep that in mind).
Moveover, like any other of today’s top Android phones that feature 5G connectivity, the Mi 11 comes equipped with a high-end Chipset, which, for its case, its the Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G processor (5 nm), which is guaranteed to deliver a super fast performance, going up to 25% when compared to any previous Smartphone generations.
Another great thing to note about the phone’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor is that it also supports UFS 3.1 Storage (meaning the latest iteration of Universal Flash Storage), which allows users to transfer any photos, videos, and files at extremely fast speeds. This can be done by simply using the phone’s reliable UFS 3.1 File Management System. This improved file system delivers up to 125% faster write speeds when comparing the phone to older Smartphones on the market with the same system (or UFS 3.0 at best).
Lastly, for its Operating System, everything runs smoothly on the company’s unique MIUI 12 Android Skin, which is based on Android 11. For those wondering, this MIUI 12 Android Skin is actually Xiaomi’s latest Android skin to be released (succeeding the older MIUI 11), which brings a number of UI and visual improvements as well as several new features like a revamped Dark Mode, improved Privacy and Security Tools, brand-new Screen Animations and new Wallpapers, and much more.
Keep in mind that the company has also already announced its upcoming version of this Android Skin, which is numbered as MIUI 12.5. This upcoming verison aims to bring both better CPU Usage and better Memory Usage as well as better Power Consumption for the phone’s System Apps. The first batch of devices will be getting a global software update for the MIUI 12.5 Skin either during April or May 2021.
CAMERA SETUP
Moving on to the phone’s two Camera setups. As mentioned earlier, this amazing 5G Smartphone integrates a 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup at its back and also comes equipped with a Single 20MP Selfie-Camera at its front side.
108 MP Triple-Camera Setup
For the phone’s 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup, we have a 108MP Wide Angle Camera lens (which is the phone’s main camera, f/1.85, 1/1.33″ sensor size, 0.8μm pixel size and 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel, PDAF, OIS), a 13MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera lens (with a f/2.4 working at a 123°FOV), and a 5MP Telemacro Camera (with a f/2.4 and a Auto-Focus functionality that works between 1.18 inches to 3.93 inches / 3 cm to 10 cm).
The Mi 11’s 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup ultimately allows you to record video in 4K (with a 3840×2160 resolution at 60fps or at 30fps), and you can also record in 8K (with a 7680×4320 at 30fps or at 24fps), as well as at a slightly lower video-quality like in 1080p (with a 1920×1080 resolution at 60fps or at 30fps) or ultimately, at 720p (recording at 30fps).
As mentioned before, the Mi 11 also supports HDR10+ video recording, so video-quality is never an issue. Additionally, you can also record videos in Slow Motion (thanks to its Slow Shutter) at either 240fps or at 120fps (either at a 1080p or a 720p resolution).
Now, photography-wise, the phone’s Rear Triple-Camera Setup also supports a AI Erase 2.0 functionality when shooting pictures, which is basically an advanced AI algorithm that allows the phone to remove undesirable objects and lines during any photo-shooting session, which ultimately helps to make your photos as perfect as you want to be.
Both the phone’s 108MP Wide Angle Camera lens and 13MP Ultra-Wide Angle Camera lens also support Ultra Night Video and Night Mode 2.0, which are two Night-functionalities that allow the Mi 11 to respectively enhance the current light present in a video or photo while also reducing any over exposure to light, thus expanding night photography and night video recording to the phone’s 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup, and that ultimately ensures that all of your night shooting needs are covered.
Lastly, there are some other video-recording and photo-shooting Special Effects for the phone’s 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup, and those include a One-Click AI Cinema functionality (with Magic Zoom), Time Freeze, Night Time-lapse, Pro Time-lapse, Parallel World, and Freeze Frame Video, and you also get to use some cool Cinematic video filters for your recorded videos.
20MP In-Display Selfie Camera
Then, at the phone’s front-side, coming integrated at the very top-left of the phone’s Display Screen, we also have its 20MP In-Display Selfie Camera (f/2.2, 0.8μm pixel size and 1.6μm 4-in-1 Super Pixel), which is capable of shooting photos and video in 1080p (with a 1920×1080 resolution at either 30fps or 60fps), or at a slightly lower resolution of 720p (with a 1280×720 resolution at 30fps).
Last but not least, just like the phone’s 108 MP Triple-Camera Setup, the Mi 11’s 20MP In-Display Selfie Camera also supports Video HDR as well as Slow Motion Video recording (in a 720p resolution at 120fps), and also boasts a Selfie Night Mode for recording video and capturing any pictures in low light conditions.
INTERFACE
For the phone’s interface, we’ll start by mentioning its set of Dual Stereo Speakers by Harman Kardon, which actually come together with a Hi-Res Audio certification, so you can be assured that the Mi 11’s audio actually comes at a very high-quality.
We can find the Mi 11’s set of Harman Kardon Dual Stereo Speakers integrated at both the top and the bottom sides of the phone.
The phone’s bottom Harman Kardon Stereo Speaker comes next to its USB-C 2.0 port, which can either be used to connect a pair of headphones via its included USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Adapter, or alternatively, to simply recharge the phone’s battery by using its proprietary USB-C Charging Cable and Power Adapter.
Additionally, at the right side of the phone, we also have our 2021’s typical Power Button, coming installed right below the phone’s Volume Increase and Decrease Button.
It’s also worth to point out that while there is no official water-proof rating on the Mi 11, several online “Tear-Down tests” for this 5G Smartphone still revealed a water-resistant sealing around both the phone’s harman / kardon Dual Speakers as well as its Sim Card Slot. As such, there’s still some sort of protection here.
CONNECTIVITY
Regarding the phone’s connectivity options, since the Xiaomi Mi 11 is in fact a 5G Smartphone, it obviously features 5G Connectivity.
Additionally, the phone also features Bluetooth 5.2 Connectivity, meaning it can be connected to either a Bluetooth Headphone or Dual Bluetooth Speakers.
And last of all, the Mi 11 also supports Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, which features a throughput of up to 3.5Gbps and an Internet speed that is around 106% faster than its predecessor.
For those curious about its other Wireless Internet Settings, you can get up to 4K QAMHigher of Data Transfer Density and a Waveband of around 160MHz.
BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE
While the phone does feature a slim and lightweight body, don’t let its sleek design fool you, as the Xiaomi Mi 11 comes equipped with a large and powerful Li-Po 4600mAh battery that can stay powered up for almost an entire day, offering you very close to 24 hours of battery life (with an endurance rating of around 89 hours), allowing you to always be ready for any situation where you require to use the Smartphone, whether that’s answering a Phone call, browsing Google, watching a video or even playing a Mobile game.
For those that prefer a Connected solution for recharging the phone’s battery, you can recharge the phone’s internal battery via 55W Wired Fast Charging by simply using its included proprietary USB-C Charging Cable and Power Adapter (which we’ve mentioned earlier in this review), which features some nice orange accents on its USB Charging Cable’s USB-C and USB-A ends as well as within its Power Adapter’s USB Charging port.
When using the phone’s included 55W GaN Charger for 55W Wired Fast Charging, you can get its battery from 0% all the way up to around 82~83% in just half an hour (30 minutes), which is quite impressive.
Best of all, and as said earlier, keep in mind that the Xiaomi Mi 11’s battery also supports 50W Wireless Fast Charging, as well as 10W Reverse Wireless Charging.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Inside each package, users will find: their Xiaomi Mi 11 5G Smartphone, the phone’s included USB-C Charging Cable and USB-C Power Adapter, a USB-C to 3.5 mm Headphone Adapter, an included SIM Eject Tool, an included Soft Protection Case for the Smartphone, a User Guide, and the phone’s corresponding Warranty Card / Warranty Sheet.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Xiaomi Mi 11 is a powerful 5G Smartphone that features a WQHD+ 6.81 inches AMOLED Display with a 1440p resolution, up to 128GB with 8GB RAM, a 108MP Triple-Camera Setup at the back and a 20MP Selfie-Camera at the front, close to 24 hours of battery life, and wide support to different types of Wireless Charging.
Overall, this is a really nice 5G Smartphone for you to go with in 2021, as it as all the features you’d most likely want to have, including a great 108MP Triple-Camera Setup and a nice 20MP Selfie-Camera, a reasonably long battery life, and support to Wi-Fi 6, as well as 50W Wireless Fast Charging and 10W Reverse Wireless Charging.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 5G Smartphone is currently available in four (x4) different color models: a unique and more colorful Special Edition, Midnight Gray, Cloud White and Horizon Blue.
You can get it in 3 different variations (128GB with 8GB RAM, 256GB with 8GB RAM, or 256GB with 12GB RAM).
If you’re interested in getting it, going with its lowest Storage / Memory Configuration of 128GB with 8GB RAM will have the Xiaomi Mi 11 coming at $750. Simply access Xiaomi’s official website to check out where you can get yours.
