The only Czech-Slovak review of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro: a cheaper sibling of Mi 11 Ultra with the same main camera

If you follow our website and social media, you definitely didn’t miss the fact that we brought you reviews of the flagship models Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra. But there was still one more model from the Mi 11 family that was missing. This time we’re adding the full review of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro, rounding out the trio of flagships.

It’s almost the same model as the Mi 11 Ultra. Based on the specs, we won’t find that many differences, but when it comes to price, the gap is more than 200 €. Which model is the better buy? Is this price difference justified? You’ll find all the important details in our in-depth review.

Where did we buy the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro?

We purchased the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro from our international partner TradingShenzhen, which offers the option to buy even the smartphones that aren’t sold on our side. It’s a very reliable seller, from whom we also bought the previous models in the Mi 11 series. Delivery is completely free of customs fees or VAT.

In our case, the shipping itself took only 9 days. However, when placing the order, we selected the installation of Global ROM—the global version of MIUI. We had to wait another 10 days for that installation, so overall system installation + delivery took 19 days. Of course, we didn’t pay any additional fees, and the package was delivered directly to our editorial office by DPD.

Chinese version with a global ROM

As you likely know, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro wasn’t launched for Europe, so it doesn’t have a global version. Only the Chinese version is available, but it also supports our networks, making it a fully usable smartphone in our country and all of Europe.

The TradingShenzeh seller also supplies Chinese versions of smartphones with preinstalled Google services. In their portfolio, there’s also another interesting service we decided to test this time: installing the global ROM, which on the one hand extends the delivery time by a few days, but on the other brings a lot of benefits.

If you don’t want to use the Chinese ROM because it lacks Slovak or Czech, and you don’t feel confident changing the ROM yourself, this service is made for you.

Traditional packaging from TradingShenzhen

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro arrived in the traditional packaging we’ve come to expect from the TradingShenzhen seller. The box with the smartphone was wrapped in air bubble film inside an additional protective cardboard box. Inside, we also had the functional test log that every smartphone from this seller goes through.

A pleasant bonus—already a tradition—was a USB-C adapter to USB. Another gift for this model is the 67W Xiaomi charger with a Chinese plug, but an EU adapter was also included. The smartphone box itself is black with gold lettering and contains only the smartphone; there’s a separate flat box with paper documentation and a transparent, silicone case.

Design and placement of elements

At first glance, the smartphone looks identical to the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra. The front and the sides are basically the same. The volume control and display wake-up buttons are on the right side, while the left side is completely empty. On the bottom, you’ll find a slot for a 2 SIM card, which is very convenient and compact.

Here you also get a loudspeaker, a microphone, and a USB-C charging port. The top side features a second speaker with the Harman Kardon brand logo, delivering stereo sound, a second microphone, and a sensor (most likely a light sensor and IrDA).

The back features a camera module similar to what most models in the Mi 11 series have. It’s a square element with rounded edges, with the lenses inside. The camera module protrudes from the smartphone body and isn’t flush with the surface—even when using the included silicone case.

The main camera lens still sticks out, and when you place the smartphone on a table, it rests on it. So it isn’t well protected and over time you may end up with scratches. If you use your smartphone lying on the table, be prepared for the phone to rock slightly while using the left part of the display due to the protruding main camera.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro weighs 206 g and its dimensions are 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.53 mm. It’s not the thinnest or lightest smartphone out there, but it feels great in the hand and the weight isn’t a burden. We have the black color option, which is more of a dark gray. The back cover is glossy and looks like a mirror, so get ready for visible fingerprints.

A great display from Samsung with an in-display fingerprint reader

Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro’s pride is its display. It’s an AMOLED panel with a 6.81″ diagonal, WQHD resolution of 3200 x 1440 px, and HDR10+ support. The display is from Samsung and is the same as on Redmi K40 and Xiaomi Mi 11 as well as Mi 11 Ultra. Brightness is represented by 1500 nits, pixel density is 551 PPI, refresh rate reaches up to 120 Hz, and it has a sampling rate of 480 Hz.

The display is currently among the very best on the market, as also confirmed by the prestigious A+ rating from DisplayMate. If you’ve been using a smartphone with an IPS display or a standard 60 Hz AMOLED, you’ll notice the difference right away. The display looks amazing, and the smoothness is incredible. Watching videos or playing games on such a display is a pleasure.

The display is protected by the best protective glass on the market called Corning Gorilla Glass Victus. It’s gently curved on all sides, and in the top-left corner you’ll find the so-called cutout for the front (selfie) camera. It’s small, and thanks to its placement, it’s not at all distracting.

However, if we compare the displays on Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro and Ultra, we can see that the Pro’s colors are slightly warmer. White is also warmer and has a subtle yellowish tint. It’s not a huge difference, but if you place these smartphones side by side, set both to maximum brightness, and open the same apps, you’ll spot the slight difference.

Performance: the very best from Qualcomm

On the performance side, you can look forward to the best on the market again. Inside the smartphone is a flagship processor for year 2021, the Snapdragon 888 5G from Qualcomm with a maximum clock speed of 2.84 GHz and support for the new generation of networks, 5G. It’s paired with the Adreno 660 graphics chip, which ensures an excellent gaming experience.

We had the version with 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256 GB storage. You can also get a version with 12 GB RAM, and optionally with 128 GB storage. The cheapest combination, of course, is 8 + 128 GB.

UFS 3.1 storage is extremely fast, which also contributes to the overall smartphone speed. We tested the speed of this storage using the AndroBench app, which measured sequential read speeds of 1728.34 MB/s and write speeds of 717.23 MB/s. Since this is one of the flagship models, you don’t have to worry about a lack of performance.

The ideal camera setup?

As we mentioned in the introduction, the rear camera module of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro includes a trio of cameras. Specifically, these are:

• the main 50 MPx Samsung GN2 sensor with a 1/1.12″ sensor size and f/1.95 aperture (the same one is also used in Mi 11 Ultra)
• an ultra-wide 13 Mpx lens with f/2.4 aperture
• a tele-macro 8 Mpx

Xiaomi doesn’t provide any detailed information on sensors and their parameters on its official website for the wide-angle and tele-macro camera. On the internet, you’ll find multiple pages with these details, but they differ slightly everywhere, which is why we didn’t include them.

You also get 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, and optical image stabilization. Night mode support “Night Owl” is also included, which Xiaomi promotes as a mode that can see even in the dark.

The cameras look promising—let’s take a closer look.

This is how the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro takes photos

We tested the camera using the default settings, the way most regular users will use it. Of course, the main camera takes the nicest photos. The photos are sharp, and especially the colors look very good and natural.

You can find the complete photo gallery in full quality at this link.

The wide-angle camera fares a bit worse—its colors are noticeably warmer, and the sharpness is slightly lost as well. You can clearly see the color difference, for example, in the following pair of photos—one taken with the main sensor and the other with the wide-angle sensor.

Similarly to most Xiaomi smartphones, here you can also spot overly boosted shadows that often go all the way to black—where details are completely lost and dark objects blend into each other.

You can check HDR performance in the following pair of photos taken from the back seat of a car. The photo with HDR turned off is more natural, but as we mentioned above, the shadows blend too much into black. With HDR turned on, the photo looks slightly unnatural instead, but it will definitely find its audience—people who like photos like this more.

We’ve got 5-times optical zoom, which is excellent, as well as 10-times hybrid zoom with acceptable quality. At higher zoom levels, we’re talking only about digital zoom, which is of course not very sharp—but it still serves its purpose in critical moments.

Night mode with Night Owl support

We already covered the night mode in detail in our review of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, and for this model we could basically repeat everything. This mode really can see in the dark, and with a long exposure it can capture scenes with minimal light. Photos in complete darkness are, of course, not very sharp, but it’s still an interesting feature.

Classic photos of night streets and the city are clearly better at first glance with night mode, even though compared to the original, sharpness is slightly reduced. The overall effect is still excellent—if you don’t print these photos on a large format or examine the details in a computer, you’ll be satisfied.

Night mode can nicely reduce glare from strong lighting and also bring light to the dark. Below, we show a few example photos—always comparing first with night mode turned off and then with it turned on.

This mode can also be turned on automatically if you have that option enabled in the camera settings. It has several levels, which show up while shooting as Night1S, Night2S, etc. The smartphone will automatically detect which level it should use.

Video up to 8K resolution

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro supports a maximum video resolution of up to 8K at 24 fps. Next up, there’s 4K and 1080p at 30/60 fps, and also 720p at 30 fps. For all resolutions, you can enable image stabilization in the settings.

You can watch example videos shot during the day and at night below. Since 8K resolution is available only at 24 fps, we decided to include the example videos in 4K.

Connectivity and sound

Even though the tested Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro isn’t sold in a global version intended for the European market, we didn’t lose support for our B20 LTE band—so the smartphone is fully usable here as well. For wireless connectivity, it supports the latest WiFi 6E standard, Bluetooth 5.2, satellite positioning systems like GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, and more.

It also includes IR support, a light sensor, a barometer, and a gyroscope. Of course, it also has NFC, but unfortunately with this flashed Global ROM, the Google Pay app does not allow us to add a card for security reasons. If you want to use NFC, we recommend choosing Xiaomi.eu ROM when buying, not Global ROM.

As for sound, this model also continues the cooperation between Xiaomi and the well-known audio manufacturer, Harman Kardon. The speakers sound good, but just like on the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra, they lack stronger bass.

67 W fast charging

The silicon-oxygen anode battery in the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro, just like in the Ultra model, has a larger capacity in the same-sized body (compared to a graphite battery) and lower heating, which means you can charge this smartphone at 67 W wired, as well as wirelessly.

Charging the battery in the Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro is therefore a matter of a few minutes. Below you can see how charging with the 67 W charger we received from the seller as a gift went:

• from 20 to 50% – 11 minutes
• 75% – 21 minutes
• 90% – 27 minutes
• 100% – 34 minutes

We tested wireless charging using the 80 W charger from Xiaomi, which comes with a 120 W adapter. Wireless charging takes place at roughly the same pace as wired charging, and the smartphone was also charged in 35 minutes.

Charging this fast is very convenient, and having your smartphone charged in about 35 minutes is a big plus in today’s hectic times. Despite the new battery technology, battery life is still only at the level of one day.

MIUI 12 and Android 11

Before we wrap up, let’s say a few more words about the operating system and its graphical interface. The smartphone runs on Android version 11 with Xiaomi’s MIUI interface. We got it in version 12.0.2 with the latest Android security update from 1.4.2021.

The system is finely tuned, offers lots of settings, and is also very well designed. All notifications from commonly used apps like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Viber, or Gmail worked for us without any problems, and we didn’t notice any system crashes or freezes.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro: Final verdict

Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro is deservedly one of the best smartphones from Xiaomi. It offers top-tier performance with Qualcomm’s most powerful processor, fast UFS 3.1 storage, and a top-notch display that ranks among the best on the market, and it will also please you with quality cameras.

Basically, it is an almost identical smartphone to the true flagship, which is the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. Here we only get slightly weaker cameras and we lose the rear secondary display. But is it worth paying more than 200 € for these extras? That depends on your personal preferences.

We personally like the Mi 11 Pro more than the Mi 11 Ultra because of its more compact camera module, while keeping the same main sensor. Compared with the standard Mi 11 model, the Pro has the advantage of a better camera and a larger battery with better endurance. In the Mi 11 series, the Mi 11 Pro is therefore our ideal flagship for everyday use.

What the real difference is between the cameras, and whether the Mi 11 Pro takes worse photos than the Mi 11 Ultra, you’ll find out soon. We’re preparing an article where we’ll compare the cameras of both smartphones.