Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Review

‘Ultra ’ is slowly changing into the cellular trade’s most well-liked time period for telephones which might be large, gorgeous, and feature jam-packed spec lists as much as and together with the kitchen sink. The Mi 11 Ultra is not any other.

In Xiaomi’s case, despite the fact that the Mi 11 Ultra  packs a couple of benefits over the common Mi 11 around the board, the brunt of the funds has obviously long past into the outrageous rear digicam module, which regardless of together with ‘simplest’ 3 lenses is in truth probably the most robust digicam setups round – so robust that it earns its personal particular rear-facing show.

That digicam is each a blessing and a curse for the Ultra. It’s a part of why the telephone is this sort of powerhouse, however the blocky, heavy design makes it each an eyesore and a discomfort that simplest the specs-obsessed will have the ability to put out of your mind.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Design and construct

• Huge digicam bump
• Ceramic rear end
• Large & heavy

Let’s get proper to it then. You’ll be able to’t discuss how the Mi 11 Ultra seems with out speaking concerning the digicam, so let’s get started there.

Stretching around the width of the telephone, and overlaying a few quarter of the entire rear of the frame, that is in all probability the most important digicam module in any smartphone but.

It juts out too – about up to 1/2 the intensity of the telephone itself once more. Throw within the small show constructed into it (extra on that later) and the result’s that you can not forget about it.

It’s this kind of digicam module that folks will level at from around the bar, that your folks will ask about with a reasonably involved glance of their eye. It feels one small step clear of simply screwing an SLR lens onto the again of the telephone and calling it an afternoon.

Unsurprisingly, it’s additionally heavy. In spite of having the similar measurement show, the Mi 11 Ultra is round 40g heavier than the Mi 11, at 234g. A few of that may come all the way down to the selection to make use of a ceramic coating at the rear, as a substitute of glass, however the digicam obviously performs its section. Xiaomi has a minimum of balanced the load impressively neatly, so it doesn’t really feel too top-heavy, however that doesn’t assist with how hefty it’s total.

The ceramic rear is available in both white or black, and curves on the facets to check the curved show, which does a minimum of stay the huge telephone slightly relaxed to carry, should you don’t thoughts the load. Just like the Mi 11, the display screen may be quad-curved, which means there’s an excessively slight curvature to the highest and backside of the display screen – slightly there, however simply sufficient to make swiping up or down from the sides a slightly extra relaxed.

There’s no headphone jack, with the USB-C charging socket the one port, however you do get stereo audio system to make up for it. There’s additionally no devoted fingerprint sensor, which is as a substitute constructed into the show.

With regards to coverage, the show is encased within the easiest grade of Gorilla Glass Victus, and there’s additionally an IP68 water and dust-resistance score, which will have to stay it protected even if submerged.

Past the out-there digicam design, the remainder of the Mi 11 Ultra is strangely restrained, virtually pedestrian in design. It’s easy, graceful, and undeniably top rate due to the graceful ceramic end. It’s only a disgrace that the digicam – robust as it’s – spoils the impact for me.

Some might like how it openly boasts of the telephone’s pictures prowess, and might relish having a telephone that appears as robust as it’s. I in finding it ungainly and awkward, and it’s truthfully the one factor that forestalls me from in reality loving the Ultra .

Show

• 120Hz AMOLED
• Quad-curved
• Further 1.1in rear show

The digicam bump is a huge a part of the sheer measurement of the Mi 11 Ultra, however the show has its section to play too – regardless that in truth it’s the very same measurement as at the common Mi 11 at 6.81in.

It’s a identical show in different respects too, additionally providing a 120Hz refresh price, AMOLED tech, and a top QHD+ answer – regardless that it’s in fact brighter, with 1700 nits height brightness, and boasts Dolby Imaginative and prescient toughen along with different HDR tech.

About the one show tech you’ll in finding on competitors that isn’t here’s toughen for a dynamic refresh price, able to going gradual in addition to speedy – however in reality that’s a battery-saving measure, and doesn’t make the rest in fact glance higher.

The lengthy and in need of it’s that this can be a gorgeous show, and simply one of the best available in the market, as long as you don’t thoughts the dimensions (which, as I’ve already discussed, because it least eased reasonably by means of the quad-curvature).

Blacks are inky and deep, colors are colourful, and the top refresh price helps to keep the telephone feeling easy it doesn’t matter what you’re the use of it for.

There may be, after all, the topic of the rear show. This 1.1in AMOLED is in fact the similar panel that Xiaomi makes use of in its Mi Band 5 health tracker.

Right here, it’s used basically as an always-on show for when the telephone is going through screen-down, with choices to show a clock, symbol, or customized textual content, at the side of notification indicators. It can be activated from throughout the digicam app, letting you employ it to border selfies thinking about the principle digicam.

For probably the most section this show is slightly of a novelty, however the further always-on show is welcome a minimum of – and certainly extra power-efficient than the use of the bigger major show for a similar goal.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Specifications & efficiency

• Snapdragon 888
• As much as 12GB RAM
• As much as 512GB garage

You’d be fearful if a telephone with ‘Ultra’ within the identify didn’t come with peak interior specifications, however naturally the Mi 11 Ultra delivers the products.

The flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset – simplest just lately surpassed by means of the brand new 888+ – lies on the telephone’s center, and Xiaomi has mixed it with a number of 8 or 12GB of RAM, and 256 or 512GB of garage. That’s greater than sufficient on each counts, or even the decrease tiers will have to be adequate to maximum.

In benchmarks the telephone doesn’t throw out many surprises, falling across the center of the variety we’ve observed for Snapdragon 888 telephones at the CPU-heavy Geekbench 5 check.

At the extra graphics-focused GFXBench exams, it helps to keep tempo with and from time to time surpasses different telephones with related show specifications.

It’s a identical tale day by day, the place the telephone can breeze thru absolutely anything you throw at it, and multi-task comfortably. Principally, if you need robust, future-proofed, flagship telephone efficiency, this has it in spades.

With regards to connectivity, there’s 5G networking after all, at the side of Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E. You additionally get NFC, or even an IR blaster.

Digicam

• Huge 50Mp major sensor
• 48Mp 5x periscope zoom
• 20Mp selfie digicam

The Mi 11 Ultra might excel virtually in every single place, however in the end it’s a telephone that’s in reality concerning the digicam. Thankfully it excels right here too.

The principle sensor is a showstopper. At 50Mp it’s now not the easiest answer digicam available in the market, however the 1/1.12in sensor is without doubt one of the greatest in a telephone at the moment. That implies it’s able to shooting extra mild and turning in richer color, awesome dynamic vary, and progressed lowlight pictures.

In excellent lights, photographs are brilliant and vibrant, with minimum artifacting, noise, or indicators of man-made sprucing. Capturing in sunlight the one factor I ever in reality had was once one shot the place the HDR merely didn’t fireplace in any respect, leaving the sky totally over-exposed – whilst a identical shot taken moments later appeared a lot better. I didn’t realize this occur once more regardless that.

In dim mild there’s a bit of extra noise, however nonetheless plenty of element and one of the maximum correct colors I’ve observed from a telephone at evening. Evening mode generally improves issues additional, including element and higher exposing particular person mild assets, however be warned – if there’s an excessive amount of ambient mild it’ll crush the picture, as in one in all my middle of the night pictures of Windsor Fortress.

A 48Mp wide-angle digicam is subsequent up, and effects right here also are very good. The sensor is smaller than the principle lens, and has a tighter aperture at f/2.2, however pictures are more or less related in excellent mild. They do pull aside in dimmer mild, with a lot much less element in shadowy spots from this lens – most certainly partly as a result of that is the one lens of the 3 that doesn’t function optical stabilisation – however the ensuing pictures are nonetheless very spectacular.

In the end, and arguably maximum excitingly, is the 5x periscopic zoom lens. Xiaomi touts this as ‘120x zoom’, even writing as a lot at the digicam module itself, however in truth you’re getting 5x optical, 10x hybrid, and natural virtual zoom for the rest past, which most commonly simply manner it’s cropping in.

At 5x and 10x photographs are out of the ordinary out of this lens, and with ease rival the principle lenses on many different telephones, even with the small f/4.1 aperture. Be expecting brilliant colors and baggage of element.

Past that effects do drop off, and I should say I’m now not too inspired with pictures because it approaches the max virtual zoom, that are most commonly grainy smudges. That is one house the place Xiaomi is obviously lagging at the back of Samsung – the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s 10x periscopic lens handles those ultra-zoom photographs a lot more with ease, and that telephone additionally provides the choice of a 3x zoom lens to sit down in the course of the variety.

Selfies may also be treated one in all two techniques. The front-facing digicam is an excessively forged 20Mp, f/2.2 affair that delivers very good effects around the board. It is going to, then again, be out-classed by means of the rear cameras, so that you additionally give you the option of activating that dinky rear-facing display screen to border your self for photographs with any of the rear cameras – despite the fact that, until your palms are a couple of occasions longer than mine, you’ll battle to get a lot have the benefit of the periscope lens right here.

Video chops are naturally spectacular too. The principle lens can shoot video at as much as [email protected], or [email protected], and advantages from OIS – whilst the selfie digicam is proscribed to [email protected] with simplest digital stabilisation. That is some other small loss relative to Samsung, because the S21 Ultra can shoot 4K selfie video.

You may assume that the rear show would allow you to shoot 8K selfie video with this telephone, after all, however on the time of writing video isn’t supported right here – and nor are Portrait and Evening mode, or the rest past same old pictures in reality. Xiaomi will reportedly upload this capability in by way of an replace, nevertheless it’s now not there simply but.

Battery & charging

• Huge 5000mAh battery
• 67W stressed & wi-fi charging
• 88% fee in half-hour

If there’s a perk to shopping for a telephone the dimensions of the Mi 11 Ultra, it’s that there’s a lot of house to slot in a large battery.

Xiaomi has delivered on that entrance, with a 5000mAh cellular in right here – by no means the most important battery round, however slightly beneficiant in reality. It’s had to pressure the telephone’s robust specifications and big show regardless that, so even with that battery you shouldn’t be expecting a lot more than an afternoon to a day-and-a-half of battery lifestyles.

Charging pace is a minimum of extra of a slam dunk. The telephone helps 67W charging on each stressed and wi-fi.

Let’s take stressed first. In Europe Xiaomi features a 67W charger within the field, despite the fact that in India it ships with a slower 55W charger. Trying out with the 67W charger, I controlled to peak the telephone as much as 52% in quarter-hour, and 88% in 1/2 an hour – some of the quickest speeds you’ll in finding in a telephone at the moment.

The wi-fi charging is arguably much more spectacular, however with one large caveat: you’ll want Xiaomi’s proprietary 67W wi-fi charger, which isn’t integrated with the telephone any place. That implies I haven’t been in a position to check it at max pace myself, however Xiaomi says it’ll fee to complete in 49 mins. I will be able to a minimum of verify that it’ll thankfully fee at slower speeds on same old Qi chargers.

Instrument

• MIUI 12 on Android 11
• No dedication to destiny Android updates

Xiaomi ships the Mi 11 Ultra working MIUI 12 on peak of Google’s Android 11 working gadget, despite the fact that it could possibly already be upgraded to the more moderen MIUI 12.5.

It’s more likely to obtain the replace to Android 12 later this yr however frustratingly Xiaomi nonetheless doesn’t promise any particular selection of Android updates past that. An improve to Android 13 subsequent yr is most likely, however now not assured – some other knock in comparison to guarantees from Samsung and a few different competitors for 3 years of Android model updates.

MIUI is some distance from my favorite Android pores and skin, nevertheless it has progressed in comparison to earlier variations. I in finding it needlessly obtuse and hard to navigate, particularly on the subject of delving in the course of the Settings menu, however for the ones prepared to place within the paintings it does be offering spectacular flexibility and customisation.

I might nonetheless constantly want a Samsung, Oppo, or OnePlus telephone for his or her device – or after all one in all Google’s Pixel gadgets – however although you’ve by no means used MIUI ahead of it’s most commonly only a topic of having used to its quirks.

Value & availability

• From £1,199/€1,199/₹74,999
• Now not to be had in North The usa

With the whole lot that the Mi 11 Ultra provides, it’s no actual wonder that it’s now not reasonable – despite the fact that we have rounded up the most efficient Mi 11 offers we have discovered up to now which may assist.

In maximum markets the telephone is available in one setup – 12GB RAM and 256GB garage – which prices £1,199/€1,199/₹74,999 from Mi.com. That’s very similar to the S21 Ultra and Oppo’s To find X3 Professional, however costlier than virtually every other telephone available in the market barring foldables.

Take a look at our guides to the most efficient telephones – or extra particularly the most efficient Android telephones – for extra of the highest tier competitors, or glance over our select of the most efficient Xiaomi telephones should you’d relatively some other telephone from the corporate.

As a reminder, Xiaomi these days doesn’t promote its telephones in North The usa, so the Mi 11 Ultra isn’t to be had there.

Verdict

The Mi 11 Ultra packs one of the easiest {hardware} available in the market, from peak interior specifications to an impressive digicam, gorgeous show, and speedy charging the use of each stressed and wi-fi strategies.

There are downsides regardless that. The sheer value is an glaring one, as is the reasonably clunky MIUI device and loss of an replace promise, however truthfully the design is a larger flaw. The Mi 11 Ultra is not just large, however due to the ungainly digicam module additionally it is merely reasonably unpleasant.

Until you in reality need the unconventional miniature rear show you’ll be able to get identical efficiency in a a lot more sexy package deal within the Galaxy S21 Ultra , which additionally nets you reasonably awesome zoom pictures and smoother device – albeit with slower charging. It’s most commonly the life of that telephone that makes the Mi 11 Ultra a hard promote for the common person – however on the other hand, this indubitably isn’t a mean telephone.

Specifications

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra : Specifications

• Android 11 w/ MIUI 12
• 6.81in WQHD+ AMOLED 120Hz quad-curved show
• 1.1in AMOLED rear show
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Gorilla Glass Victus (entrance)
• Ceramic (again)
• Aluminium body
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
• 8/12GB RAM
• 256/512GB non-expandable garage
• 50Mp, f/2.0, 1/1.12″ major digicam with PDAF and OIS
• 48Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam
• 48Mp, f/4.1 5x periscope digicam
• 20Mp, f/2.2 front-facing digicam
• Stereo audio system
• Twin-SIM
• 5G
• WiFi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.2
• 5000mAh battery
• 67W speedy charging
• 67W wi-fi charging
• 10W opposite wi-fi charging
• 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.4mm
• 234g