Review of Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite - a really light smartphone with decent hardware

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The lightness and grace come with very good screen and camera specs.

At first it seems that the hierarchy in the Mi line of smartphones from Xiaomi is quite clear. Gadgets with a digital index in the name are the basic models of the generation. The Pro prefix most often means cooler screens and more impressive cameras. They are followed by the Note versions, and this is where the confusion begins because they are already too different from the base models. Then there are modifications with Ultra, Lite, letter index i and others. Often they repeat the characteristics of old models - and the company's marketers carefully cover up the confusion with loud slogans and numbers in bold.

The story is similar with the Mi 11 generation. You can roughly understand what place in the catalog the Mi 11 Lite that came to us for testing takes by its cost. It is slightly more than 30,000 rubles. That is, we have a smartphone in the middle price category, which means that we can expect from it both pleasant and funny features, and strange moments that allow us to reduce the cost relative to the top models of the generation.

We tried to understand what exactly these features and moments are, and to determine who and for what tasks Mi 11 Lite is suitable.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Display
• Iron
• Operating system
• Sound and vibration
• Cameras
• Autonomy
• Outcomes

Specifications

Platform	Android 11, MIUI 12.5 firmware
Display	AMOLED, 6, 55 ″, 2,400 x 1,080 pixels, 90 Hz, DCI ‑ P3, HDR10, up to 800 nits, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G (8nm)
Memory	8/128 GB (microSD card support)
Cameras	Main: main - 64 Mp, f / 1.79 with a 1 / 1.97 ″ sensor, 0.7 μm pixels and Dual Pixel PDAF focusing; wide-angle - 8 megapixels, f / 2.2, 119 °; telemacro - 5 megapixels, f / 2.4 with autofocus. Front: 16 MP, f / 2.5
Communications	2 × nanoSIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g / n / ac (2, 4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.1 LE, NFC
Battery	4 250mAh, 33W fast wired charging (USB Type-C 2.0)
Dimensions (edit)	160, 5 × 75, 7 × 6, 81 mm
The weight	157 g
Additionally	IP53 splash proof, stereo speakers, fingerprint reader

Design and ergonomics

The first impression of the Mi 11 Lite is that it is light, you can hardly feel it in your hand. At least after all those devices weighing more than 200 g that we recently tested (Poco X3 Pro, for example).

157 g for a device with a screen of 6.55 inches is very little. The light weight of the smartphone from Xiaomi comes with a corresponding thickness - only 6, 81 mm.

The second impression of the Mi 11 Lite is that it is very, very easily soiled. We got the version with a smoky gray hue. Unlike the pale blue and peach versions, it does not have an additional anti-reflective coating on the back. And this is noticeable: in the back panel you can look like in a mirror - strewn with fingerprints. Fortunately, the bundle contains a cover that will save the device from "wrinkling" and scratches.

The rounded sides of the Mi 11 Lite merge into the front and back panels rather sharply, which is why the smartphone looks both elegant and brutal. On the right side it has a power key, combined with a fingerprint scanner, and a volume control. Top - microphone hole and IR sensor.

The bottom of the Mi 11 Lite houses a double-sided card tray, USB connector, speaker and microphone. We have a small complaint about the location of the latter. It is located directly next to the card slot. And by negligence, it is very easy to poke a needle not into the hole of the tray lock, but into the microphone, which can disable it. It is not clear what prevented Xiaomi from installing the microphone on the other side of the USB port, next to the speaker, but such an option would definitely help to avoid confusion.

The Mi 11 Lite fits comfortably in the hand. The plastic back sticks to your fingers and does not slip anywhere. All controls are available, except that you have to stretch to the very top edge of the screen. The picture is slightly spoiled by a square block of cameras with two protruding steps. Still, it would be better to limit ourselves to one, because the more faces, the more places where dust will collect.

Display

The smartphone has a wide enough frame around the screen by modern standards, but the display itself is made using AMOLED technology and, if you set a black wallpaper, it will look limitless.

The screen resolution is 1,080 × 2,400 pixels, which with a diagonal of 6.55 inches gives a density of 402 PPI. Some graininess is noticeable, but not critical. The main advantage of the display is the ability to provide 90 Hz in addition to the standard 60 Hz. At the same time, the interface really works more smoothly, neatly and beautifully.

The display settings of the Mi 11 Lite are typical for modern Xiaomi smartphones: there is a saturation adjustment and a choice of color reproduction hue. These functions are complemented by the ability to change the refresh rate of the screen.

In terms of color reproduction, everything is good: it is quite natural, clear, and juicy to the right extent. The display covers DCI ‑ P3 gamut (which is the current film standard), supports 10-bit color and is ready to display HDR10 content.

Like most Xiaomi devices, the Mi 11 Lite has problems with auto brightness. Indoors, you can set this parameter at the level of 60-70% and not worry. But on a summer day on the street, you will have to twist the slider to the maximum. And with such brightness, all information is readable even through sunglasses.

In the end, this is a screen that is pleasant to look at, although with a larger resolution it would be even nicer. But the high resolution in Xiaomi has been reserved for the older models of the series.

Iron

The smartphone is developed on the basis of the Qualcomm 732G chipset - quite familiar for mid-range devices and quite familiar to us. The same is, for example, in Redmi Note 10 Pro and Poco X3 NFC. This is an eight-core chip made according to the 8 nm process technology and operating at a frequency of up to 2.3 GHz. The Adreno 618 video chip and 8 GB of RAM work in conjunction with it. For the user, there is another 128 GB of memory and a slot for microSD cards, though combined with a slot for a second SIM-card.

The smartphone comes in two versions: with and without 5G. We got the last one for testing. NFC is available in both variants.

The strength of the Mi 11 Lite is enough for all everyday tasks and modern toys, though not at the highest settings. The body of the gadget begins to heat up rather quickly, even despite the proprietary heat dissipation technology. The reasons for this can be hidden both in the small dimensions of the smartphone itself (and, as a consequence, in the dense layout), and in the ambient heat of +30 ° С.

And Mi 11 Lite loves to unload applications from memory, and sometimes it automatically cuts even what should not be. For example, we have Garmin Connect, which periodically syncs with smartwatches. Fortunately, such a wayward behavior of a smartphone can be easily corrected by a competent setting - you need to check the boxes in the "Activity control" section.

Operating system

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is based on Android 11, supplemented by the MIUI 12.5 shell. Here everything is the same as always: a rather friendly interface, which is spoiled by intrusive ads. Although, if desired, it can be removed.

It is not difficult to customize the appearance of the system for yourself. You can choose the theme you like, enable the start of the night mode on a timer (it changes the light shades of the interface to dark ones), adjust the size of the icons in the menu and on the desktop, change the curtain - in terms of flexibility, MIUI is very good.

During testing of Mi 11 Lite, we did not encounter such problems as, for example, in the case of Redmi Note 10 Pro: the system worked smoothly, did not think, did not freeze. There was a moment when the flip of the screen broke a little, but to bring the gyroscope to life, it was enough to shake the smartphone.

Sound and vibration

What makes the Mi 11 Lite stand out is the vibration motor. It is powerful in a good way, it can be felt even through thick clothes. The furniture, of course, does not wobble, but it buzzes noticeably.

Sounds good too. The speakers work in stereo mode: the upper, conversational, takes over the second channel. The smartphone plays loudly, without much distortion, and if it is easy to block the speaker at the end, then the spoken one cannot be blocked so easily.

There is no audio jack for headphones in Mi 11 Lite, but it is understandable: with such a thickness of the case, it simply does not fit. You have to rely on Bluetooth - and this smartphone, unlike the Redmi Note 10S, immediately recognizes the aptX HD codec, so you can get high-quality wireless sound from it. LDAC is fine too.

However, it is worth noting a problem that is present in most smartphones with MIUI shell: the volume scale has too few divisions, which is why it is impossible to achieve an ideal level. As a result, it so happens that the music plays very quietly, and if you turn up the volume one notch, it starts yelling unpleasantly.

Camera

The camera module of Mi 11 Lite is not decorated with any superfluous inscriptions with the number of megapixels and the name of the technologies used - these are just two glass platforms with four windows.

On the top are the main 64-megapixel sensor with a focal length of 26 mm and f / 1.8 and an ultra-wide-angle (119 °) 8 megapixel with f / 2.2. On the step below there is a 5 megapixel telephoto lens and a flash. There is no separate depth sensor here.

The main camera module is decorated with a metal ring - apparently to make it seem larger than it actually is. But he shoots well. There are some small complaints about how the camera behaves in the shadows: it programmatically overexposes the photos, trying to compensate for the lack of lighting and, as a result, unnecessarily twists the exposure. But in good light, the quality of the images is excellent: the detail is in place, the color rendition skillfully balances between lively saturation and realism.

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Filming with the main camera on a sunny day. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main camera on a sunny day in the shade. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

The portrait mode of the Mi 11 Lite is perfect for shooting whites as artistic as possible - even taking into account the fact that the blur is programmed here. And on the barbecue, the same overexposure, which was mentioned above, is just visible.

Shooting in portrait mode with blur. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting in portrait mode with blur. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

The wide-angle is only slightly paler in color than the main camera, but on the whole is almost identical to it.

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a wide-angle lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a wide-angle lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

The zoom is digital only, but the 2x zoom goes through without any noticeable artifacts. The macro camera was disappointing. Needless to say, it has autofocus: it doesn't work. The 16 megapixel selfie camera is bright, clear and comfortable.

Shooting with the main lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

Shooting with a macro lens. Photo: Alina Rand / Lifehacker

4K video is only available at 30fps, but 1,080p can be shot at 60. There is also 120fps slow motion, offered for 1,080p and 720p.

Autonomy

The sleek body of the Mi 11 Lite houses a 4,250 mAh battery, and with a 90 Hz display, it is enough to last a day with Pokémon GO constantly hanging in the background, regular checks of social networks and correspondence in chats, as well as watching YouTube and Twitch for a couple of hours a day. If you lower the screen refresh rate to 60 Hz, the battery life will increase, but not very much.

The kit includes a 33 W power supply. The smartphone supports fast charging, which is indicated in the process by iridescent animation and the corresponding inscription. In an hour and a half, you can fully renew the smartphone's energy reserve from scratch, and in 30 minutes - more than half. The gadget also works with fast chargers from other manufacturers.

Outcomes

First of all, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is very stylish. Smoky, or, as it is officially called, "inky-black", the version very skillfully balances between grace and severity. But the degree of aesthetics is reduced due to the too glossy case - it collects all the prints and stops shining after a couple of seconds after unpacking.

The smartphone has a good display, a nice camera and a responsive interface. During testing, it literally turned off once, otherwise it caused only positive emotions. In general, this is a nice device, suitable for solving daily tasks, without roughness.