Finally, the Xiaomi 12 series has an affordable variant. The Xiaomi 12 Lite made its debut just a few days ago with several improvements compared to the previous generation. Last year, Xiaomi launched the Mi 11 Lite but then it was retired from the market due to the issues faced by Qualcomm with the Snapdragon 780G mobile platform. A few months later, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE went official: NE stands for New Edition and this phone is basically the Mi 11 Lite but with a different chipset, the Snapdragon 778G. It is called 11 Lite 5G NE instead of Mi 11 Lite 5G NE because Xiaomi decided to ditch the Mi branding in the middle of last year. This is a comparison between the specifications of the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE and its successor: the Xiaomi 12 Lite. Here, you will learn the main differences between these two mid-rangers.

Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE vs Xiaomi 12 Lite

Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE Xiaomi 12 Lite
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 160.5 x 75.7 x 6.8 mm,
158 g		 159.3 x 73.7 x 7.3 mm,
173 g
DISPLAY 6.55 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels (Full HD+), AMOLED 6.55 inches, 1080 x 2400 pixels (Full HD+), AMOLED
PROCESSOR Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G, octa-core 2.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G, octa-core 2.4 GHz
MEMORY 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB 6 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 256 GB
SOFTWARE Android 11, MIUI Android 12, MIUI
CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS
CAMERA Triple 64 + 8 + 2 MP, f/1.8 + f/2.2 + f/2.4
20 MP f/2.2 front camera		 Triple 108 + 8 + 2 MP, f/1.9 + f/2.2 + f/2.4
32 MP f/2.5 front camera
BATTERY 4250 mAh, fast charging 33W 4300 mAh, Fast Charging 67W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES 5G, dual SIM,IP53 certification 5G, dual SIM

Design

As already mentioned above, the Xiaomi 12 Lite is an upgrade of the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE, but it can not be considered an upgrade if we talk about the design. Indeed, the older model comes with a thinner and lighter body, and it is one of the thinnest and most lightweight phones on the whole market. That is why it appears very attractive, more than the 12 Lite, even though it has a lower screen to body ratio. Further, it has the IP53 certification making it dust resistant and splash resistant. The Xiaomi 12 Lite has a higher screen to body ratio and, given that these phones feature the same display diagonal, it appears slightly more compact. But it is thicker and heavier than its internal rival. Unfortunately, these phones are not built with premium materials: they are made of polycarbonate for both the frame and the rear cover.

 

 

Display

At first glance, it seems like Xiaomi used the same display panel for these two phones. But there is an important difference: the Xiaomi 12 Lite is able to show up to 68 billion colors, while the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE shows one billion colors. Further, the new model has an in-display fingerprint reader, while the fingerprint scanner of the predecessor is side-mounted. Last but not least, refresh rates are different: the 11 Lite 5G NE has just 90 Hz, while the 12 Lite reaches 120 Hz. For the rest, they are pretty much the same: we are talking about AMOLED panels with a diagonal of 6.55 inches, a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, Dolby Vision support, the HDR10+ certification, and the HDR10+ certification. The displays are protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5.

 

Specs & Software

The hardware department did not change from last year, with one single small exception: the micro SD slot. Xiaomi ditched it on the 12 Lite, while you get a micro SD slot on the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE. For the rest, there are no differences. These phones are powered by the Snapdragon 778G mobile platform: a processor with an octa-core architecture built at 6 nm and composed of four Kryo 670 cores running at a max frequency of 2.4 GHz, four Kryo 670 cores running at a frequency of 1.8 GHz, and an Adreno 642L GPU. The SoC is paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage, but there are other configurations with 6 or 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of native storage. Given that it is a phone released in 2021, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE runs Android 11 out of the box customized by MIUI 12.5, while the new model runs Android 12 customized by MIUI 13.

 

Camera

There is an upgrade even when it comes to the camera setups. The new Xiaomi 12 Lite features a 108 MP main camera, an 8 MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2 MP macro camera. The main camera found on this device is better than the one found on its predecessor with its 64 MP resolution. The new device even comes with a better front camera, with a 32 MP resolution instead of just 20 MP.

 

Battery

Even though it remains pretty thin and lightweight, the Xiaomi 12 Lite brings a bigger battery, with a capacity of 4300 mAh. Given that the rest of the components are similar, it will surely offer a longer battery life. It even charges quicker thanks to 67W fast charging, while the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE stops at 33W.

 

Price

The Xiaomi 12 Lite will be officially available in the global market with a starting price tag of $400/€400, while you can currently find the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE for less than €300 or $300 thanks to online street prices. Now you know the differences: the Xiaomi 12 Lite brings a slightly better display, a bigger battery, and a better camera, but it loses that very thin design and the micro SD slot found on its predecessor. Which one would you pick?

 

Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE vs Xiaomi 12 Lite: PRO and CONS

Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE

PRO

  • More affordable
  • IP53 certification
  • Micro SD slot
  • Thinner and lighter

CONS

  • Inferior camera
  • Smaller battery

 

Xiaomi 12 Lite

PRO

  • Better rear camera
  • Better front camera
  • Bigger battery
  • Faster charging

CONS

  • Price

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