Home TechnologyAndroid Xiaomi Mi 11 buyer’s guide: Everything you need to know

Xiaomi Mi 11 buyer’s guide: Everything you need to know

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Xiaomi Mi 11 official 2

Credit: Supplied by Xiaomi

Xiaomi launched the Mi 11 in China in late December, marking the first launch for a Snapdragon 888-powered phone. We had to wait a while for a wider release, but the Chinese brand has finally brought the series to global markets.

The phone packs plenty of premium features you might not even see on rival flagship phones, although that’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement compared to its competitors.

Scroll down to find out everything we know about the Xiaomi Mi 11, from specs and price to availability and more. We’ll also be updating the article as new information surfaces.

Xiaomi Mi 11: At a glance

The Xiaomi Mi 11 is part of the Chinese manufacturer’s Mi series of flagship phones, with these phones usually launching early each year. The Mi series has traditionally offered affordable flagships, but last year saw the Mi 10 series take a price hike.

Xiaomi has gradually been adding more premium features to the Mi series over the years. This has seemingly culminated in the Mi 11, which packs flagship-style features like ultra-fast wireless charging, a QHD+ OLED screen, and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The Mi 11 does miss out on a couple of significant premium features though, such as a proper telephoto camera and water resistance. And no, there’s no headphone port here either.

Who is it for?

Xiaomi’s Mi series is usually positioned as the device of choice for those who want a flagship experience but don’t want to pay $1,000 or more. At €749 (~$901), the Mi 11 is essentially playing in broadly the same price range as the likes of the Galaxy S21 ($800 in US or €850 in Europe) and S20 FE.

In other words, those expecting your typical affordable Xiaomi flagship might be disappointed. Still, those who liked the idea of a sub-$1,000 flagship but wanted just a little more might be happy here.

What are the Xiaomi Mi 11 features?

Xiaomi Mi 11 official

Credit: Supplied by Xiaomi

Xiaomi has several major draw-cards with this device, with the first being the Snapdragon 888 processor for smoother performance and gaming. The chipset also drives that QHD+ 120Hz OLED screen, with Xiaomi citing DisplayMate testing to claim it’s among the best mobile displays out there.

Another major selling point is the battery and charging arena, as it’s packing a 4,600mAh battery that’s on the large side in 2021. You won’t need to wait for ages to get it topped up, as Xiaomi is delivering 55W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. In both cases, your phone will be topped up in under 55 minutes, with wired charging taking 45 minutes.

See also: The best Xiaomi phones you can buy

The Xiaomi Mi 11 doesn’t have the most impressive camera setup, but it’s far from bad though. You’re getting a 108MP main camera (with OIS), a 13MP ultra-wide snapper (123-degree field of view), and a 5MP telephoto macro lens. Don’t expect telephoto or periscope zoom cameras here, unfortunately. Nevertheless, you’re also getting features like 8K recording and a night video mode.

We’ve seen heart-rate monitors on smartphones before, but Xiaomi is integrating this functionality into the in-display fingerprint sensor. This will be activated via a firmware update though, so we’ll be sure to try it out once the update rolls out.

Xiaomi Mi 11 specs

  Xiaomi Mi 11
Display 6.81-inch AMOLED
19.5:9 aspect ratio, 92.4% body/screen ratio
120Hz
WQHD+
HDR10+
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
Adreno 660 GPU
Memory 8GB LPDDR5 RAM
Storage 128GB/256GB
Battery 4,600mAh
55W wired charging
50W wireless charging
55W charger in box
Camera Rear:
Main: 108MP, f/1.85, 1/1.33-in sensor, OIS
Ultra-Wide: 13MP, f/2.4, 123-degree FoV
Telephoto macro: 5MP, f/2.4, 3cm to 10cm range

Front:
Selfie: 20MP f/2.2, punch-hole cutout

Connectivity Bluetooth 5.2
Wi-Fi 6
Dimensions 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.06mm
Weight 196g

Competition and alternatives

Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Back Purple

Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Samsung is arguably Xiaomi’s biggest rival in recent months, owing to its cheaper flagships. The $800 (or €849 in Europe) base Galaxy S21 is its biggest competition, as it packs the same Snapdragon 888 processor (or Exynos 2100 in some markets), a triple rear camera setup with 8K recording, wireless charging, and a pretty slick 120Hz OLED screen too.

The Mi 11 bests the S21 when it comes to wired charging and wireless charging speeds, battery capacity, screen resolution, and pricing in Europe. Meanwhile, the S21 edges out the Xiaomi device by virtue of offering water resistance and a hybrid telephoto camera.

More reading: The best Samsung Galaxy S21 alternatives worth buying

Samsung’s €759 Galaxy S20 FE 5G might also be worth considering if you want a similarly-priced flagship. It doesn’t have the latest flagship processor, 8K recording, and ultra-fast charging, but it has a couple of advantages over the S21 and Mi 11. These advantages include a more flexible camera arrangement in theory and microSD expansion. Otherwise, the S20 FE also packs wireless charging, Dex support, and a battery that’s similarly sized as the Mi 11’s pack.

Like the idea of a 5G Xiaomi phone with a 108MP camera but don’t want to spend a ton of money? That’s where the sub-$300 Mi 10i comes in, having recently launched in India. It doesn’t have a flagship processor, wireless charging, or an OLED screen. But the Snapdragon 750G chipset should do the job well enough, while the aforementioned 108MP camera punches above its weight according to our own Dhruv Bhutani. Throw in a 120Hz LCD screen, 4,820mAh battery with 33W charging, and 128GB of base storage and there’s still plenty to be happy about for the price.

What about the Mi 11 Pro?

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro with grass

Xiaomi launched the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro (seen above) simultaneously last year, but it seems like the manufacturer is going it alone with just the vanilla Mi 11 this time around. There’s no word on when a Mi 11 Pro will launch, but we’re guessing it will likely launch in the first half of the year if it is indeed coming.

As for specs, last year’s Mi 10 Pro gives us some idea of what to expect. For one, the Pro version offered two telephoto cameras for improved image quality across several zoom factors. The phone also offered a higher resolution ultra-wide camera and faster wired charging. So it stands to reason that we could see better zoom quality, faster charging, and a better ultra-wide snapper with a Mi 11 Pro.

Xiaomi Mi 11 price and availability

The Mi 11 has already launched in China, starting at 3,999 yuan (~$618) for the 8GB/128GB option, 4299 yuan (~$664) for the 8GB/256GB variant, and 4,699 yuan (~$726) for the 12GB/256GB model.

The phone is also available in Europe, but much like the Mi 10 series, it’s significantly more expensive here. The 8GB/128GB phone costs €749 (~$901), while the 8GB/256GB model will set you back €799 (~$961). Xiaomi says they’ll also offer a two year warranty and a one-time free screen repair within the first year of owning the phone.

Top Xiaomi Mi 11 questions and answers

Xiaomi Mi 11 front again

Q: Does the Mi 11 have a charger in the box?

A: Yes, you’re getting a 55W GaN charger as well.

Q: Does the Mi 11 support wireless charging?

A: It supports 50W wireless charging.

Q: Does it offer a microSD slot?

A: No, it unfortunately has fixed storage only.

Q: What kind of speakers should you expect?

A: The Mi 11 has stereo speakers tuned by Harman Kardon.

Q: What color options are available for the Mi 11?

A: The phone is available in Midnight Gray and Horizon Blue, but Xiaomi says additional colorways are coming.

Q: Does it have a headphone port?

A: Unfortunately, the Mi 11 lacks this feature.

Q: Is the phone available in the US?

A: It isn’t available in the US, but you can likely import it via third-party websites.

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That’s all you need to know about the Xiaomi Mi 11! We’ll be updating this article with more information as soon as we get it.

This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: www.androidauthority.com

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