Xiaomi Mi 11i - Full review but it is a "Deja-vu"
Perhaps my judgment is a bit altered by the “sensations” of the Mi 11 Lite 5G, but this Xiaomi Mi 11i leaves me with a certain bitterness in my mouth. Do you want to know why?
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The deja-vu effect is often a bumerang. If something reminds you of an episode of the so-called "good times" then this something increases in value, otherwise it will bring with it an aura of incredible negativity and nothing or almost nothing can be done to shake off this black halo.
Unfortunately with the Mi11i we are faced not only with a "deja-vu" effect, but also very very very recent.
Only 1 month ago we published the review of the POCO F3, very nice smartphone aesthetically, with excellent performance, with an average battery and a more than discreet photographic sector. Nothing exceptionally exciting but definitely a great device.
Now we come to the subject of this review: the Mi11i…. same, identical device but… with a processor and camera upgrade…. WHY'?
You will forgive me, therefore, if a lot of information from here on will remember "a shred" the review of the POCO. 🙁
Aesthetics
It goes from the satin white of POCO al glossy black / gray mirror of this Xiaomi Mi 11i.
Back very nice but extremely sensitive to fingerprints and various footprints. The glossy finish inevitably brings a minimum of soap effect to the device which, however, being equipped with a silicone back cover, solves the problem upstream.
PS. Mirror finish on the device and then satin transparent back cover? 😐… I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
The dimensions of the device are generous: 163.7mm in height, 76.4mm in width for only 7.8mm in thickness and 196g in weight… A beautiful tile. 🙂
The “camera island” is also very well cared for, but this time it hosts one 108mpx room and this translates into a much more abundant thickness of the chamber module than the POCO F3.
Bottom side with trolley double nano-sim and main speaker, left side completely smooth, top side with noise-canceling microphone hole and right side with volume rocker and power key with integrated fingerprint reader.
The front is practically all display with "dot-display" configuration to indicate the central hole for the selfie-cam.
Display
We are faced with an excellent display unit AMOLED at 120hz and HDR10 +.
Maybe it's an impression, maybe it just depends on the weather conditions, but the brightness seems to me higher than that of the F3 as the visibility under direct sunlight seems to me improved.
The 120Hz, once activated, scrolls images, transactions and menus at maximum fluidity. Truly a show. Obviously this yield, in addition to the excellent quality of the display, is the result of a not bad power under the body.
Performances
Let's talk about the first substantial difference between POCO F3 and Mi11i, the processor. While the POCO mounted the Snapdragon 870, this Mi11i mounts the brand new Snapdragon 888 placing this device by right in the TOP of the range.
Differences between 888 and 870? Ask the benchmarks because in everyday use I challenge even the hardest player to find differences. Indeed, if you have found visible differences, write them to me here in the comments.
Battery
The battery is also the exact same as the POCO F3 but… she behaved differently.
While with the POCO, initially, I had quite a few problems and then gradually stabilized, with this Mi11i I had no problems.
Probably this Snapdragon 888 has been better optimized in battery management since I was able to do it right from the start 1 day and a half of use. Definitely not bad.
Cameras
We come to the second and final difference. This device has a pretty good camera block!
The main (only room to be changed) is one 108MP Wide with 1.8 focal length.
The second is an ultrawide (wide angle) from 8MP with 2.2 focal length and the third is a macro camera from 5MP f / 2.4.
The photographic quality is undoubtedly good even if the 108mpx are not always exploited.
To take pictures at 108mpx it is necessary to activate the PRO mode and activate the option “108”.
Otherwise the shots will be taken at 48mpx (like the little brother).
I leave you some shots in order to appreciate the quality of the photos captured by this Xiaomi Mi 11i.
Videos can be shot up to 8K / 30fps or 4K / 60fps, definitely not bad in quality and detail even if the stabilization in 8K did not satisfy me at all.
Xiaomi Mi 11i Conclusions
The conclusions are the same as in the review of the POCO, great device, great design, a generous weight and size but still usable. Too bad for this annoying feeling of "already seen".
My question is: "But what's the point of releasing the exact same device with another brand?" I would have accepted this Mi11i more if they had presented it to me as the F3 PRO. So the F3 with processor and camera upgrades… but so I don't find the sense.
If any of you understand this, whistle and write here in the comments.
The Xiaomi Mi 11i is already available on Amazon Italy at this page.
See you soon!
it is certain that they are "the same" pocoF3 and Mi11 (i) are the same phone 😂 they are both Redmi K40s
and the K40 (only) Pro is still missing
because cmi11 (i) is the RedmiK40ProPLUS
so it could still come pocoF3Pro)