Introduction
Earlier this month, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE was announced alongside the 11T series devices, which is an updated version of the Mi 11 Lite that was announced earlier this year. In case you didn’t know, Xiaomi has removed the “Mi” product branding for its new phones. So, is this a good smartphone even without “Mi”? We’ll find out in the full review!
Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE Specs
- 6.55-inch AMOLED DotDisplay with 90Hz refresh rate
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor
- Up to 8GB RAM
- Up to 256GB UFS 2.2 storage
- Cameras
- Rear: 64MP main + 8MP ultra-wide + 5MP telemacro
- 20MP selfie camera
- 4,250mAh battery with wired 33W fast charge
- MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11
- Colors: Truffle Black, Bubblegum Blue, Peach Pink, Snowflake White
Design
The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is pretty thin and light as marketed, measuring at just 6.81mm and weighing 158g. The phone feels quite comfortable and is pretty easy to carry around, but 158g doesn’t consider light in the old days, it’s just that phones nowadays are quite heavy. The front is quite similar to many other phones — rounded corners, a thicker chin below the screen, and a hole-punch selfie camera at the top left corner of the screen.
The back of the phone is pretty similar to the Mi 11 Lite, just that Xiaomi has opted for a matte finishing, which feels better. The camera module design is quite similar as well, which you can clearly see that it’s from the same Xiaomi 11 lineup.
Like many Xiaomi devices, the volume rocker and power button are located on the right side of the phone. The power button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.
The phone still comes with an IR blaster on the top. At the bottom, there’s a SIM tray, microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grille. Yup, the phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm audio jack, I believe the reason Xiaomi gave was that the phone is too thin.
Display
The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE sports a 6.55-inch AMOLED DotDisplay with a 90Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. This is actually a smooth screen, but not all the time, we all know that a smooth screen not only needs to have a high refresh rate but needs to work with the processor and the user interface. Colors are vibrant and vivid, it also supports 10-bit color depth and HDR10+ technology, tuned by Dolby Vision. Overall, the phone has the best-in-class screen you can get in a smartphone at this price range.
Performance
Powering the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. My review unit is the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage model, which is the lowest configuration you can get in Malaysia. Overall, the performance is somewhat satisfying and definitely better than the Mi 11 Lite. It’s slightly less powerful than the Snapdragon 780G in the Mi 11 Lite 5G, but the deficit is quite tiny and we don’t get the Mi 11 Lite 5G in Malaysia, so we will just give it a pass. The phone can handle tasks like social media apps, watching YouTube videos, and moderate gaming.
Software
The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE runs on MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11. The overall user experience is quite similar to earlier Xiaomi devices that I reviewed such as last year’s Mi 10T Pro. Up until today, I’m still struggling to navigate through the messy settings.
There’s one more annoying thing about MIUI, every time when I install an app, it’ll pop up the scanning interface like some sort of anti-virus software, sometimes there’s even an ad banner! I’m still not really a fan of MIUI, and since Xiaomi has removed the “Mi” product branding, will MIUI eventually become Xiaomi UI?
Camera
The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE packs a quad-camera setup on the back — 64MP main + 8MP ultra-wide + 5MP telemacro. Xiaomi has also added some video features such as One-Click AI Cinema and Vlog modes, but I doubt that consumers will use them. As for taking selfies, the phone comes with a 20MP front-facing camera.
Ultra-Wide
16MP Main
64MP Main
Super Macro
Ultra-Wide Night Mode
16MP Main Night Mode
Like many phones, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE shoots good photos under broad daylight. The phone shoots 16MP photos by default due to the nature of the Quad-Bayer sensor to let in more light. When enabling the AI camera, photos will be more vivid and vibrant, making them more eye-pleasing. Photos taken with 64MP mode appear to have more noise, not encouraging you to use it all the time since it’s not that much different from the default mode.
As for night mode photos, the phone can take good quality low-light images, but in certain scenarios, the white balance will be pretty warm. Overall, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE has quite a capable camera system for your social media usage. The 5MP telemacro camera also shoots nice macro photos, but again, not many people will use it. Click here to view all the camera samples.
Battery Life
Juicing up the phone is a 4,250mAh battery, not a huge battery by today’s standard, the thin form factor could be the reason. Based on my usage, I was able to get around 2 days of battery life with at least 6 hours of screen-on-time. That’s actually quite impressive for a thin phone like this! The phone supports 33W fast charging, which charges up to 50% in half an hour, not the fastest charging speed but I’ll take it.
Final Words
The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is available in three variants — 6GB+128GB, 8GB+128GB, and 8GB+256GB, retailing at RM1,199, RM1,399, and RM1,599. The phone comes with returning colors including Truffle Black, Bubblegum Blue, and Peach Pink, with an additional brand new color — Snowflake White, a matte and frosted white similar to freshly fallen snow.
Personally, I don’t think you will need to go for the 8GB+256GB variant since the phone has a MicroSD card slot for storage expansion. If you care about the screen, performance, and battery, this is actually a good phone you can get. Oh, it has a decent camera system as well! If you find that MIUI is not your cup of tea, then you shouldn’t consider Xiaomi devices and read this review in the first place.
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Yay
- Impressive screen
- Satisfying performance
- Good battery life
Nay
- Doesn’t feel premium
- No 3.5mm audio jack
- Not a fan of the MIUI user experience
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