Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G & 4G presented: “Lite” in the truest sense of the word!

We were already expecting it, especially since the Xiaomi Mi 9 Lite and Mi 10 Lite 5G were two of the community favorites in recent years. Fortunately, in addition to the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra, there is now also a Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite: once with 5G and once without.

Not only “Lite”, but also light

The Mi 11 Lite is visually based on its big brother, the Mi 11, but also on its predecessor. The design of the punch hole is also used here for two generations. It is located in the upper left corner and is hardly noticed as part of the 6.55″ display. With this size, Xiaomi relies on a new form factor, which is also particularly noticeable with 1.88 mm thin screen edges at the top and sides. In general, the name suffix “Lite” is taken seriously. The smartphone weighs just 159 g in both versions with a thickness of 6.81 mm! And that despite the use of Gorilla Glass.

Like the two predecessors, the display is again an AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080p, but this time with a refresh rate of 90 Hz! Of course, the Redmi Note 10 Pro already has a 120 Hz AMOLED, but the higher refresh rate is still welcome. Finally, we also pay attention to a higher touch sampling rate of 240 Hz so that inputs are implemented faster. It also supports HDR10+ and 10-bit color depth, which enables over one billion colors.

However, it is not only the screen that catches the eye, but also the eye-catching colors on the back. The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G comes in the colors Truffle Black (black), Mint green (Please send it to the office once, Xiaomi, thank you!) and Citrus Yellow (lemon yellow). The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G is available in Boba Black, Bubblegum Blue and Peach Pink. The camera module strongly reminds us of the Xiaomi Mi 11 or even more of the POCO F3.

Hardware

What is the difference between the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G and the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G besides the colors? Mainly the processor. The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G processor, which already did its rounds in the POCO X3 NFC. This is a very solid mid-range chip that is sufficient for most applications. However, since it does not support 5G, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G relies on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 780. The octa-core processor was just introduced and supplies a dual-core cluster with 2.4 GHz and six cores with a clock rate of 1.8 GHz. The SoC is the successor of the Snapdragon 765G from the Mi 10 Lite 5G and almost brings the Mi 11 Lite 5G to flagship level.

In addition, there is 6 GB of LPPDR4X working memory and either 64 or 128 GB of UFS 2.2 mass storage. Of course, we would have wished for a bit faster storage, but only the new POCO can offer that in this price range. The memory is not expandable, though. Since the phone is so thin, “only” a 4,250 mAh battery fits into the casing. This is below average for Xiaomi, but a runtime of 1.5 days should still be possible. Charging is only possible via cable and that with the included 33W charger.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite smartphones are equipped with a USB-C port for charging and still rely on a 3.5 mm jack. Speaking of sound, Xiaomi not only installs a stereo speaker again, but also two microphones. Furthermore, there is 5G support (only Mi 11 Lite 5G), LTE, a dual-SIM slot, dual-band ac Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 5.1. The Mi 11 Lite runs MIUI 12 based on Android 11.

Triple camera is enough!

The aforementioned camera module consists of three sensors in Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Lite 5G and Mi 11 Lite 4G. A 64-megapixel sensor with a ƒ/1.79 aperture and a 6P glass acts as the main camera, which is probably the Sony IMX682. It is interesting that the successful cooperation with Omnivision in the predecessor is abandoned. In addition, there is an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5 MP tele-macro camera. A 16 megapixel front-facing camera sits on the front!

Assessment

Honestly, we don’t think it needed the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G, you could just grab the Redmi Note 10 Pro for a similar experience. The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G, on the other hand, has a lot going for it: strong display, very good processor, a good camera, fast charging, and this design! Personally, I really like this design, and I am very excited to hold it in my hands.

What do you think of the Mi 11 Lite? Could it be your next smartphone?