Abang Tech: Mi 11X review: A good value for money smartphone

Xiaomi had introduced the Redmi K series in India in 2019. The two smartphones in the line-up received a mixed response and were criticised by a few for their price. To be honest, they were decent smartphones and were priced well according to me but, the smartphone maker hasn’t launched any smartphone under the series since then. Instead, it has been re-branding them under new names. The latest to get that treatment are the Redmi K40 and Redmi K40 Pro, introduced in India as the Mi 11X and Mi 11X Pro.

The Mi 11X is the more affordable of the two, even though it still aims to offer a flagship-like experience at a tight budget. The smartphone is one of the early ones to come with Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor. The chipset has so far been used on the Vivo X60 and OnePlus 9R both of which are priced more than the Mi 11X.

The Mi 11X is priced at Rs 29,999 for the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage option, while the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage option will cost Rs 31,999 in the country. For the said price, you get high refresh rate OLED panel, triple rear camera module and dual speakers. Let’s see how the new Xiaomi phone performs in real life.

Mi 11X review: Design

The first thing I noticed about the Mi 11X is that it is a lot slimmer than any of the Xiaomi smartphones I have used in the past. Xiaomi has kept the thickness to just 7.8mm while the weight is also 196 grams. The phone is still tall which makes it difficult for one hand use, but the refreshed design offers a better grip. The slim form factor comes at cost though. Xiaomi is one of the few brands that has kept the 3.5mm headphone jack amid the calls for a wireless world. It has been skipped on the Mi 11X.

The back panel looks very similar to the Mi 11 which is yet to be launched in India. It has a rectangular camera module and Xiaomi branding. Interestingly, this is one of those smartphones where the colour variant you opt for, will make a lot of difference. The smartphone has been launched in three options – Cosmic Black, Lunar White and Celestial Silver. I had the black variant for review which can easily double up as mirror. It is very reflective and catches fingerprint smudges with ease. The other two variants have a matte finish and seem more fun.

The Mi 11X features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The power button is slightly raised which differentiates it from the rest of the frame. The rest of the elements remain the same volume buttons on the right, type-C USB charging port at the bottom and a speaker on each side to complete the dual sound system.

Overall, the design is pretty basic. In fact, it also reminds you of a more affordable Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, which just comes with a different camera module and Redmi branding at the bottom. The similarities don’t come as a surprise as the Mi 11X was designed to be part of Redmi smartphones.

Mi 11X review: Display

The front also looks very similar to the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max. The Mi 11X features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ resolution (2400 x1080) display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 360 Hz touch sampling rate. It has a peak brightness of 1300 nits and supports HDR 10+. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

While the display may look like the Note 10 Pro Max, the major upgrade here comes in form of the E4 material used by Xiaomi, which Xiaomi claims, reduces power consumption. It has also added Adaptive Colour Display here which adjusts the color temperature of the screen to the color temperature of the ambient light. This can help reduce eye strain.

The display is bright, has good viewing angles but lacks sharpness. That is more evident while streaming content. The colours appear vibrant though. It’s good to see that the Mi 11X doesn’t over saturate visuals a common problem with AMOLED panels. It is easy to use outdoor as well.

When Xiaomi launched this phone in China it talked a lot about the hole-punch cut out, claiming it to be one of the tiniest on any smartphone. Interestingly, there wasn’t marketing around it in India. You can clearly see that the cut-out is actually quite small but when kept side by side with the Note 10 Pro Max, seems very similar. Nevertheless, it doesn’t interfere with your viewing experience.

As far as the refresh rate goes, you can choose between 60Hz and 120Hz. Yes, the Mi 11X doesn’t support Adaptive Refresh Rate, which can be found on a more affordable Mi 10i. This is another proof that Mi 11X is a disguised Redmi phone.

Mi 11X review: Performance

This is probably the segment that would have inspired Xiaomi to position a Redmi phone as a Mi phone in India. The Mi 11X comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset, which only powers the OnePlus 9R and Vivo X60 series in the country so far. It has options for 6GB or 8GB RAM coupled with 128GB UFS3.1 storage. The chipset also distinguishes the Mi 11X from the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max which had a mediocre Snapdragon 732G processor.

It is a 5G capable chip and handles daily tasks with ease. Multitasking, gaming, or streaming are seamless. I didn’t notice any stutters or heating issues while using the phone.

I ran a number of games on the Mi 11X including Call of Duty: Mobile, Mortal Kombat: The Ultimate Fighting Game, Critical Ops ad Asphalt 9. The device handles these games with ease. The 360Hz sampling rate makes the display more responsive than other phones. The Mi 11X also has LiquidCool technology to keep the phone’s thermals in control during heavy-duty gaming.

It is worth mentioning that since the phone isn’t too heavy or thick, it helps in long hour gaming. The dual speaker system on the phone is loud but could have been better.

On the software front, the Mi 11X runs the MIUI 12.0.3 in India but should receive the much talked about MIUI 12.5 update at some point. For now, the phone comes with several pre-loaded apps including Xiaomi’s own Mi Store, Mi Pay and GetApps store. Most of them can’t be uninstalled, so you are stuck with them. Also, you will have to do few customisations for a cleaner and better software experience.

Mi 11X review: Camera

Xiaomi has equipped the Mi 11X with a high-quality display, decent speakers and even used good quality material. So obviously, it had to cut cost somewhere and unfortunately, camera is that department. The rear camera system includes a 48-megapixel Sony IMX582 sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera with 119-degree field of view and a 5-megapixel macro camera with 2X zoom. The front has a 20-megapixel selfie shooter.

The camera is capable of recording in slow-motion as well as 4K resolution at 30 frames per second. There is no change in the camera app from previous Xiaomi phones. You get several shootings options like Night Mode, Panorama, Dual Video and Long Exposure, among others. There is also a dedicated Pro Mode for camera enthusiasts.

The problem with the main camera is that it uses a year-old sensor which doesn’t have Optical Image Stabilisation. That’s a huge miss for a phone that claims to be a flagship killer. The images from the main camera are average. They are often underexposed, lack details and do not have a good dynamic range. The only positive thing here are the colours which look vibrant.

The performance is slightly better in lowlight conditions. The Night Mode helps you reduce noise and clicks decent images in challenging light conditions.

IMAGE SAMPLES

Both the ultra-wide-angle and Marco lens are of the same resolution as on the Note 10 Pro Max. The ultra-wide-angle lens performs very similar to the main camera but has better details in daylight. The macro lens on Xiaomi phones has been the most improved feature this year and continues to impress with the Mi 11X. The results are a lot better when compared to other cameras.

For videos, you can record 4K in 30fps while Full HD videos can be shot in both 30fps and 60fps. Since the phone doesn’t have a steady mode, avoiding shakes without a tripod will be a challenge. The selfie camera goes a decent job in daylight but captures a lot of noise in lowlight conditions.

Mi 11X review: Battery

The Mi 11X comes with a 4520mAh battery which isn’t huge by current standards but is at par with others in this price segment. At least it helps in keeping the phone compact. The phone performs well in daily usage. The battery came down by about 10 per cent after half an hour of video streaming and usual tasks. The drainage was a lot more while gaming. It was down by about 17 per cent after a 30-minute session of Call of Duty.

The battery optimisation is good but, you get the same 33W fast charger which Xiaomi is now shipping with most of its phones in India. It charges the phone about 60 per cent in half an hour and nearly full in almost an hour. OnePlus 9R’s 65W charger is a lot faster and juices up the device from 0 to 100 per cent in nearly 40 minutes.

Mi 11X Review: Final Verdict

The buyers don’t have a very tough decision to make here. If high performance, decent display and battery are your priorities, the Mi 11X makes up for a good smartphone around Rs 30,000. It has a familiar but sophisticated design, an excellent E4 screen and delivers a good performance. The cameras, as I mentioned earlier, are on the weaker side. You can check out the OnePlus 9R, Vivo X60 or even the Mi 11X Pro for better camera performance.

To conclude, the Mi 11X isn’t the best smartphone at this price point but, it is surely a good value for money option that you can consider.