[REVIEW] Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is a versatile smartphone with everything you need at a very attractive price

Some time ago, we in the editorial office got hold of a highly watched mid-range smartphone from the Chinese giant, called Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite.

After more than two weeks of intensive testing, we’re bringing you a detailed review where we’ll cover both the pros and the cons of this smartphone. At the same time, you’ll find out who this phone is for and whether it’s worth getting.

Fast delivery from a European warehouse

We obtained our test model through a verified online store, Edwaybuy. Delivery was quick—already within three days—directly from the German warehouse. There was also a handy coupon that pushed the final price even lower.

Best prices for Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite

Another advantage of this e-shop is an international 2-year warranty that applies to items purchased from this store.

Standard bundle

The smartphone arrived in a classic cardboard box that provided enough protection during shipping. The smartphone package includes the phone itself, a transparent silicone case, a charging adapter, a USB Type-C charging cable, and a USB Type-C 3,5 jack adapter.

Made from quality materials, surprisingly lightweight

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is a phone where, at first glance, it’s clear which model line it comes from. Design-wise, it’s a faithful copy of the adult model Xiaomi Mi 11, which we also tested in the editorial office.

After the first meeting with the smartphone, we were immediately surprised by the device’s weight. By today’s standards, the compact body with a 6.55″ display diagonal and just 6.8 mm thickness creates an unusual yet pleasant feeling of lightness. For a moment, we even thought we were holding only a regular mock-up.

Those thoughts disappeared right away after taking a closer look at the smartphone. The glossy glass on the back adds a real premium feel, but fingerprints appear on it after just a few moments. So in terms of build quality, it’s a well-known construction that we can’t really fault.

As for the remaining equipment, on the bottom you’ll find the USB Type-C charging connector supporting a maximum power of 33 W, one of a pair of loud— and, given the price, relatively good—speakers, as well as a hybrid SIM slot (two SIM cards or 1 SIM card and 1 microSD card).

On the top side, there’s a second speaker, which makes the stereo experience genuinely noticeable, as well as a microphone and an IR blaster for controlling household appliances. The equipment is truly rich, but unfortunately, we won’t find a 3,5 mm jack or FM radio here.

On the side of the smartphone, there’s a trio of buttons—two for volume control and one for turning on and unlocking the smartphone using a high-capacity fingerprint reader.

90 Hz AMOLED surprised again

In recent months/years, the smartphone market has moved forward in a remarkable way. Even in smartphones for 200 / 300 €, we can find beautiful displays with flagship features that we could only dream about not so long ago.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite features a 6.55″ Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 20:9 aspect ratio, 90 Hz refresh rate, 240 Hz touch sampling rate, up to 800 nits of brightness, and a pixel density of 402 pixels per inch.

It is a 10-bit panel with HDR10 support, so watching movies is at a very high level. The display is truly beautiful, the colors are vivid, the brightness is sufficient even in direct sunlight, so in the end we have no problem with it. The cherry on top is the 90 Hz refresh rate, the option for detailed color tuning, and the Gorilla Glass 5 generation protective glass.

Snapdragon 732G ensures smooth performance

Under the hood of this device is a mid-range chipset from American Qualcomm – Snapdragon 732G. Just to clarify, Xiaomi also introduced a 5G version of this smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G, which features the Snapdragon 780G processor.

In the editorial office, we had the variant with 6 GB of RAM (LPDDR4X) and 64 GB of internal storage (UFS 2.2) for testing. There are also models with 6 / 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. In the AnTuTu test, this configuration of the smartphone scored 340 924 points.

The MIUI 12 system based on the latest Android 11 ran beautifully smoothly throughout the entire testing period. We didn’t notice any stutters or lag at all, but the downside of the mid-range hardware was slower app loading and opening.

But if you're an undemanding user looking for a sufficiently powerful smartphone for everyday tasks and occasional gaming, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is made for you. If you're a passionate gamer, we recommend looking at the POCO F3 or the recently reviewed Black Shark 4.

The cameras deliver decent results

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite definitely does not belong among flagship camera phones. Even though it is not a premium smartphone in terms of photography, the photos it takes are very decent for this price range, and from time to time they pleasantly surprised us.

In daylight, the 64 MPx Samsung GW3 main sensor (f/1.79) produced beautifully sharp photos full of detail, with accurate colors and an impressive dynamic range. In evening shots, the quality dropped sharply, but then the night mode stepped in, brightening the images and at the same time taming backlight.

The 8 MPx ultra-wide lens offers a 119° field of view and an f/2.2 aperture. The results are more or less the same as with the main sensor, but the photos were a little softer at the edges. The 5 MPx macro does its job brilliantly, and we also had quite a bit of fun with it.

You can find the full-resolution photos at this link

The front 16 MPx selfie camera won’t really impress with its “performance,” but it won’t disappoint either. The smartphone can record videos in 4K at 30 FPS, however, only electronic stabilization is available since optical stabilization is completely missing.

Overall, we are quite satisfied with the photos taken by this phone. As we already mentioned, these are not top-tier sensors, but together with the well-tuned MIUI post-processing, the smartphone can produce really interesting photos.

The battery life pleasantly surprised us

The Mi 11 Lite smartphone comes with a 4250 mAh battery. Even though this figure may look insufficient at first glance, the opposite is true. We definitely have to praise the battery life on a single charge for this smartphone.

We took the phone off the charger fully charged in the morning. We used it for emails, calls, YouTube, Netflix, and for taking photos, and by the evening of the next day we still had a few percent left. With normal activities, the phone can handle two days of use without any issues, but even under the most demanding use, it can easily last for one full day.

If you need to top up the battery quickly, the included 33 W adapter is a great fit—it charges the smartphone in less than an hour. So we really didn’t have the slightest problem with battery life or charging.

The smartphone also includes Dual Band Wi-Fi (2,4 / 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO navigation systems, and an NFC chip for contactless payments. So this is standard mid-range equipment.

Verdict: Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite

A new upper mid-range phone from the Chinese giant Xiaomi—Mi 11 Lite—really pleasantly surprised us during testing. In short, it’s a very nice design piece with everything you need to make everyday life easier. Enough performance, a beautiful display, very decent cameras, great battery life on a single charge, and fast charging.

We also recommend this smartphone to fans of compact and lightweight models who aren’t interested in today’s big “slabs”.

The smartphone’s performance may be slightly limiting—not that it’s bad at all—but compared to other models, the performance difference is truly noticeable. That said, for everyday use and even moderately demanding usage, this smartphone is made for it.

Best prices for Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite

If you have any other questions related to this smartphone, feel free to write them to us down below in the comments. You can also tell us how you like this phone—and if you even own it, how satisfied you are with it.

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