Xiaomi Redmi Go review: The best feature phone alternative one can get at this price- Tech Reviews, Firstpost
Redmi Go’s vibrant display, simple UI, decent performance and battery backup makes it a viable option for those feature phone users who want to upgrade.
Xiaomi is a company that needs no introduction. It's a company that's established such a reputation for itself that one could simply walk away with a new phone and not really worry about quality or performance, and that's quite commendable. The Redmi Go, as with other Xiaomi phones, is exactly one such device. It's cheap, dirt cheap, and runs Android Go. It has a nice display, a great battery and a functional camera and it's available at just Rs 4,499.
The Android Go bit is what makes this phone even more exciting. Our perennial complaint with Android phones is phone makers eschew the simplicity and power of stock Android in favour of bloatware and custom skins that attempt to make their phones stand out. Unfortunately, while they do succeed in the latter, after a fashion, you're left with a phone that's missing the most recent updates and one that might not even get support following the initial months of its launch. Android Go certification means that the phone is running bloat-free Android, and a light version of Android at that.
While HMD Global announced a few Nokia branded Android Go smartphones and Samsung brought its first Android Oreo (Go edition) phone too last year, Xiaomi a brand popular for bringing well-package phones at an affordable price was nowhere in the list up until 2019.
Xiaomi entered the segment with its first Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone the Redmi Go in March this year. The phone features an HD display, single front, rear camera and packs a decent 3,000 mAh battery. The Redmi Go is aimed specifically for first-time smartphone users who want to switch from feature phones. The new Android Go edition is the cheapest device in Xiaomi’s mobile portfolio at present. The Redmi Go comes with a price tag of Rs 4,499.
But feature phones still takes a good share in the Indian mobile market accounting for more than a million users and while Xiaomi now seems to be aiming to grab a slice from it with its cheap Android phone, the only question remains is if the new Redmi Go is worth its price. Here’s what we found in our review after thoroughly testing Xiaomi’s first Android Go phone for a week.
Solid build but dated design
The Redmi Go is built entirely out of plastic and borrows its design language from Redmi 4A. The phone doesn’t have a sleek profile but its compact form and curved edges offer a good grip.
The Redmi Go is 8.4 mm thick and weighs around 137 grams. Despite this, the phone doesn’t feel heavy and it fits quite well in one’s palm (even if you have small hands).
Moreover, you can slip the phone easily in your jeans pocket (unlike those tall form factor smartphones) and one-handed usage is a breeze.
The build quality of the phone is good and it feels solid. The Redmi Go gets a dedicated microSD slot (located on the left edge) which is a bonus, given that many budget phones in this price range come with hybrid dual SIM tray.
The matte finished plastic back panel doesn’t attract fingerprints; however, the front glass screen is slightly glossy. The three capacitive buttons below the display are not backlit, which is another drawback of the phone. It was disorienting at first (mostly at night), but I slowly got used to it after a few days of use.
Overall, Xiaomi didn’t compromise on the aesthetics even though it is a budget-oriented phone.
A great display for an entry-level smartphone
The Redmi Go sports a 5-inch HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The phone doesn’t look modern, at least from the side. It has chunky bezels at the top and bottom up front which makes it rather appear dated.
Nevertheless, the display on the phone looks good in terms of colour reproduction and viewing angles. The text looks sharp and the display visibility for both indoors and outdoors is decent.
The slight glossiness of the display adds to a little reflection, although auto brightness works fine under harsh lighting conditions.
The phone has a Night Light feature that eliminates blue light for comfortable viewing in the dimly lit situation. Another nifty feature is the ‘Double tap screen to wake’ option which doesn’t require you to use the power button to wake the display.
Android Go skinned on a lightweight Mint launcher
The Redmi Go runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition). Google’s Android Go software has been optimized for entry-level smartphones and offers a vanilla Android experience.
Xiaomi's Redmi Go includes Google’s Go suite of apps such as the Google Go Assistant, Maps Go etc., which are well optimized to offer snappier performance. The phone comes pre-installed with a few third-party apps including Facebook Lite, Amazon which you can uninstall.
Notably, the phone doesn’t come with an Android launcher; Xiaomi has instead skinned Android Go with a lightweight Mint launcher.
The Mint launcher offers customization with themes, icon packs that one can choose from based on their preferences. The launcher even allows you to customize the home layout and reduce the icon size. Unlike Redmi 6A’s custom MIUI skinned OS, the interface on the Redmi Go looks neat and thankfully it gets an app drawer too.
The bundled version of the Google Play Store is tweaked to highlight the Go and Lite versions of the apps at the top of the landing page.
In day to day usage, the apps on the phone worked fine except for Google Maps Go that failed to load directions more than thrice.
The Gmail Go is nothing different than the standard Gmail, except it eats less space than the standard app.
The emphasis is on data savings as well. The phone gives the option to download videos at a different resolution. While this would help those users who have limited data plans, they will be able to save some storage space too. But there's a problem here that I will mention in the next section.
It is worth mentioning that unlike stock Android on devices like Pixel, Android Go isn’t directly supplied by Google. It is built by the OEM from Google’s sources which means there could be a delay while receiving security updates. That being said, our Redmi Go review unit still had January’s security patch in April.
Overall, the experience was satisfactory. The simple layout and intuitive interface certainly serves the purpose and would definitely help feature phone users to quickly adapt to Android OS.
Performance that's enough for casual use... but nothing more
Underneath the Android Go software layer sits a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, the same mobile platform found on the Redmi 4A phone. The chipset is paired with Adreno 308 GPU and 1 GB of RAM. It offers 8 GB of onboard storage which can be further expanded up to 128 GB using a microSD card.
I found the Redmi Go to be a decent performer considering its price. The device processing was fairly smooth for normal day-to-day activities, be it browsing the internet, replying to emails, or scrolling through social media apps. The phone didn’t stutter while switching between multiple apps.
Indeed, you would not expect a smartphone with 1 GB RAM to run graphics intensive games smoothly, but we tried it out nonetheless.
As expected, the phone struggles while performing heavy duty tasks.
While using the device for extended hours I observed occasional lag when playing Asphalt 8: Airborne with multiple apps running in the background. That said, the Redmi Go doesn’t support certain heavy Android game titles like PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9: Legends and the lot. This might be disappointing for those users who want to try out popular titles on a budget Android phone.
The benchmark test AnTuTu crashed more than twice and heavy sites took time to load. However, the Redmi Go manages to run casual games with ease.
The Redmi Go is best suited for light and moderate users who don’t torture their device much. The only sore point of the phone is its low amount of storage and RAM that restricts loading up songs, videos and apps that use heavy files.
The single-camera capture good shots but only in daylight
The Redmi Go features a basic camera configuration which is expected from an entry-level device. The phone features an 8 MP rear camera and a 5 MP camera up front. The camera interface on the phone offers a few real-time filters and AI Beauty mode as well.
I found the rear camera to be pretty decent. The Redmi Go managed to capture photos with good colour reproduction and detail provided the lighting conditions were good.
Surprisingly, the camera app offers a Pro mode that lets you control the ISO, gets you manual focus and more, controls that are not easy to find on most budget smartphones.
The rear camera could accurately lock focus on the subject in daylight even though it was a bit slow to pull off the same. Even the macro shots turn out to be great, however, in the few landscape shots that I clicked under harsh sunlight I observed a glaring effect (somewhat blue cast) that washed out the details.
In low light, the phone manages to capture decent shots, but there’s a lot of noise in the photos.
The HDR mode enhances the pictures in good light, however, it is recommended to avoid using the mode in low light as it takes time to process images, which means you’d end up with blurry shots.
For comparison, I took a few shots with the Redmi 6A that costs around Rs 1,500 more than the Redmi Go.
Although the phone houses a single rear camera, the Redmi 6A could capture better-details both in daylight and low lighting conditions. The photos on the Redmi Go had decent colour reproduction and the shots looked close to natural, however, the camera on the Redmi 6A could retain better-details even in low light.
As for the front 5 MP front-facing camera, it is capable of shooting decent daylight selfies. The beauty mode tends to soften the image but you can adjust the levels or turn it off completely. In low light, the case was totally opposite. The camera managed to produce vivid colours in low light, however, the photos had low details compared to the ones clicked on the Redmi 6A and were quite grainy.
Redmi Go and Redmi 6A camera comparison
But overall, the Redmi Go manages to offer good primary that one could get in this price bracket. Although the front camera captures reasonable shots in low light, it can render decent selfies that are passable for social sharing.
You can check out high-res photos clicked on the Redmi Go in our Flickr album by clicking here.
Decent battery back up
The Redmi Go packs a standard 3,000 mAh battery and has a micro-USB port for charging. The battery on the phones lasts one day with average usage.
With intense usage that includes playing games for long hours, texting on social apps, scrolling through Twitter feeds, streaming videos on YouTube and clicking photos in between, the phone will last more than 12 hours on average. The phone ships with 5V-1A charger which could charge the battery to full 100 percent in about 2 hours 14 minutes.
Verdict and price in India
With a vibrant display, compact size, decent battery backup and performance, the Redmi Go does serve a good package for the price.
The phone’s limited native storage and RAM, and its struggles with low light imaging are a few drawbacks. Further, its inability to run 3D graphics-intensive games like PUBG Mobile may come as a surprise for a few.
For a price tag under Rs 5,000, the new Redmi Go offers a few aspects which are not easy to find on a budget smartphone. However, the primary question that remains is whether one should pick this new device from Xiaomi. The Redmi Go is a viable option for those feature phone users who are looking to upgrade to a smartphone from a feature phone. The phone is a good performer at this price point, given certain smartphones in this price bracket either run older MediaTek or even Spreadtrum chipsets.
However, if you prefer playing heavy titles and want a slightly bigger display you can pick the Redmi 6A with a capable MediaTek Helio A22 chipset instead. The phone can run 3D games at lower frame rates and offer extra RAM, native storage. Moreover, the phone captures better-detailed photos as compared to the Redmi Go, which could be a good add-on for those looking for a better camera.
In a nutshell, the Redmi Go is probably the best low-end Android phone one can grab right now, however, if you can spend a bit more cash then Redmi 6A will be an ideal option. The phone is currently retailing at Rs 5,999 for the 2 GB RAM and 16 GB storage model.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: Luxurious pampering for smartphone lovers
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is the best of what Xiaomi has to offer this year — superb design, great display, good cameras, and lightning fast charging speeds. Check out our full review.
Convincing yourself to spend upwards of Rs. 20,000 on a Xiaomi smartphone is tough — after all, you seek the brand value and the associated quality expectations. Hence, since 2020, Xiaomi has had to rely on its aggressive pricing strategy to draw crowds towards its highest-end offerings. The Mi 10 was, therefore, a superb deal for a Snapdragon 865-powered flagship that year but did not find many takers. The game changed last year with the Mi 11X series and the limited Mi 11 Ultra, wherein people now wanted to try out an expensive Xiaomi. With the Xiaomi 11T Pro in early 2022, we knew Xiaomi was setting up the stage for its ultimate high-end flagships. We only got one though; the best one in the lineup — the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Carrying a starting price tag of Rs. 62,999, the Xiaomi 12 Pro is right now among the most loaded and well-rounded luxury Android phones we can think of. There are no compromises here unlike some of Xiaomi's last outings, which makes the phone a worthy consideration over the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S22, iQOO 9 Pro, and the crowd favourite — the Apple iPhone 13. But all that's on paper and in the real world, the Xiaomi 12 Pro has a tremendous task of justifying all the hype surrounding it. Is it any good?
Xiaomi 12 Pro Design
Unlike the lavish design on the Mi 11 Ultra last year, the Xiaomi 12 Pro looks simple yet sophisticated. Most of the rear is drama-free and the camera hump keeps things minimal. The massive main camera lens does add character to the otherwise simple design, and Xiaomi's choice of colours makes the Xiaomi 12 Pro elegant.
The attention to detail is immaculate — just look at the loudspeaker grille, the antenna lines, the “harman pardon” branding, and the keys. It does feel like a phone worth its cost. The same sort of simple yet elegant look continues over to the front, where the curved edges of the display look spectacular. The bezels are nowhere as slim as the ones on the Samsung Galaxy S22 but the Xiaomi 12 Pro masks them well. Overall, the Xiaomi 12 Pro is one of the prettiest phones around in 2022; I prefer it over the iPhone 13 and even the Galaxy S22 as far as show-off duties are concerned.
Oh, there is something else — the packaging box is fat on this one. That is because you get the 120W charger in the box! And the plastic case! And the USB-C to 3.5mm headphone dongle! Am I dreaming or what? Samsung and Apple, are you looking at this?
Xiaomi 12 Pro Display
Hiding underneath those curved edges is a beautiful 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a Quad HD+ resolution with an aspect ratio of 20:9. The variable refresh rate technology goes from 1Hz to 120Hz, depending on the kind of content you are viewing. Plus, there are all the bits thrown in for good measure — a 10-bit panel, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, 1500 nits of peak brightness, and Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Phew! Even the iPhone 13's display does not pack as much tech as this one.
Specs aside, this is a gorgeous display to look at. Whether I am looking at the colourful MIUI interface or YouTube videos, it all looks the best. Colours are eye-popping and brightness levels are, well… very good. The variable refresh rate keeps scrolling and animations smooth. Simply put, this is one of the best displays to do anything that involves watching.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Performance
It is often easy to assume that stuffing the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, or any cutting-edge chipset in a phone will take care of all the performance needs. Optimisation, however, matters a lot and Xiaomi usually struggles here. We saw the Snapdragon 888 on the Xiaomi 11T Pro suffering from throttling and overheating issues, and the same replicates on the Xiaomi 12 Pro and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is not a power efficient chip but it can be tamed better, just like we saw on the Samsung Galaxy S22. On the Xiaomi 12 Pro, playing some high end games and using the camera for 15 minutes makes the phone toasty, with lags or performance drops appearing eventually. Games such as Call of Duty: Mobile and Shadow Fight 4: Legends run fine for 10-15 minutes at their highest graphics, post which frame drops are visible, and the phone too uncomfortable to hold. I assume this has something to do with software optimisation considering there is a large cooling solution in place to keep things cool.
When not pushing the Xiaomi 12 Pro through its paces, this is an eager phone that does not disappoint. MIUI 13 on Android 12 is the best of Xiaomi's software experiences. It is fast and behaves in a way that is expected of flagship luxury smartphones. The UI is devoid of adware, although GetApps and Mi Glance throw in notifications to persuade you at all costs to use them. There are some pre-loaded third-party apps but they can be deleted. MIUI 13 otherwise is aesthetically pleasing and a pleasant iteration of Android to use. Compared to the lethargic One UI 4.1 on the Galaxy S22, the MIUI 13 skin is on its feet to serve. Xiaomi has finally figured out how to serve luxury smartphone buyers better compared to its cheaper phones.
And then there's its audio performance, which is easily among the best, if not the best, in its category. Xiaomi's new “quad speaker” arrangement produces sound that has depth with discernible highs, mids, lows and some bass. The output is almost as good as the iPhone 13 Pro Max, although it falls behind in terms of loudness. In its segment though, the audio output is simply unbeatable!
As for basic phone functions, the Xiaomi 12 Pro does them all just fine. Connectivity was never an issue — it latched on to the Jio network reliably. Call performance was good and the earpiece is fairly loud for conversations in busy marketplaces.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Cameras
Xiaomi talked a great deal about the cameras and in reality… it seems they are overselling. Despite having three 50MP camera sensors at the back, the output is still a tad behind those from the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, and much behind the iPhone 13. Head down for a brief explanation.
Xiaomi has gone for a cooler colour tone overall across the three cameras, which looks good under daylight but not so much in any other condition. A Galaxy S22 or an iPhone 13 can take natural photos with better white balance and authentic skin tones — the Xiaomi 12 Pro just can't get the colours right. Human portraits in almost all lighting conditions show softer skin and mixed up hair details; something that the iPhone 13 does greatly. If you aren't comparing though, the camera output via all three sensors is flagship quality. Especially at night, the main camera does a great job with details, colours, and exposures. The ultra-wide camera cannot quite match the impressive colour science of the main camera and messes up with the exposures at times. The 2X portrait camera goes much softer on details and is best left unused at night or in low light. Compared to the photos from the iQOO 9 Pro, the Xiaomi 12 Pro's rear camera impresses better with still photos.
Check out some photo samples taken from the Xiaomi 12 Pro.
Video recording performance is great, both on 4K at 30 fps and 1080p at 30 fps. The stability is decent and the audio recording is on par with the iPhone 13. You can shoot 8K videos too but there is still a dearth of displays that can take advantage of that resolution. Additionally, the camera app lets you play with several special camera modes to make the most out of it. I tried the Supermoon mode in anticipation that it can take moon shots like the S22 Ultra but the result was not near as good.
The front camera performs great with selfies, keeping oodles of facial details, brightened up skin and clothes, and good exposure management in the background.
Xiaomi 12 Pro Battery Life
This is where the Xiaomi 12 Pro falls flat. After using the Galaxy S22 Plus with a similar chip and battery combo, I was expecting a comfortable cruise to the end of the day on a single charge. Sadly, if you put the Xiaomi 12 Pro through 2-3 hours of voice calls, an hour or two of social media, some basic productivity stuff, and brief moments of gaming, the phone runs out of juice before the evening. On most of my working weekdays, I had to charge the phone once in the morning, and once in the evening. Idle battery drain is high and Xiaomi needs to release an update to improve the battery stamina.
Thankfully, the waiting period at the charging station is low. The 120W charging in its Boost charging mode can do a 5 percent to 100 percent charge in 25 minutes. As we saw with the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge, the charging speeds vary greatly with the ambient temperature, and with Noida reaching 42 degrees Celsius these days, I had to leave it for half an hour for a refill. The phone also gets support for 50W wireless charging via Xiaomi's proprietary wireless charger, regular Qi standard wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging too.
Verdict
I used to own the Xiaomi Mi 5 back in 2016 and I loved the phone, despite all its flaws. It was good where it mattered for a flagship, and did everything else just fine. The Xiaomi 12 Pro in 2022 reminds me of that phone. It is good where it matters to a luxury phone buyer — splendid display, a sexy design, a luxurious build, effortless performance, superb set of speakers, and super fast charging. You also get the charger, case and headphones dongle in the box! — credit where deserved.
For everything else, it is almost as good as the competition, but certainly not better — the camera output in still photos is a teeny bit below the iPhone 13 and the Galaxy S22. The performance optimisation has room for improvement, and the battery life is sub-par at the moment; it requires charging twice in a day. Plus, you miss out on IP rating for water and dust protection.
When you are spending Rs. 63,000 or more on a smartphone, nitpicking is your right. The Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus are phones where this nitpicking is at its least. The iPhone 13 comes a close second with its stellar battery life, superb cameras, and a rock solid software experience. The Xiaomi 12 Pro fights the iPhone 13 for this second spot, wherein it one-ups the Apple phone with a much superior display, more versatile cameras, faster charging, and a desirable design. Let's say the Galaxy S22 and Xiaomi 12 Pro are the top two premium smartphones we recommend right now. Yeah, the iPhone 13 doesn't seem as good in comparison now.
What would we recommend? Buy it or skip? I say go for it. The Xiaomi 12 Pro is an enjoyable phone that behaves like a true luxurious flagship. Don't go by the spec sheet, the user experience is where this Xiaomi phone delivers highly. As a package, it is the most satisfactory smartphone to choose right now, the one that pampers the most.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Review: A Gorgeous Screen and Design
Xiaomi had first announced the Mi 11 in back in the last few days of 2020, with availability of the domestic Chinese version of the phone taking place in the early weeks of January. Later in February, the company followed up with the global launch of the device, divulging the pricing strategy in markets such as Europe.
The Mi 11 is a very interesting device – it was actually the very first Snapdragon 888 device worldwide, and to this date in many countries still is the only such available smartphone – at least until other vendors catch up with their model releases. In the past year or so, we’ve seen Xiaomi having gained a lot of market share in global countries, mostly picking up customers from Huawei – particularly in European markets where Xiaomi has been seeing lots of new success with carriers.
What characterises the Mi 11 from other devices – other than the new Snapdragon 888 SoC, is Xiaomi’s new design cantered around a new 6.81” AMOLED 3200 x 1440 screen with up to 120Hz refresh rate. It’s not Xiaomi’s first QHD device as we’ve seen some other implementations in the past, but those were all on LCD panels. The move to QHD and 120Hz this generation is a major leap for the Mi 11 series, particularly because Xiaomi is still pricing the device starting at only 749€ - much less than other current generation devices featuring the same specifications such as the S21 Ultra.
Xiaomi Mi Series Mi 10
Mi 11
(Reviewed) SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
1x Cortex-A77 @ 2.84GHz
3x Cortex-A77 @ 2.42GHz
4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.80GHz
Adreno 650 @ 587MHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz
3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.42GHz
4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.80GHz
Adreno 660 @ 840MHz DRAM 8GB LPDDR5-5500 8/12GB LPDDR5-6400 Display 6.67" AMOLED
2340 x 1080 (19.5:9)
90Hz Refresh
6.81" AMOLED
3200 x 1440
120Hz Refresh
480Hz Touch
HDR10+ / 10-bit panel Size Height 162.58mm 164.3mm Width 74.80mm 74.6mm Depth 8.96mm 8.06mm Weight 208g 196g Battery Capacity 4780mAh (Typical)
30W Charging 4600mAh (Typical)
55W Charging Wireless Charging 30W 50W Rear Cameras Main 108MP 1/1.3" 0.8µm
4:1 Binning to 27MP / 1.6µm
f/1.69 w/ OIS 108MP Module
f/1.85 w/OIS Telephoto - 5MP (Macro only)
50mm eq.
f/2.2 Extra
Telephoto - - Ultra-Wide 13MP 1.12µm
f/2.4
117° FoV 13MP
f/2.4
123° FoV Extra 2MP Depth Camera
2MP Macro Camera - Front Camera 20MP 0.8µm
f/2.3 f/2.2 Storage 128 / 256GB
UFS 3.0 128 / 256GB
UFS 3.1 I/O USB-C Wireless (local) 802.11ax (Wifi 6),
Bluetooth 5.1 Cellular 4G + 5G NR NSA+SA Sub-6GHz Special Features Under-screen fingerprint sensor
Full-range stereo speakers Splash, Water, Dust Resistance No rating Dual-SIM 2x nano-SIM Launch OS Android 10 w/ MIUI Android 11 w/ MIUI Launch Price 8+128GB: 799€
8+256GB: 899€ 8+128GB: 749€
8+256GB: 799€
As mentioned, the new phone is powered by Qualcomm’s newest generation Snapdragon 888 SoC. We’ve covered the new chip extensively in our chipset-centric article of the Galaxy S21 Ultra where we pitted the new Snapdragon against the latest Exynos. In general, although the new chip does bring performance advantages this generation, it has to compromise in power efficiency as the new process node had seen some regressions compared to last year.
Xiaomi offers the Mi 11 in 8GB LPDDR5-6400 configurations in the global markets – the 12GB variant only exists in China. Storage comes in the form of either 128GB or 256 of UFS 3.1. Xiaomi is one of the vendors who do not offer expandable storage, but at least the 256GB version of the phone only costs an extra 50€ this year, half the cost of last year’s configuration up-sell.
The new display is a key feature of the phone and probably the main characteristic of the device. After a few years of 1080p OLED flagships, I’m very happy to see Xiaomi finally jump over to QHD, particularly given the phones are growing in size and the PPI of 1080p really isn’t sufficient at these dimensions. Xiaomi of course had to include 120Hz this generation as well as it’s a must-have feature to incorporate in 2021. Surprisingly, Xiaomi advertises that this is a 10-bit panel, which should offer better brightness and colour graduations, however comes at a cost power efficiency. The screen lacks variable refresh rate – neither hardware, nor software based, so it’s more in line with the screen technology generation we’ve seen in the Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro series devices.
Edit March 12th: The Mi 11 does have a coarse software-based refresh rate switching mechanism, however it does not function below 110 nits screen brightness (around 70% on the brightness slider).
The design of the Xiaomi Mi 11 is quite attractive, and the company goes for an almost completely rounded aesthetic, with curved front and back glass. The back glass is a matte chemically etched finish similar to that of the Mi 10 Pro – it’s still quite smooth, but it’s much better than glossy materials.
What’s maybe a bit weird about the design is the corners of the screen and the frame, the metal frame actually covers most of the phone’s thickness in the corners, unlike the sides where the front display curves around. It’s a design that reminds me of the Huawei P40 Pro – it’s a bit odd at first glance, but I think the companies are either doing this on purpose for better drop resistance, or it’s a manufacturing side-effect of the new build.
The side frames on both sides are extremely minimal and thin, which give the phone excellent ergonomics and in-hand feel even though it’s a larger device at 74.6mm width.
Xiaomi also managed to shave off some thickness this generation, going from 8.96mm to 8.06mm, a difference that’s immediately noticeable between generations. The weight of the phone has also been reduced from 208g to 196g, which is also very welcome in my book. The reduced form-factor cost 180mAh from its predecessor, and the new battery lands in at 4600mAh which is still plenty respectable.
On the right side of the phone, we see a simple textured power button as well as the volume rocker – the metal side frame here slightly extends towards the back glass cover which reminds me of Samsung’s recent aesthetic.
The main camera is the same as last year’s 108MP Xiaomi shooters – a Samsung HMX sensor that natively captures 108MP shots, but in general photography 2x2 bins things down to 27MP. Since there’s no telephoto module on the phone, the Mi 11 uses the raw resolution of this module to get tighter framed shots. The optics were changed this generation to a smaller f/1.85 aperture, which in my view might be more reasonable as the Mi 10 suffered in terms of its optics. There’s still OIS present here, which is good news. The Ultra-wide module is a 13MP f/2.4 module with a very wide 123° FoV, great for indoor capture, architecture, or landscapes.
I like how Xiaomi engineered the camera island to accommodate for the thick Z-height of the main camera module: it’s a 3-stepped design in terms of its thickness, with each “island” only being as thick as the minimum the cameras require. While the main camera module thickness is still thick, it’s not as evident as on other phones with similar giant sensors.
The top and bottom sides of the phone feature a relatively flat edge, and are characterised by dual-speaker setups the company employs. There’s a hardman/kardon logo on the top side, and generally the speakers get extremely loud and are among the best sounding on any device right now.
Generally, I really liked the design of the Mi 11, and I feel the company has managed to create their sleekest and most ergonomic design to date. It feels very premium and is very clearly a flagship device, which comes at a surprise given its 749€ starting point.
Leave a Reply