Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 4G Review - Android

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite comes in two variants: A 5G version with a Snapdragon 780G chipset, and a 4G version (which is the...

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The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite comes in two variants: A 5G version with a Snapdragon 780G chipset, and a 4G version (which is the one we have) that packs a Snapdragon 732G processor and a cheaper price of PHP 14,990. It’s the most affordable phone in the Mi 11 series that you can get, but of course, it’s got a few drawbacks from its flagship-grade siblings and even to its 5G edition. We’ve been using it for more than a week now and this is our full review.

Design and Construction

When Xiaomi said “lite”, they probably meant it literally too since this device is seriously lightweight at 157g. It’s even lighter than most budget smartphones today, which makes it a bit awkward to hold as someone who’s used to hefty phones. It takes some getting used to—especially if you have man-sized hands.

Then again, it doesn’t give a cheap impression at all. Its smooth frosted glass back and dazzling design give off an elegant touch that’s a lot similar to the other higher models in the Mi 11 series. What sets it apart though, is its flat structure which doesn’t really bother us that much as its feathery weight makes it easy to grip. We also like how it doesn’t attract many fingerprint smudges. The unit we have is in the Bubblegum Blue colorway, and this 4G version is also available in Boba Black and Peach Pink.

Its camera module inherits the square-shaped Mi 11 design with a slim bump that can be fixed when topped with a case. It has three lenses in it, together with the LED flash. Then at the bottom part of the rear is some subtle Xiaomi branding.

For buttons and ports, there’s nothing on the left side, but on the right are the volume rocker and the slightly curved power button which doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

Up top, there’s an IR blaster and a secondary microphone.

While at the bottom are the loudspeaker, USB Type-C port, main microphone, and a hybrid card slot for either 2 nano-SIM cards or 1 nano-SIM plus a microSD card. There’s no headphone port here but we do get a free Type-C to headphone jack adapter in the box.

Display and Multimedia

Focusing on display, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is fitted with a 6.55-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080px and a pixel density of 402ppi. It doesn’t have some curved sides like its siblings but we do still get a 240Hz touch sampling rate and up to 90Hz refresh rate that you can tone down to 60Hz if you want to save battery life.

The bezels all around are slim and on the upper right side resides the selfie camera. Of course, on top of the display is the call speaker. We get Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection, and it’s worth mentioning that the 5G edition gets a layer of Gorilla Glass 6. This LTE version also supports HDR10 while the 5G one supports HDR10+.

Either way, if we’re not gonna compare, this AMOLED display looks vibrant on its own with accurate colors and inky blacks. It supports 10-bit color as well so it can display up to 1.07 billion colors—which is something that we can find in a few flagship smartphones today.

In the display settings, you can switch between the usual Light Mode and Dark Mode; turn on Sunlight Mode to adjust the brightness to intense ambient light when automatic brightness is off; and you can even take advantage of the Reading mode, which asides from reducing the amount of blue light, it has a Paper mode that gives an additional paper texture for your reading sessions.

You can also change the color scheme to the Original, Saturated, and Auto option that automatically blends the colors based on your current lighting. The Always-On Display feature is also available, and it is packed with numerous themes that are all customizable.

As for audio quality, its dual speakers can get loud enough for a medium-sized room, and it’s actually outstanding for a mid-range device. There’s clarity and noticeable highs and mids, however, don’t expect much bass on it.

Cameras

When it comes to cameras, unlike its Mi 11 big brothers that have high-grade camera systems, the Mi 11 Lite gets a few trimming in this category. Its triple rear shooters are composed of a 64MP F1.8 main, an 8MP F2.2 ultrawide, and a 5MP F2.4 telemacro lens that promises 2x magnification compared to normal macro lenses. As for selfies, it has a 16MP F2.5 front camera.

The camera app itself should be familiar for old-time Android users and you can still find here some of Xiaomi’s quirky camera features such as short video, vlog mode, dual video, long exposure, clone, and movie effects for those awesome transitions.

 

Quality-wise, shots taken from the rear cameras often look sharp with accurate colors and decent dynamic range, especially under good lighting conditions. Leaving the AI turned on gives off a small image boost that still maintains good color reproduction. The standard mode also gives a depth effect which is nice.