Xiaomi has announced the world’s first Snapdragon 888-powered smartphone. The Mi 11 is a flagship through and through that packs a top-tier display, premium speakers, great cameras, and lots more.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Design
The Xiaomi Mi 11 has a four-curved design – curved display and curved back – to make it comfortable when held. It is lighter and thinner than the Mi 10 with a weight of 196 grams and measuring 8.06 millimeters in thickness.
The phone is available in multiple colors and a variety of finishes including glass and leather, the former which has an AG coating while the latter has a metal nameplate. You also have Harman Kardon’s logo at the top near the speaker grille.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Specifications
The Mi 11 has a 6.81-inch curved display with a hole in the top left corner of the screen and Corning Gorilla Victus protection. The screen is not only bigger than that of the Mi 10 5G but also sharper as it has a 2K (3200 x 1440) resolution. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate and a 480Hz touch sampling rate. There are a lot of other figures and parameters thrown around but in a nutshell, the screen on the Mi 11 is one of the best in any smartphone in the world and DisplayMate has awarded it an A+ rating.
Xiaomi has slightly reduced the battery capacity from that of its predecessor but you get a big bump in fast charging technology. So you have a 4600mAh battery inside the Mi 11 with support for 55W fast wired charging, 50W fast wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. It also supports Quick Charge 4+, Quick Charge 3+, and Power Delivery 3.0.
The 5nm Snapdragon 888 chipset which scores 745,942 points on AnTuTu is paired with 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 high-speed storage.
The Mi 11 has an in-display fingerprint scanner, and other than unlocking your phone and authorizing payments, Xiaomi says it can also measure your heart rate. There are stereo speakers tuned by Harman Kardon, dual nano-SIM support and both can be set to 5G, NFC, IR blaster, enhanced WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2 with Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus. It runs MIUI 12 based on Android 11 out of the box.
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Mi 11 cameras
The Xiaomi Mi 11 has three rear cameras. The main camera is a 108MP 1/1.33″ sensor with an f/1.85 aperture, a 7P lens, and a 1.6μm pixel size. There is a 13MP super wide-angle lens with a 123° field of view and the third camera is a 5MP 50mm telephoto macro camera. The front-facing camera is a 20MP sensor.
The camera app is packed with lots of features, some of which can’t be found on other phones. There is a Super Night Scene video mode that allows you to record videos in low-light using Night Mode. There is also 8K video recording along with a professional mode, Video LOG mode, support for HEIF format, Cinematic Lens, and a bunch of classic movie filters. The much-loved sky-filter is also available.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Price and Availability
The Mi 11 packs a lot of impressive specs and features but what makes it a compelling buy is its price. The flagship starts at ¥3999 (~$611) for the 8+128GB version; goes up to ¥4299 (~$657) for the 8+256GB version, and stops at ¥4699 (~$719) for the 12+256GB version.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 comes in Blue, Black, and White. There is a special Lei Jun Signature Edition that has a different finish (scodix crystal), a special retail box, and is only available in 12+256GB for ¥4699 (~$719). A plain leather version (Smoke Purple) and a Khaki version made of Vegetarian Leather were also announced. However, only the former is listed for purchase.
The phone doesn’t come with a charger but Xiaomi has a special Set Edition that includes a 55W GaN charger. This bundle is available for the same price for a limited time after which you will be charged an extra ¥99 if you want the charger.
Other accessories Xiaomi announced for the phone include a textured case that is priced at ¥99 (~$15); a silicone case that is ¥69 (~$11), and a glitter case that is ¥299 (~$45). Xiaomi also has a package called Mi Care that costs ¥679 (~$104) that provides two screen replacements and an additional year of warranty.
The Mi 11 goes on pre-order today and will go on sale on the 1st of January 2021. If you decide to pre-order, you will be required to pay a deposit fee. The first 4000 buyers to pay the balance for the phone will get a customized Xiaomi jacket.
