Nauman
It was announced on Monday that Xiaomi will be continuing its Mi 11 series with a total of five models. With Xiaomi’s cards on the table, it’s easier to get a clearer picture of its flagship series and see how each member stacks up.
Samsung GN2 looks promising
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is the first smartphone to feature Samsung’s new and improved image sensor. The image sensor features a 50 megapixel “Glass Eye” sensor, weighing in at 1.3 ounces and 1.4 megapixels. The Mi 11 Ultra pairs this with an 8-megapixel Sony IMX386 sensor and a laser autofocus system, along with dual cameras with 5x telephoto and 8x wide-angle lenses.
On paper, this is the most impressive camera sensor in the market today, and it’s most likely the biggest. It’ll be interesting to see how it does against the Sony IMX789 in OnePlus’ 9 Pro, which has an equally impressive spec-sheet. Ultimately, how well these sensors perform is dependent on the software from the manufacturer as well as the hardware.
The back display is a nice touch
It has a 1.1-inch, 294×126 AMOLED touchscreen display just next to the camera on the back. The purpose of the screen is basically to take selfies with the main camera. It’s basically what the selfie mirror phones of the 2000s used to be.
Are the display and the time and notifications just a gimmick? No, but they can display the time and notifications simultaneously when the phone is on standby. However, this only works if you keep your phone face down, which most people don’t do. Additionally, just showing you notifications and time on the AMOLED display on the front does not require any more power than it does on a regular display.
A tiny display, however, could be used as a viewfinder for capturing great selfies. Having the GN2 sensor in combination with an ultra-wide-angle camera means you can capture much more clearly.
Dolby Vision resurfaces on Android
Until the Mi 11 Ultra arrived, there was no mainstream Android smartphone with Dolby Vision support. Its 6.81-inch, 3200×1440 120Hz AMOLED display can produce a ceiling-shattering 1700-nits peak brightness.
The fastest wire charging combined with the fastest wireless charging
Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra supports 67W charging through a wired or wireless charger. According to Xiaomi, the 5,000mAh battery can be charged in 36 minutes. Moreover, there seems to be no difference in charge times between wired and wireless charging.
We’ve been seeing some really fast chargers in phones lately, but the Mi 11 Ultra clearly takes it to the next level with a large battery that charges fast. With Xiaomi also announcing an 80W fast charger for China, this device’s not going anywhere
A wise choice, the Mi 11i
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The Mi 11 Ultra may be the showpiece of this series, but it’s the Mi 11i that’s really a steal. To start, it has the same Snapdragon 888 chipset. When it comes to the display, it’s an awesome 6.7-inch 2400×1080 120Hz flat AMOLED. The phone includes a bundled 33W fast charger equipped with a 4,520mAh battery that charges in 52 minutes.
At EUR 649, the Mi 11i does a lot and is a great value pick if it’s available in your area.
The Lite and the Liter
The only notable difference between the Mi 11 Lite and the Mi 11 Lite 5G is that the latter supports 5G. However, the Mi 11 Lite falls fairly squarely into budget smartphone territory and maybe a bit too lowbrow despite its EUR 299 starting price.
In comparison to the Mi 11 Lite 5G, you get a slower processor, less memory, slower networking, and a lower resolution front camera. The screen glass has also been downgraded from Gorilla Glass 6 to 5 while the Mi 11 Lite display lacks HDR10+.
As listed above, the two phones are otherwise similar, so if you are not concerned about the things mentioned above, you can save some money on the Mi 11 Lite. However, for just EUR 70 more it is going to be a much better purchase in the long run.
A real monster, the Mi 11 Ultra.
We already talked about how impressive the Mi 11 Ultra is. It’s always pleasing to watch when a manufacturer goes all out and just builds the best of what they do on the phone. Amazing cameras, big display, big battery, big speakers, fast processor, fast-charging… the list goes on…
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra kicks the rest of them out of the park through their sheer excess of everything they offer like they noticed everything else and wondered how to make it worse, like ‘they have one display? we have two.
Excessive? Maybe. Gimmicky? Yeah, probably. But it’s what a flagship smartphone is supposed to be like. It’s supposed to make you want it. This is the supercar of smartphones. And the Mi 11 Ultra kind of does that.
