Xiaomi Mi 11 launched with 2K 120Hz display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and 108MP camera

Xiaomi is ringing in the new year with Mi 11, a flagship phone that goes toe-to-toe with the best in the industry–and this includes upcoming phones like the Samsung Galaxy S21 as well–while costing half as much. As is typical of all Xiaomi phones, the Mi 11 offers a lot of phone for a lot less money. The base model with 8GB/128GB costs CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs 45,000) while the top-end model with 12GB/256GB will sell for CNY 4,699 (roughly Rs 53,000). A Mi 11 with 8GB/256GB will set you back by CNY 4,299 (roughly Rs 48,500).

The front of the Mi 11 is familiar territory, though Xiaomi is upgrading the build material. The Mi 11 is only the second phone in the world–after the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra–to feature Corning’s latest and greatest Gorilla Glass Victus protective glass. The panel is curved and has a punch hole cut-out, same as the Mi 10 phones. The rear of the phone is also curved in the Mi 11 and is held together by a metallic frame. That rear panel comes in two versions, one with frosted glass in gray, blue and white, and another with vegan leather in purple and beige. The all-round design on the back is also seeing a slight refresh with an updated camera module and newly minted Xiaomi branding-this is relative to the Mi 10. The phone has stereo speakers and no headphone jack.

Also Read Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G review: Out to eat OnePlus’s lunch

Specs-wise, the Mi 11 is an all-new phone with some of the most powerful hardware that’s available in the market today. The screen is 6.81-inch and AMOLED with a 2K or QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate (480Hz touch sampling). That screen can peak 1500nits and supports 10bit or ‘true’ colour-it is also HDR10+ ready out-of-the-box.

Mi 11 is a China-exclusive affair for now.

Under the hood, the Mi 11 packs the Snapdragon 888, becoming the first smartphone in the world with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest mobile processor. This is paired with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS3.1 storage. Software inside the phone is Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 which is based on Android 11.

For photography, the Mi 11 has a 108MP main camera with OIS, a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 123-degree field-of-view, and another 5MP camera for macros. 8K video recording is supported. On the front, the Mi 11 has a 20MP camera.

Rounding off the package is a 4,600mAh battery with 55W fast wired, 50W fast wireless and 10W reverse wireless charging. An interesting thing to note about the Mi 11 is that Xiaomi will sell the phone without a charging brick and cable in the box in a bid to protect the environment. But buyers will be able to opt in for a spare 55W Gallium Nitride (GaN) charger and cable separately at no extra cost–this was least expected, to say the least.

The Mi 11 is a China-exclusive affair for now though considering that the Mi 10 and Mi 10T Pro came to India, we have high hopes from this one as well. Stay tuned for more on the Xiaomi Mi 11.