Of course, smartphones were again in the foreground at yesterday’s Xiaomi show. This is hardly surprising in view of the increasing success of the true value-for-money devices. And the Chinese company once again seems to have devices in the pipeline that could pose real problems for the competition. The focus is on a flagship that lives up to its name – the Mi 11 Ultra.
Lineup for 2021 relies on four smartphones
Xiaomi does not seem to do things by halves. While other smartphone manufacturers use an event to present just one new device to the global public, the Chinese unveiled plenty of new products yesterday. Besides a mini-projector and the latest generation of the Mi Smart Band, new smartphones were of course also part of the party. Xiaomi has completely relaunched its popular Mi 11 smartphone series. The Mi 11 Ultra is joined by three other (upper) mid-range smartphones.
The Mi 11 Ultra seems to be a star turn in the smartphone world. The Chinese company has not been lax here at all. At least in terms of processor power, the Mi 11i can keep up. Just like the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra, it also features the powerful Snapdragon 888. Apart from that, the Mi 11i has 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of internal storage depending on the features. Fans of large smartphone displays will be happy about the smartphone’s 6.67-inch screen diagonal. The OLED is not only big, but also offers rich contrasts thanks to HDR10+. Thanks to the color depth of 10 bits, we can also look forward to vivid colors. With a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels, the Mi 11i is not only razor-sharp, but also free of annoying judder when scrolling thanks to a 120 Hz refresh rate.
However, the sheer size of the smartphone is also reflected in the weight. Thus, the 200 grams of live weight might simply be a bit too heavy for one or the other. The large battery with its 4,520 mAh certainly contributes to the weight. It is commendable that Xiaomi includes the corresponding charger with 33 watts in the scope of delivery. However, wireless charging is not available. Other features like 5G and unlocking via face or fingerprint sensor could turn the Xiaomi Mi 11i into a real “people’s smartphone”.
Powerful camera
Last but not least, the camera should be able to convince even the last undecided. It is driven by the main camera, which resolves with 108 megapixels. On top of that, the camera module has an ultra-wide-angle camera with 8 megapixels and a tele-macro sensor with 5 megapixels. Of course, a selfie camera is not to be missed. It has a maximum resolution of 20 megapixels. The prices of the Mi 11i also sound convincing. Xiaomi wants to launch the upcoming smartphone at an MSRP starting at 650 Euros. When exactly it will be, the Chinese company wants to announce in the near future.
Wireless charging in the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
The Ultra version of the new Mi 11 does everything much like the Mi 11i – only better. And that already starts with the charging of the top smartphone with a proud weight of 238 grams. Thus, the 6.8-inch smartphone can not only be charged via cable, but also inductively with 67 watts of power. This means that the gigantic 5,000 mAh battery is fully charged within 36 minutes. This is a real challenge for Xiaomi against its compatriot OnePlus. The recently introduced OnePlus 9 Pro offers “only” 50 watts of charging power.
The most striking difference is probably the impressive camera of the Ultra model. The camera module not only has the obligatory lenses, but also a separate display with a size of 1.1 inches. This proves to be extremely practical for displaying messages. The triple cam consists of the main camera (50 MP), an ultra-wide-angle lens (48 MP) and a telephoto zoom lens (48 MP). A working memory with 12 GB RAM and an internal storage with 256 GB make the total package perfect. All in all, the Mi Ultra clearly sets itself apart from the other devices presented. Of course, this is also reflected in the price. With an MSRP starting at 1,199 Euros, Xiaomi launches a true flagship here.
Two Mi 11 Lite for the tight wallet
Both Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11i are almost atypical smartphones for Xiaomi. After all, at least in this country, devices at a slim price have always been the key to success for the Chinese company. However, the Chinese also covered this segment at their event. The two presented variants of the Mi 11 Lite offer well-equipped smartphones at an extremely fair price. The presented Mi 11 Lite can be purchased with or without 5G. However, this is not the only difference between the two inexpensive models. The Mi 11 Lite One is equipped with a Snapdragon 732G from Qualcomm. It is supported by 6 GB of RAM. Internal storage is optionally available in 64 or 128 GB.
The Mi 11 Lite 5G again comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 780G. Here, you can choose between 6 or 8 GB of RAM. However, the 128 GB internal storage is the only alternative. Apart from that, the features of both smartphones are identical. Both have a nice 6.55-inch OLED. It has a resolution of 2400 x 1800 pixels and a color depth of 10 bits. The 90 Hz refresh rate cannot keep up with the top models, but it should be enough for normal users. We can expect high-contrast pictures thanks to HDR10+. There are no differences in the cameras either. The main camera (64 MP) is used along with a telemacro lens (5 MP). Only the selfie camera differs – for whatever reason. The 5G model offers a front-facing camera with 20 MP, and the model without the fast mobile standard only 16 megapixels. The prices for the Mi 11 Lite One are supposed to start at 300 Euros. The MSRP of the Mi 11 Lite 5G, on the other hand, starts at 370 Euros.
