Xiaomi launches the Mi 11 flagship: Snapdragon 888-powered phone with a QHD+ display for just over US$600

After weeks of teasers, Xiaomi has finally lifted the veil over its next generation of flagships, the Mi 11 series. The company, today at an event in China, launched the Mi 11 as a direct successor to the Mi 10 that was launched back in February.

The Mi 11 sports a quad-curved 6.81-inch QHD+ SAMOLED display, with a variable refresh rate peaking at 120 Hz and going as low as 30 Hz. Interestingly, that's the first time Xiaomi has equipped a smartphone with a QHD+ display. Along with that is a 480 Hz touch sampling rate for class-leading responsiveness. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus which provides 50% better drop resistance and 100% improved scratch resistance.

Under the hood is Qualcomm's new flagship mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 888. That makes the Mi 11 series the first phone offered with this SoC, in line with Qualcomm's close business partnership with Xiaomi.

The Mi 11 is offered with 8 GB of RAM as base equipment, with Xiaomi opting for improved RAM modules that deliver peak speeds of 6.4 Gb/s versus the 5.5 Gb/s RAM on the Mi 10 Pro. The device can be had with a minimum of 128 GB of UFS 3.1 storage and tops out at 256 GB.

Camera-wise, the Mi 11 sports a redesigned rear camera module, with a massive 108 MP camera being the star of the show. There is, of course, optical image stabilization. That camera is aided by a 13 MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5 MP telephoto/macro shooter. At the front of the device is a 20 MP selfie shooter housed within a notch.

The Mi 11 offers a stereo speaker setup tuned by Harman Kardon, 55W wired charging, 50 W wireless charging, and a big 4600 mAh battery. There is, of course, no headphone jack present. That has been the case for years on Mi flagships. While much has been said about Xiaomi not including a charger in the box, Xiaomi is offering the 55 W charging brick at no extra cost on request. 

Pricing:

• 8/128 GB: CNY 3,999 (US$610)
• 8/256 GB: CNY 4,299 (US$660)
• 12/256 GB: CNY 4,699 (US$720)

Meanwhile, you can buy the Mi 10T on Amazon right now.