Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G NE review | TechRadar

Our Verdict

With a sleek design, an excellent 90Hz AMOLED brandish, and the older Qualcomm Snapdragon 778 5G (6nm) processor, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G NE is notwithstanding a great value-for-coin purchase (even though it comes with a slightly older mid-range processor). It's an extremely well balanced device, with few of the glaring compromises that usually accompany such an affordable phone, though information technology faces a stiff claiming from its competitors.

For

Slim, stylish design
Decent operation
Capable main camera

Against

Ultra-wide camera not up to much
MIUI still a fiddling besides bloaty
Battery isn't the biggest

TechRadar Verdict

With a sleek blueprint, an fantabulous 90Hz AMOLED display, and the older Qualcomm Snapdragon 778 5G (6nm) processor, the Xiaomi Mi xi Low-cal 5G NE is still a bully value-for-money purchase (even though it comes with a slightly older mid-range processor). It's an extremely well counterbalanced device, with few of the glaring compromises that usually back-trail such an affordable phone, though information technology faces a stiff challenge from its competitors.

Pros

+
Slim, fashionable design
+
Decent functioning
+
Capable chief camera

Cons

-
Ultra-broad camera non up to much
-
MIUI still a piddling too bloaty
-
Battery isn't the biggest

Two-infinitesimal review

If you follow Xiaomi'due south releases at the start of the year, you're surely completely confused by the end of the year with the sheer amount of variants the company produces. That existence said, Xiaomi is still the male monarch every bit far equally producing phones that give you a bang for your buck.

For the sheer experience in hand, thanks to information technology's incredibly slim body and gorgeous brandish, the Xiaomi Mi xi Lite 5G NE gives you most of what it'southward predecessor offers at an bonny price point.

The global chip shortage has had many an outcome on various industries including the smartphone industry. The Xiaomi Mi xi Calorie-free 5G NE seems to be one such device. With the only glaring difference being that the Mi xi Lite 5G NE has a ane generation older processor compared to its older sibling the Mi 11 Lite 5G, the phones are pretty much identical. Similar the Mi xi Calorie-free 5G, the NE model also continues to print united states of america.

It manages to practice only that with a sleek design that's as skinny as it is lite. It might have a plastic frame, but the Mi 11 Low-cal 5G NE's drinking glass back looks and feels reassuringly expensive.

While it doesn't have the Snapdragon 780G chip like information technology's predecessor, the Snapdragon 778G (6nm) processor yet holds its own throughout our usage.

And if a 90Hz brandish might seem like yesterday'southward specs, closer inspection reveals that the Xiaomi Mi xi Lite 5G NE too has a splendidly vibrant AMOLED panel. It comfortably outdoes entry-level 120Hz displays.

The Mi xi Low-cal 5G NE's camera organization doesn't perform any Pixel-like miracles, but information technology is led by a capable 64MP main sensor. Xiaomi'south smart epitome processing ensures bright, balanced shots in good lighting, and passable night shots. The older processor doesn't really evidence whatever major signs of age but HDR images do seem a scrap over-candy.

If I do have one gripe with the Mi 11 Lite 5G NE, it would be the usual one, Xiaomi'south MIUI. While the customisations on MIUI are thoroughly useful, the bloat is still immense.

Overall, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G NE still promises everything the Mi eleven Lite 5G did and is a solid option if you're considering it as an affordable phone for a flagship-like experience.

Xiaomi Mi xi Calorie-free 5G price and release engagement

Announced September xv, 2021, released October 2
Pricing - AED ane,299

The Xiaomi Mi eleven Lite 5G NE was launched in the UAE in October, 2021. There are three storage variants of the device.

The Mi 11 Low-cal 5G NE with 6GBof RAM and 128GB of storage costs AED 1,199, the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage costs AED 1,299 while the model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage will set you dorsum AED 1,499.

This places the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G NE into directly contest with the Samsung S20 Iron, the Samsung A52 and the OnePlus 8T.

Looking for the best smartphones under AED2,000?

Pattern

Shiny plastic rim and bold, visually appealing glass rear
Extremely thin and light at 6.8mm/159g

Like the Xiaomi Mi 11 Low-cal 5G, the Mi 11 Lite 5G NE is a breath of fresh air as far every bit it's blueprint and trunk are concerned.

Xiaomi has smartly done away with the dated teardrop selfie camera of the Mi ten Lite, and has shifted its punch-hole culling over to the left paw corner, like the full-fat Xiaomi Mi 11. The surrounding bezels are adequately minimal, albeit slightly thicker around the chin, which is a telltale sign of a more affordable phone.

Another indicator of the phone's lower price tag is the thick blackness plastic buffer between the flat screen drinking glass and the shiny plastic rim. The latter seems similar less of a compromise than ever, given that fifty-fifty so-chosen flagship phones such equally the Samsung Galaxy S21 and the OnePlus 9 are rediscovering the cost-cutting joys of plastic.

It's when you flip the phone onto its front that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G NE really makes its statement though. The satin-finish glass rear, assuming colors, subtle yet reflective logo, and distinctive photographic camera module look and feel like they belong to a much more expensive telephone.

This is a seriously easy phone to live with too. At just 6.8mm thick and weighing a scant 158g, it's blissfully unassuming when saturday in a trouser pocket. Don't become united states incorrect, it's not a truly small-scale telephone similar the iPhone 12 mini. You're however getting a big 6.55-inch brandish, and the full-sized footprint that entails. Simply information technology feels similar sweet relief after the heft of the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite.

Similar that latter telephone yous'll have to accept a fingerprint sensor embedded in the ability button on the right paw edge. Information technology's a less overtly premium option than the in-display solutions usually favored for flagship and mid-range phones, merely to this writer'due south listen it's preferable to the rear-mounted upkeep culling. Yous can access the telephone without picking information technology up, for 1 thing.

Brandish

six.55-inch 1080 ten 2400 AMOLED screen
90Hz refresh rate
800 nits peak effulgence, 500 nits typical

The Xiaomi Mi xi Calorie-free 5G NE packs the same six.55-inch display, with a 1080 x 2400 resolution and a 90Hz refresh charge per unit, equally the Mi 11 Lite 5G.

Like the the Mi 11 Lite 5G, this NE model has the added benefit of being an AMOLED panel. And not just any AMOLED, simply one with 10-bit color depth support, which is capable of outputting ane.07 billion colors (64 times more than than the Mi 10 Lite).

You also go the usual AMOLED benefit of being able to output truthful blacks, which really comes into its own with the e'er-on display and subtle edge notification lighting animations.

On balance, we'd have this more comprehensive combination over the seemingly faster LCD culling. 90Hz is yet plenty polish plenty, and you won't even notice the shortfall unless yous accept a 120Hz telephone to hand for a straight comparison. In fact, side by side, we found the Mi xi Lite 5G NE'south display to feel more responsive than the 10T Calorie-free'southward, at least in part thank you to its 240Hz touch sampling charge per unit.

A peak brightness of 800 nits tells you that this isn't a top level OLED (you can well-nigh double that with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra), just a typical effulgence of 500 nits makes for comfy viewing. Using it on a vivid and sunny Dubai morning, the brandish does struggle a scrap only not to the point where you lot can't see anything on the display.

This is a dead flat brandish, which again hints towards a lower toll tag, but a slight curve on the edge of in that location displays could've really nailed that feeling of how slim this device really is. Another little thing to annotation is that unlike the Xiaomi Mi eleven Low-cal 5G, the NE model doesn't come with Gorilla Glass 6, but a generation older Gorilla Glass 5.

Photographic camera

64MP main sensor takes skilful shots in daylight
8MP ultra-wide is pretty bad
2x zoom shots crop in, but expect quite good
Night fashion a mixed purse compared to predecessor

The Xiaomi Mi eleven Lite 5G NE comes with the same triple camera setup on the back as the Mi 11 Lite.

Your main attention will be on the 1/1.97-inch 64MP broad sensor, which features an f/1.79 aperture and a half-dozen-element lens system. By default, this captures 16MP shots through using a iv-in-1 pixel binning technique.

These shots can look cracking in skilful lighting. On a couple of sunny days, we were able to capture some genuinely striking shots of flowers bursting with vibrant color, with that wide aperture yielding buckets of natural bokeh.

Xiaomi's AI banana by and large does well at picking out the appropriate scene profile, and the color balance - while on the punchier side of natural - rarely rings imitation. The company's image processing game is potent.

The 8MP 1/four-inch ultra-wide sensor really isn't up to anything like the same standard, whether y'all're talking about detail levels or color balance. Shots taken with this secondary sensor tend to await murky and distinctly lacking in detail, with bags of mushy noise towards the edges.

Any zoom you lot utilise will exist entirely cropped from that master sensor, with no defended telephoto lens to speak of. 2x shots really await pretty skillful here, yet, thanks to the abundance of pixels at its disposal.

There's a portrait way, but it'south not the most convincing example nosotros've ever used. The defocused background effect looks always so slightly weird, virtually like a painting, and our subjects failed to popular like they practise on more expensive phones.

Xiaomi'due south 20MP selfie camera isn't likewise bad, still, with a fair amount of detail in adept lighting.

Night manner is a fleck of a mixed bag hither. We're not expecting great results from an affordable phone, simply with a little bit of low-cal and night mode switched on yous could get a passable result.

The phone's video offering is pretty potent for an affordable telephone, with 4K at 30fps or 1080p at up to 120fps. The 4K footage we took looked nice and stable, with electronic epitome stabilization (EIS) readily applied, different on the Mi 10T Lite. You too get 960fps slow motility video but simply at 720p.

Similar any Xiaomi phone, the photographic camera also offers gimmicky modes such every bit Dual Video, Clone and Movie Effects which aren't corking simply do offer a bit more other devices at this cost range.

Camera samples

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Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G NE Camera Sample — Xiaomi'southward color science is punchy without looking false (Prototype credit: Techradar)

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Specs and performance

Snapdragon 778G is a bit of a drib from the regular Mi 11 Lite 5G
Together with stereo speakers, it's a great affordable gaming telephone

The Xiaomi Mi xi Lite 5G NE sees the adoption of an older processor (probably due to the global chip shortages), the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G.

While the chipset might be slightly older, it is still a very capable ane. It'south still a leap over the Snapdragon 750G used by the Xiaomi Mi 10T Low-cal. An average Geekbench five multi-core score of two,795 for the Mi eleven Light 5G NE absolutely trounces both the Mi 10T Lite (1,931) and the Poco X3 NFC (1,755).

In fact, it gets impressively close to the Oppo Detect X3 Neo (3,147), which is a much more expensive contemporary device running on the Snapdragon 865. That was the go-to flagship chip of 2020.

The simply affair that makes usa start to question the value proposition of the Xiaomi Mi eleven Calorie-free 5G NE in functioning terms is when we compare it with the Poco F3, which packs the superior Snapdragon 870 (and a 120Hz display) for less coin. But the difference isn't huge, and the Xiaomi wins out in other ways, such as that sleek design.

Paired with a healthy six or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, the Snapdragon 778G supplies a fast and fluid experience. Everything here, from home screen navigation to app switching, feels close to flagship level.

The true gap between the Xiaomi eleven Lite 5G NE's Snapdragon 778G and the flagship brigade would appear to pertain to its Adreno 642L GPU, which falls a little shy of the Adreno 650 in the Snapdragon 865 and the Snapdragon 870. A 3DMark score of 2477 falls brusk of phones running the Snapdragon 888, similar the OnePlus 9 and the Xiaomi Mi 11 itself.

Talking of gaming, you'll benefit from proper stereo audio here, courtesy of a pair of speakers. You'll be able to install all your games, music, and movies onto a standard 128GB of internal storage, and there's also a microSD card slot for expansion purposes.

Software

Runs Android 11 with MIUI 12 .5 on top
Bloated and sometimes unintuitive interface
Loads of useful customization options

The Xiaomi Mi eleven Lite 5G NE runs MIUI 12.v on top of Android 11, just similar its large brother the Xiaomi Mi 11. And while it's nevertheless not the near tasteful custom Android skin on the market, information technology'southward one of the better all-circular performers.

It still suffers from way too much bloat though. If we accept to write about our puzzlement at the presence of Xiaomi's own Mi Browser alongside Google Chrome one more than time… well, allow'due south face up it, we're going to accept to. It's here, and it'southward just as pointless as always.

Xiaomi'due south own suite of apps stretches to include its ain Music, Video, Gallery, Security, and Themes provisions. You too become a Cleaner for tidying up those memory-hogging apps and files, which is handy, though nosotros object to existence shown a total page advertizing every fourth dimension we do so. Those ads rear their ugly heads when installing apps, too.

Talking of apps, the likes of Amazon Shopping, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn come pre-installed every bit standard, whether you lot want them or non. And they're all bundled into a More than Apps folder through which Xiaomi also tries to push a bunch of iffy games at yous.

Bloatware aside, MIUI has grown to get a powerful interface. The power to split up the notification pane into dual elevate-downwards menus - one for notifications, the other for command shortcuts - is welcome, as is the fact that information technology's totally optional.

Indeed, customization is MIUI 12'southward biggest asset. The Themes store is full of bespoke looks for your home screen, and some of the alive 'super wallpapers' are really rather impressive. We went with a rings of Saturn theme that seems to dive into a fresh angle every time we unlock the phone.

This power does seem to come at the expense of clarity, however. Navigating MIUI's Settings carte can be a counter-intuitive nightmare, with certain everyday options seemingly having gone walkabout.

Wondering where the option to change the screen's time-to-sleep is? It's not in Display, where yous might expect it. It'southward in the separate 'E'er-on brandish' menu. While several other options turned out to exist roughly where we expected, we still somehow contrived to overlook them several times. There's but something fundamentally opaque about Xiaomi's menu blueprint.

Battery life

iv,250mAh battery isn't the biggest, only lasts a full day
33W charger arranged in

The Xiaomi Mi xi Lite 5G NE comes with a 4,250mAh battery. That's not small by any ways, but it is a fair bit more meaty than the 4,820mAh Mi 10T Lite jail cell, and style less than the 5,160mAh battery of the Poco X3 NFC.

Of form, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G doesn't have to worry about running a apartment-out 120Hz LCD display. Its 90Hz AMOLED is a far more than economical component, in theory.

Thankfully the phone lasts well plenty in exercise, besides. A calorie-free twenty-four hours with three hours of screen-on fourth dimension would tend to leave us with a good for you 50% still in the tank. A more intensive catamenia with iv hours of screen time dropped that corporeality to 35%.

Media consumption will drain that battery rather faster, of grade. Our usual battery test, which involves a 90-minute 720p looping video playing with the screen effulgence cranked to the max drained 11% of a total accuse. That's better than your average 120Hz phone, just still not exactly astonishing.

You get a 33W charger in box, which isn't a particular stand out, just it'southward withal notably better than Samsung'south and Apple's finest can muster. Half an hour of charging got us from 20% to 82%, which bodes well for those impromptu meridian-up situations.