Xiaomi Mi 11i/Mi 11X Pro review

 Introduction

Will it ever end? Xiaomi's Mi 11 lineup numbers as many as 8 devices at the time of writing this review, spanning a wide range of feature sets and price points. It's the Mi 11i we have for you this time, following a couple of Lites, an Ultra, and the Mi 11 proper, which we all reviewed recently.

A few more words on naming and market positioning are needed for the sake of clarity, though 'clarity' might be an unattainable goal. We'll be referring to the phone as Mi 11i because that's what it says on the box we have here, but essentially the same device goes by Mi 11X Pro in India, and the two are in turn nearly identical to the Redmi K40 Pro+ sold in China. Here's how they compare specs-wise.

Looking at the specs of the Mi 11i, we're pegging it as a member of the 'flagship killer' breed if we assume that's still a thing. It's got the top-end Snapdragon 888 chip to justify being mentioned in the same sentence as the big boys, but that's coupled with little downgrades throughout to be able to fit the killer budget.

Little being the operative word. The display isn't 1440p as on the higher-specced Mi 11s, but it's still a 120Hz-capable Super AMOLED with HDR support and sky-high brightness. The camera system is almost the same as on the Mi 11 proper - an 108MP main unit (albeit a different, smaller sensor), an ultrawide (lower-res, but with equally fixed focus) and the same 5MP sort-of-tele macro that's better than most. A few dozen milliamp-hours in the battery capacity and 33W charging instead of 55W or 67W, meanwhile, are the definition of little downgrades as is the GG5 protection instead of Victus.

Xiaomi Mi 11i specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.7x76.4x7.8mm, 196g; IP53 dust and splash protection.
• Display: 6.67" Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1300 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 395ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 108 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.52", 0.7µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 119˚; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4, 50mm, 1/5.0", 1.12µm.
• Front camera: 20 MP, f/2.5, (wide), 1/3.4", 0.8µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240/960fps, gyro-EIS, HDR10+; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, 720p@120fps.
• Battery: 4520mAh; Fast charging 33W, 100% in 52 min (advertised), Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 3+.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Infrared port.

Xiaomi Mi 11i unboxing

The Mi 11i ships in the same white box with copper lettering we got on the Mi 11 proper. That's in contrast to the black box we got the Mi 11 Ultra in.

That said, the India-bound Mi 11X Pro comes in a black box with a different design that includes a likeness of the phone on the lid.

The box contents, on the other hand, are identical for the Mi 11i and the Mi 11X Pro (well, minus the charger prongs, which vary by region). You get the 33W charger and a USB-A-to-C cable, a headphone dongle, and a clear silicone protective case.