Xiaomi’s Mi line of devices delivers the best of what the company has to offer in terms of software and hardware. Mi lineup comprises its budget Note series, premium and experimental Mix series, and the flagship numbered series. While the budget Note series and Max series are officially discontinued by the Chinese giant, the flagship numbered series is all over the internet throughout the year. I mean, Xiaomi has released more than five models in the Mi 10 series altogether. Now Xiaomi is all set to take the wraps off its next flagship series — Mi 11. The company has already confirmed that it will launch its Mi 11 series on December 28.
Xiaomi Mi numbered series of devices is world-famous as they bring all the latest hardware and software together in a form of premium offerings without putting a dent in your wallet. The Mi 11 series could be the flagship launching next year. We are not sure about the series until November, but later it seems like a floodgate has opened halfway through as the leaks started pouring in.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Series: Release Date and Pricing
Xiaomi has announced the launch date for Mi 11 series in China. As mentioned earlier, the series will be unveiled on December 28. Now, that makes the Xiaomi Mi 11 to be the first device powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. As far as the availability is concerned, we can expect to get our hands on the devices sometime in January. Considering the fact that Xiaomi is speeding up things when it comes to the Mi 11 series, we can expect the device to be available by the end of February in all the regions. Xiaomi has already confirmed that the upcoming series is a successor to the Mi 10 series and the series will carry the Mi 11 moniker.
While the company has not disclosed the names of the devices in the series but going by the rumors the devices will launch as Xiaomi Mi 11 and Xiaomi Mi 11 Pro. Xiaomi this year did not stop with only Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. The company also launched an Ultra model in the Mi 10 series and also unveiled budget offerings like Mi 10T and Mi 10T Pro. But as of now, we do not have any information around the upcoming Mi 11 series of devices other than vanilla Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro. We might have to wait for a little longer to know about the Ultra variant or the budget T-series.
Talking about the pricing, there is literally no info. But going by the previous prices and bumps, we can expect the devices to cost somewhere around $700 (roughly 51,500 INR) to $1000 (roughly 73,600 INR) respectively. The prices might vary from model and storage configuration.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Series: Design and Cameras
No matter what features or hardware a device brings to the table, it is mostly about the design as long as it is a flagship. As for the leaks, the first thing which we expect to see is its renders. But it is strange that we haven’t seen any leaks around renders or the schematics of the upcoming Mi 11 series. Yes, there were a few renders showing off the back of the Mi 11 and there are also a few alleged posters of Mi 11 from Weibo. Almost all these posters show us a device with a blue body and a unique looking square rear camera arrangement.
Recently, a popular concept creator and tipster has shared a few official renders of the Mi 11. On top of that, a few posts on Weibo have also revealed some different color variants of the device. While these are all renders and we all know that the original device might look very different from the renders, but a post on Weibo gave us a peek at the device in flesh. Mi 11 is a complete refresh from the company’s previous devices. The device looks unique and the back of the device is where all the new stuff happened. The Mi 11 features a square-ish camera design with a large set of circular housings for two cameras. Overall, the device has a curvy pattern going on.
While the top of the device is covered in the image, leaks have it that the device will come with a punch-hole display notch on the top left corner of the display, just like the Mi 10 series of devices. Previously, a similar-looking phone was also spotted in a hands-on image. You can take a look at the image below. According to a Russian outlet (Mobiltelefon – no longer available), the alleged live image of the Mi 11 is captured during the sets of an ad shoot for the device. The device is always spotted in a sky blue color variant and it seems to have some sort of gradient look. Also, we think that the Mi 11 comes with a frosted back glass finish just like various flagships launched this year.
Rumors also suggest that the Mi 11 will have a flat-screen display whereas the Mi 11 Pro will carry a curved screen on all the corners. Although that sounds practically impossible, Huawei has done in the past with its P40 Pro. The sizes of the displays are not confirmed yet but both the devices might come with a 120Hz display refresh rate which has become a standard for any flagship in the current market scenario.
With that said, let us talk about cameras. The Mi 11 is said to carry a triple rear camera setup whereas the Pro variant might carry a quad-rear camera setup. The fourth camera on the Mi 11 Pro is said to be the Periscope zoom lens with either a 5x or 10x zoom. But all the leaks, renders, so-called posters, and hands-on images we have seen till now showcased the device with triple rear cameras only. Now, this gets confusing as the recently leaked image from Weibo showcases the device with a curved screen and triple rear cameras. But from the beginning leaks only suggested to us that the Mi 11 will come with a flat display and the Pro variant comes with a curved one, which actually makes sense.
We think that both the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro will come with triple rear cameras and they might only vary in display sizes, battery capacities, and storage options. We suggest you take all this with a grain of salt as end-of-the-day leaks are just leaks and we cannot predict what the company is hiding under its sleeve exactly. Coming back to the part of the camera, the primary sensor for both the devices here is rumored to be a 50-MP unit, which is a downgrade from Mi 10 series at least on paper. For those unaware, Mi 10 series came out with a 108 MP sensor. The Mi 11 will also come with a night mode for video recording and the company also showed off a sample video shot on the Mi 11 using this new mode.
While a lot of tech enthusiasts expected the device to come with an under-display front-facing camera, the recently leaked Mi 11 tempered glass suggests otherwise. You can take a look at the tempered glass of the Mi 11 here and as mentioned earlier, the front-facing camera is expected to be embedded in a punch-hole display notch. Xiaomi is already working on the third-generation of its under-display camera tech which will be mass-produced in 2021 and will be commercialized soon. So, we can expect the Mi 11 Ultra to come with an under-display camera tech.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Series: Specifications and Features
The only confirmed specification of the Mi 11 series is that it comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC. As mentioned earlier, Mi 11 is the first device to come with the latest SoC meaning the Mi 11 is the most powerful hardware loadout for 2021. Xiaomi is one step ahead of its competition ever since the launch of the Xiaomi Mi 10 series with a keen to establish its “first” position by releasing its devices in 2020 ahead of the competition. Again, few rumors have it that only Mi 11 Pro variant might carry the latest Snapdragon 888 chipset, Mi 11 on the other hand is expected to release with Snapdragon 865 Plus.
Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro are tipped to come with 4780 mAh and 4970 mAh batteries respectively. Digital Chat Station points out that the charger is capable of 11V at 5A for an output of 55W. Although that is a downgrade from Mi 10 Ultra’s 120W charging, it is still better than Mi 10 Pro’s 50W charge speeds.
Recently, it is also confirmed that the Mi 11 series might not come with a charger in the box. We have seen it coming ever since the launch of the iPhone 12 series. Tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo posted a leak showcasing the Mi 11 box alongside the iPhone 12 box. Now, that Lu Weibing, Cheif, Xiaomi also had posted on Weibo about the same, it adds a lot of weight to the leak.
Mi 11 recently passed through Geekbench, the listing reveals the model number Xiaomi M2011K2C. It is worth noting that this is the same model number that is listed on 3C and China’s network certification website. The device runs Android 11 out of the box which is going to be based on Xiaomi’s own MIUI 12. The device is powered by a processor that is codenamed ARM venus which is Snapdragon 888 coupled with Adreno 660 GPU. The device comes with 12 GB of RAM and of course, the device will come in different RAM and storage configurations. Geekbench listing did not reveal much except for the aforementioned information.
We can expect the devices to come with an OLED display with a 120Hz display as refresh rates have become a norm on Android flagships these days. Also, Xiaomi has used the same tech on Mi 10 Ultra this year making it seem possible for the Mi 11 series. Xiaomi says that the display found the Mi 11 series is the best the company has ever made. As revealed by the Co-founder Lei Jun, it might also be the most expensive smartphone screen in the industry. Xiaomi also confirmed that the series will feature Wi-Fi 6 capabilities and improved LPDDR5 RAM support.
So, this is our take on Xiaomi Mi 11 series. Do note that this article is completely based on rumors and leaks. End of the day leaks are leaks and they should be taken with a grain of salt. Companies could make changes at the last minute, and Xiaomi is often observed doing that. For more coverage on Mi 11 series, stay tuned!
