Xiaomi introduces array of wallet-friendly phones with the Mi 11i and Mi 11 Lite

• Andrew
• 4 years ago

In addition to the headlining Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the company also unveiled a few more devices that are sure to turn some heads for those who don’t want to pay for a new flagship device. The Mi 11i and Mi 11 Lite have been announced, with the 11i offering, many of the same great flagship features found on similar devices, while the Mi 11 Lite are firmly placed in the mid-range market.

Xiaomi Mi 11i

With the Mi 11i, you’re getting a slightly-trimmed-down version of the standard Mi 11 with its 6.67-inch AMOLED display and 2400 x 1080 resolution. Xiaomi included a 120Hz refresh rate, which should be expected, along with a touch-sampling rate of 360Hz for a better gaming experience. Just like the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra, the 11i is powered by the latest Snapdragon 888 chipset, while being coupled with 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage.

You won’t find any fancy new fast-charging tricks with the Mi 11i, as the wired charging speeds come in at just 33W. However, unlike Samsung and others, the Mi 11i does include a compatible 33W charging brick in the box. There’s also no wireless charging on board, which is a bit of a disappointment but doesn’t really come as a surprise.

As is the case with the Mi 11 Ultra, the star of the show when it comes to the Mi 11i is the rear camera system. Xiaomi is using a 108MP sensor for the main camera, which is sure to be a fantastic option for low-light photography with the 9-in-1 Super Pixel support. The company even included Dual Native ISO in an effort to capture details even in the darkest areas of a picture. And all of this is done without over-exposing the rest of the image to end up with a clean and crisp picture.

While the 108MP lens will do much of the heavy-lifting, the Mi 11i sports an 8MP ultra-wide camera with a 119-degree field of view, along with a 5MP tele-macro camera sensor. This provides the equivalent of a 50mm focal length, and hopefully, will be much more useful than other macro lenses we’ve seen on recently launched phones.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G / Mi 11 Lite

Rounding out today’s device announcements was the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite and Mi 11 Lite 5G. These devices are firmly-planted in the mid-range market, helping you to save a few bucks while still getting a fantastic all-around experience.

Both devices feature a gorgeous 6.55-inch AMOLED display, sporting a 90Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2400 x 1080. Xiaomi states that the display on the Mi 11 Lite and Mi 11 Lite 5G support 10-bit TrueColor, providing more than 1.07 billions colors, along with better color gradation and better viewing angles.

Under the hood is where you’ll find the first key difference between the two. While the Snapdragon 732G is at the helm of the Mi 11 Lite, the Lite 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 780G. The reason for this is because the standard Mi 11 Lite is “limited” to 4G / LTE connectivity, so it doesn’t need the built-in 5G chip found on the 780G. While both options feature at least 6GB of RAM, only the Mi 11 Lite 5G sees an 8GB variant also available. There’s also only one storage option for the standard Lite, while the 5G version comes with either 128GB or 256GB, depending on how much RAM you want.

The triple camera setup is the same across the board, with a primary 64MP lens doing the heavy lifting. There’s also an 8MP ultra-wide camera on both, along with a 5MP tele-macro lens. Xiaomi states that both the ultra-wide camera and selfie camera on both of these devices have been optimized for Night Mode, allowing you to take pictures in any situation and be more than happy with final results.

Battery life should be pretty solid with the built-in 4,250mAh cell, along with 33W fast wired charging. Xiaomi has been pretty good about its software optimization, although we do wish the batteries were just a tad bit larger overall.