If you are on the search for a new phone, you don’t have to shell out so much money for a flagship. There are lots of capable mid-range phones that pack very impressive specifications and features, some of which are found in flagship phones. Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Lite 5G is one of such impressive mid-range phones, but there is a new rival on the block, the Motorola Edge Lite a.k.a. Motorola Edge 20, and it is a worthy challenger.
If you want to know which one of the two phones you should get or you are just curious about which is the better device, then this comparison should help. As usual, we will start with a spec by spec comparison:
| Mi 11 Lite 5G | Motorola Edge Lite (Motorola Edge 20) | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.55-inch 2400 x 1080 10-bit AMOLED HDR10+, DCI-P3 color gamut | 6.67-inch 2400 x 1080 10-bit OLED HDR10+, DCI-P3 color gamut |
| Display protection | Gorilla Glass 6 | Not stated |
| Refresh rate | 90Hz | 144Hz |
| Touch sampling rate | 240Hz | 576Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 780G | Snapdragon 778G |
| RAM and Storage | LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage | LPDDR4 RAM and UFS 2.2 storage |
| Storage expansion | Yes | No |
| Rear cameras | 64MP f/1.79 main camera 8MP f/2.2 119° ultrawide angle camera 5MP f/2.4 telemacro camera | 108MP f/1.9 main camera 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, 10z hybrid zoom, and 30x digital zoom 16MP f/2.2 121° ultrawide angle camera (capable of shooting macro photos) |
| Front camera | 20MP f/2.4 camera | 32MP f/2.25 camera |
| Fingerprint scanner | Side-mounted | Side-mounted |
| Connectivity | 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, Dual SIM (Hybrid slot) | 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, |
| Battery capacity | 4250mAh | 4020mAh |
| Fast charging | 33W | 33W |
| Operating system | MIUI 12 based on Android 11 | MYUI 2.0 based on Android 11 |
| Dimensions and weight | 160.53 x 75.73 x 6.81 mm 159 grams | 163.31 x 76.05 x 6.99 mm 163 grams |
| Other features | IR blaster, LiquidCool technology, AI Face Unlock | Ready For, Virtual RAM, AI Face Unlock, Physical shortcut button |
Design
The Mi 11 Lite 5G and Motorola Edge Lite are very different in terms of their looks. The former has its punch hole at the left corner of the screen and its camera housing is shaped like a square while the Motorola phone has a centered punch hole and a rectangular camera housing. One thing is sure, you won’t mistake this phone for each other.
The more interesting part of their design is their thickness and weight, which are two of their selling points. Xiaomi wins here with the Mi 11 Lite 5G weighing 159 grams and being incredibly thin at 6.81mm while packing the bigger battery of the two devices. However, Motorola has also done a good job with the Edge Lite’s weight which comes in at 163 grams and its 6.9mm thickness.
Display
The two phones have dropped LCD for AMOLED (Mi 11 Lite 5G) and OLED (Motorola Edge Lite) and they both have the same resolution. However, Motorola’s phone packs a bigger screen size and wins in terms of refresh rate (144Hz) and touch sampling rate (576Hz), blowing past the 90Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate of the Mi 11 Lite 5G.
Xiaomi has been kind enough to protect its screen with a sheet of Gorilla Glass 6. Unfortunately, Motorola has kept mute on the type of protection on the Edge Lite.
Processor, RAM, and Storage
The Mi 11 Lite 5G has the Snapdragon 780G processor, Qualcomm’s first 5nm chipset, under its hood. This is a powerful processor and it bests the Snapdragon 778G inside the Motorola Edge Lite even though the margin isn’t a wide one.
Xiaomi wins this round not only with its more powerful chipset but also the use of the faster LPDDR4X RAM as against the LPDDR4 type found inside the Edge Lite. Both phones use UFS 2.2 storage type.
Cameras
Xiaomi and Motorola both ship their phones with triple rear cameras and a single front-facing camera. There is a 64MP main camera on the Mi 11 Lite 5G while the Motorola Edge Lite has a 108MP sensor. Naturally, the latter should capture more details but a camera comparison will determine which is better.
With respect to the other sensors, the Motorola Edge Lite wins. It packs the more useful 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, and up to 30x digital zoom. It also has a better ultrawide angle camera. We also expect its 32MP selfie camera to take better shots than the Mi 11 Lite 5G’s 20MP sensor.
Battery and fast charging
The Mi 11 Lite manages to pack a bigger battery in a smaller body, and because its screen is smaller and has a lower refresh rate and its processor is more efficient, it should boast a better battery life than the Motorola Edge Lite. Both phones have support for 33W fast charging (30W on the Motorola Edge 20) which is expected in this category.
Software
This is subjective as some folks prefer MIUI while others prefer Motorola’s MYUI which is almost near stock Android but with useful additions. Both devices run Android 11 out of the box.
The more important part of the software discussion is support. Xiaomi will most likely roll out MIUI updates to this phone for at least three years but it may not get more than two OS upgrades at best. The Motorola Edge Lite on the other hand should get two years of security updates and OS upgrades based on the information released for its international version, the Edge 20. Unfortunately, Motorola is not very reliable when it comes to updates.
Other features
The Mi 11 Lite 5G has support for storage expansion, an IR blaster for controlling compatible electronics, and even has liquid cooling to keep the phone cool during intensive tasks.
Motorola’s Edge Lite has “Ready For”, a feature that allows it to be connected to an external display and be used as a desktop computer, a gaming console, or a webcam. It also has a virtual RAM feature that adds an additional 3GB from the storage when you need more RAM. There is also a physical button for calling up a taxi service in China while it works as Google Assistant button on the international variant.
Price
This is a major determining factor for a lot of prospective buyers and below are the prices for the two phones:
Mi 11 Lite 5G
- 6+128GB (Europe only) = €369
- 8+128GB = ¥2299 (~$356)/€399
- 8+256GB = ¥2599 (~$402)
Motorola Edge Lite (Motorola Edge 20)
- 8+128GB = ¥2599 (~$402)
- 8+256GB = ¥2899 (~$449)
The Mi 11 Lite 5G is the cheaper of the two model.
Conclusion
The Mi 11 Lite 5G is not only the more affordable device but also packs a bigger battery, a more powerful processor, slightly faster RAM type, and has a more promising software support future. It is also the lighter and thinner phone of the two.
Motorola on the other hand charges more but that gets you a better display with a much higher refresh rate and touch sampling rate, better cameras, and practically puts a desktop computer in your pocket with its Ready For feature.
As you can see, both phones are very impressive but have their strengths and weaknesses. We hope this comparison helps you decide which one of them is for you.
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