friendly priced all-rounder in the test

Xiaomi has been working on the road for a number of years. Nowadays you can find a device from the company in every segment. In general, they are all excellent devices for a reasonable price. We have tested for you whether Xiaomi can continue this trend with the Mi 11 Lite.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite review

We are now used to Xiaomi that the company releases a whole series of devices of a model. The Mi 11 series is no exception to this. In addition to the “normal” Mi 11, Xiaomi has released the Mi 11 Ultra and the Mi 11i will be released soon. The Mi 11 Lite is the little brother of these devices. The Mi 11 Lite is available in different versions, in this review you can read everything about the 4G version.

Sales package

The Mi 11 Lite comes in a rectangular box. In the box we find everything you need to get started right away; the user manual, a pin to open the sim drawer, a USB cable, the 33 Watt fast charger and a silicone cover. So nice and complete.

Design and interface

What is immediately noticeable about the Mi 11 Lite is the weight. The device weighs only 157 grams. This makes the device comfortable to hold. The back is very sensitive to fingerprints and feels a bit smooth. We have received the device in black from Xiaomi. The Mi 11 Lite is also available in blue and pink.

Xiaomi has equipped the device with a 6.5-inch Full-HD AMOLED screen. We are very pleased with the quality of the screen. The screen is easy to read in direct sunlight. In the dark we notice that the brightness is a bit on the high side, but this can be adjusted manually. The screen also has a refresh rate of 90Hz. In the top right corner is a cutout for the front camera and one of the stereo speakers is placed at the top of the screen.

At the top, as usual with the Mi 11 Lite, we find the infrared port, a handy addition. The volume buttons are placed on the right side with the power button below. This last button has a fingerprint scanner built in. The left side is left blank. The bottom offers space for the second stereo speaker, the USB-C connection and the SIM tray. You can store two SIM cards or one SIM card and an SD card in the SIM tray. On the back, Xiaomi has placed the camera module with three lenses in it. This module sticks out slightly.

Interface

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite comes with Android 11 with MIUI, the skin that Xiaomi provides on their devices. This skin looks very nice, but it takes some getting used to when you are used to a skin from another brand. The start screen is limited to your own taste. For example, you don’t have the option to set an icon pack like with the Poco launcher.

On the other hand, you do have the option to view your Google feed by swiping from left to right on the home screen. You also have the option to turn on and set the Always-on display. You can also choose from different clocks and backgrounds that are included from the factory.

Communication: calling, chatting and surfing the internet

Calling with the Mi 11 Lite goes without any problems. The sound quality is fine on both sides. You make calls with the standard Google app, just like sending messages and typing them. The device supports the use of two SIM cards, but this is at the expense of the use of an SD card.

To surf the Internet, Xiaomi has installed Google Chrome. The own Mi browser is missing on the Mi 11 Lite. The device supports WiFi 2.4GHz and 5GHz and of course 4G. Support for 5G is missing, Xiaomi has released a Mi 11 Lite with 5G, but it is a bit more expensive than the 4G version. Furthermore, Bluetooth is supported, just like GPS, NFC and the device has an infrared port.

Multimedia: music and film

Thanks to the excellent screen, the Mi 11 Lite is a great device for watching movies. The screen is a 6.5-inch Full-HD AMOLED screen. This screen is excellent to read in direct sunlight. The screen can also be dimmed sufficiently in the evenings, although this does occasionally require manual action. The screen is then slightly too bright. Colors and details are displayed well on the screen. Under settings you have the option to adjust the color screen.

The sound of the stereo speaker can be called excellent, this is not inferior to a device from a higher price range. The volume can be nice and loud, without being distorted, the bass is also fine. Unfortunately, there is no 3.5 millimeter connection on the Mi 11 Lite. You can purchase an adapter so that you can still connect your wired headset. Of course it is also possible to connect a Bluetooth headset.

Camera: photo and video

So far we are very satisfied with the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite. An important part of a good rating in the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite review is the camera. On the back of the device we find the camera module with the three lenses. In addition to the 64 megapixel main lens, these are the 8 megapixel wide-angle lens and the 5 megapixel macro lens. Xiaomi’s camera app is uncluttered and basically self-explanatory.

The photos we took during the day are a bit dark. Also the photos are not very detailed, but for this price they are neat. Photos we took with the wide-angle lens turn out better. We see more detail on this and colors are also better displayed. Zooming in beyond 5x is not recommended. The quality of the photos will then be significantly lower. Macro photo quality is reasonable.

We are positive about photos taken in the dark. These photos do not contain a lot of noise, as we see with some cameras in this price range. Below you will find a photo we took with the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite. If you want to see more photos, view the digital photo album here.

Video camera

With the camera on the Mi 11 Lite you have the option to film in 4K. You can also film in Full HD at 60 frames per second. While filming, there is the option to zoom in. However, it is not possible to switch between the main lens and the wide-angle lens during filming. So you film with either the main lens or the wide-angle lens. The quality of the videos shot is excellent.

Other options

The average smartphone of today has more options that we have briefly discussed or not yet discussed at all. This also applies to the Mi 11 Lite. In this section we discuss these options.

Fingerprint Scanner

The fingerprint scanner is placed on the side and also serves as an on and off button. We see on other devices that the fingerprint scanner is located slightly in the side. That is not the case with the Mi 11 Lite. The button is placed on the side like a normal on and off button. We can be brief about the speed and accuracy; the fingerprint scanner is very fast and accurate.

Button shortcuts

This option allows you to set up some useful shortcuts. Here you have the option to start up the camera quickly by, for example, pressing the on and off button twice or holding down one of the navigation buttons. For each action you have a number of options that you can set. For example, you can switch on the flashlight by long pressing the back button or pressing the on and off button together with the home button.

Performance: battery, speed and memory

We were able to test the 4G version of the Mi 11 Lite for this review. This one has been given the Snapdragon 732G. The 5G version has the Snapdragon 780G on board and is slightly more expensive than the 4G version. The Snapdragon 732G does a great job and is fast enough for everyday tasks. Games also run well on the Mi 11 Lite. Moreover, this processor is also friendly to the battery.

The battery has a capacity of 4250 mAh. With intensive use and a 4G connection, the battery will reach the end of the day with a screen-on-time of 4 to 5 hours. With moderate use and when you mainly use WiFi, a screen-on-time of 7 to 8 hours is possible. It should be noted that we had set the refresh rate at 90Hz, the maximum. Xiaomi provides a 33 Watt fast charger, very neat.

The Mi 11 Lite is available with us in two flavors when it comes to memory. There is a 64GB and a version with 128GB storage memory. Both versions have 6GB of RAM on board. The storage memory can be expanded with an SD card, but this is at the expense of a possible second SIM card.

Update Policy

Xiaomi has recently clarified the manufacturer’s update policy. Devices from the Mi series will receive two OS updates and four MIUI updates. The security patches are included in the MIUI updates. The Mi 11 Lite is currently running on MIUI 12.08 with the April 1 security patch.

Rating

Xiaomi has again succeeded in bringing an excellent device to the market for a reasonable price. For a good 300 euros you get a very complete device. The quality of the photos taken during the day could have been a bit better, these are a bit dark. This may be solved by a software update. Pictures taken in the dark are remarkably good.

The device is very fast, not the largest battery, but enough to get through the day. If you do have a bit of day left, the battery can be recharged in no time with the included 33 Watt fast charger.

A small downside is the lack of the 3.5 millimeter connection. On the other hand, nowadays you already have a pair of Bluetooth earphones for five bucks that have a reasonable sound.

If you want to be completely ready for the future, you have the option of purchasing the 5G variant. This has the same specifications as the 4G version, but a somewhat faster processor and therefore 5G. You pay just under 400 euros for this version.

You can buy the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite at: Coolblue, Bol.com, Belsimpel, MediaMarkt and Mobiel.