"The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra does everything you'd expect from a top smartphone in 2021, but introduces a few things you don't want and that gives the competition the edge."
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50MP camera takes great photos
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Nice screen
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Good battery life and fast charging
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Focus problems frustrate you
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The back screen isn't very useful
Xiaomi knows there is a battle for flagship phones this year. Samsung has knocked down competition so far with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and while the Galaxy S21 + and Galaxy S21 don't quite meet the same standards, they're still desirable phones. We've already looked at Xiaomi's S21 challenger, the Mi 11. Now is the time to check whether the Mi 11 Ultra can compete against the S21 Ultra or whether it doesn't quite live up to its name.
design
So you think the S21 Ultra is big and heavy? Get to know the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. It's a 234-gram plate made of Gorilla Glass Victus and ceramic with a huge camera module that takes up the top third of the back of the device. The total footprint is a bit smaller than the Galaxy phone, but the added weight and camera module mean it's still a serious handful.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
The tapered edges, curved corners, and flat ends make it comfortable to hold, but the balance is easily disturbed, not that it's a surprise when you look into the camera. The module is almost weirdly large, protrudes several millimeters and is packed full of cameras and associated sensors as well as a second screen. Really. The Mi 11 Ultra has a screen in the camera module. I'll come back to that.
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It's good that the camera module is, how should I put it, noticeable. Otherwise, the Mi 11 Ultra isn't a very exciting phone. It is similar to the Mi 11, OnePlus 8 Pro, and various other phones with curved screens and shiny bodies. It doesn't attract a lot of fingerprints, but it's very slippery. Xiaomi comes with a basic case in the box and it is probably advisable to use it.
Screens
The Mi 11 Ultra's screen is one of the best I've used on a phone. It is 6.81 inches tall, has a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, HDR10 +, Dolby Vision support and a lot of brightness. There was never a time when I wished it looked different or had an additional function. There are always-on screens on the front and back of the phone for notifications and the time of day.
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Although the Mi 11 Ultra has a curved edge, the screen doesn't extend that far down, but it suffers from accidental touches. Suddenly adding blank lines to a piece of text, moving it to the notification shade when you don't want to, and opening the camera or dialer app is all done. It's not all the time, but it's enough to be annoying. If you're not a fan of curved screens, the Mi 11 Ultra won't change your mind.
Now we come to the rear window. It's a tiny 1.1-inch OLED that sits next to the cameras and makes it easy to take selfies when using the rear camera. This allows you to check your pose instead of just guessing. It also works as a constantly on screen that shows the time, battery level, and some notifications when the phone is face down. It is not displayed permanently on the screen and can be set to only stay on for up to 30 seconds. You can tap on it to wake it up.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Is it helpful? Not really. I usually have my phone open anyway, but when I haven't, I'll still have to tap the screen to see the time and negate any cunning advantage of watching the clock. For selfies, it's too small and too low resolution to do anything other than simple framing. You can see where you are in the shot but don't expect a lot of details. Yes, it allows you to use the rear cameras for selfies, so it's successful there, but not much beyond that.
When you return to the main screen, there is little to separate it from the Galaxy S21 Ultra. It's bright, vibrant, and detailed, and has a variety of custom settings for you to play around with. These include a Super Resolution mode for upscaling low-resolution content and several Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) modes that apply HDR effects to still images and videos. You can adjust the DCI-P3 color gamut for accurate colors, change the refresh rate, enable flicker, and also change the resolution.
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However, it is difficult to determine what makes a difference and where. I have the 4K Mitsubishi Evo X video from Woyshnis Media with the settings DCI-P3 color profile, 120 Hz, WQHD + resolution and super resolution and again with automatic color and 60 Hz, but without super resolution, and apart from the refresh rate, viewed the video looked very similar. Ultimately, with these settings, you can make the screen look and work the way you prefer, whatever it may be. Regardless of what I did, the Mi 11 Ultra's screen always looked great.
One final thing to note is that the Mi 11 Ultra comes with a factory-installed screen protector, but it quickly lifts up at the corners and even breaks off to the side after getting caught on something. I had to take it off for the photos here, which I almost never do with a test device, which suggests it may not be the best protection.
camera
The Mi 11 Ultra is the first phone to use the jointly developed 50-megapixel GN2 camera from Samsung and Xiaomi, which has a massive 1 / 1.12-inch sensor. This means that it creates the most eye-catching natural bokeh you've seen from a smartphone without the need for a portrait mode. It's really impressive and allows you to take photos that other smartphones, even the Galaxy S21 Ultra, can't.
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However, this massive sensor appears to be causing a few issues, including the frustrating inability to focus on something too close to the camera. From pets to food, I have more blurry shots than actually focused shots of all of these things due to the problematic focus of the Mi 11 Ultra. This is difficult because there is no indication on the screen of whether or not the camera is in focus, and tapping your subject will not help either as there is no visual cue that it is working as advertised.
If you stop taking photos of objects within about 30 centimeters of the camera, it will do much better. The main camera has a nice natural tone with just the right amount of color to accurately capture the atmosphere of a scene. I enjoyed it very much and seldom took a picture that I didn't like. Xiaomi has kept the appearance of the photos constant across the 48-megapixel wide-angle camera with very few differences in color and dynamic range, unless the lighting is particularly demanding.
Another 48-megapixel camera offers 5x optical zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, and a ridiculous 120x zoom. The 5x zoom is excellent and I've used it a lot to better frame photos of flowers from a distance, even though it gets very close to the subject. As a result, it is unlikely to be as versatile and usable as a 3x optical zoom. The 120x zoom creates pixelated photos that you just want to delete.
I was impressed with the video capability. Optical image stabilization is very effective and keeps the camera steady when I'm walking or when it's mounted in a car. She records vivid, bright and very pretty videos. There are many different video modes that use Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to create unusual effects, just like the Mi 11, but they are a bit tricky and really only work in certain situations.
The small screen on the back of the phone next to the massive main cameras is undoubtedly an interesting addition, but it hasn't proven very useful. I may not take enough selfies, but even if I used it, the size is just right to frame your shot and nothing else. It's not as practical or innovative as the Asus Zenfone 7 Pro's flip camera system. It's also awkward because you have to activate it yourself in one of the Mi 11 Ultra's many camera menus. I'm not sure why Xiaomi didn't set it to automatically activate with a new, easier-to-access mode.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
The Mi 11 Ultra's camera is exciting and takes great photos most of the time. It is the first time the GN2 sensor has been used in a phone. Therefore, some problems are to be expected. Since it cannot be directly compared to others, it is not clear whether the focus problems are a Xiaomi software problem or not a camera problem. Put that aside – it is possible to bypass it once you know – and the Mi 11 Ultra's camera will capture great photos and videos that you'll want to share.
Performance and software
Equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and 12 GB of RAM as well as 256 GB of internal storage space, the Mi 11 Ultra is an extremely powerful, top-class smartphone. I didn't experience any speed or smoothness issues. The Android 11 operating system is covered by Xiaomi's MIUI 12 user interface. It's the same as the Mi 11, and there are many of the same problems.
It's the best version of MIUI I've used, but it's still frustrating at times. Dark mode doesn't always work with other apps – for example, my black and white profile picture on Twitter looked negative – and the Settings menu is different from most other Android phones. It's not bad, just different, and you will have to spend some time learning its weaknesses before you feel comfortable.
I find that MIUI is a little buggy at times too, and those bugs seem to differ from phone to phone. I have noticed several times that the Mi 11 Ultra has dropped calls, which I have never experienced with the Mi 11. It didn't always happen and was mostly on lengthy calls. Xiaomi updates its software fairly regularly, which may mean that such issues will be fixed in the future.
The Mi 11 Ultra is an extremely powerful, top-class smartphone.
I've played both Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9: Legends, and while both were fluid and fast, Asphalt randomly paused until I tapped the screen to continue. It didn't work all the time and may have been a gaming bug, but given MIUI's other issues, it's worth pointing out. A lot of energy is consumed in gaming and an hour of Genshin Impact will quickly discharge 25% of the battery. You'll also have to get used to grabbing the massive camera module that is always under your hand and wiping the inevitable fingerprints off the lens.
Battery and security
The battery life of the 5,000 mAh cell is much better than that of the Mi 11. It is not enough for two days (mostly connected to Wi-Fi), but with light use it lasts well into the second day. Most of the time my days ended with around 40%. Use it frequently when you are out and about and it won't extend into a second day. This is what I would expect from a phone with similar specs to the Mi 11 Ultra.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
A 67 watt charging brick is supplied along with a special USB Type-C cable. If you connect the phone at 3%, it will reach 94% in 30 minutes and the battery will be fully charged in 40 minutes. That's really fast given the 5,000mAh capacity and should mean you don't have to plug the phone in all night. The Mi 11 Ultra also has a 67W wireless charger if you use a compatible charger.
A built-in fingerprint sensor and a face release keep the Mi 11 Ultra secure. The fingerprint sensor can be a little slow, often taking around a second before the phone unlocks, while unlocking the face is very quick. So if you've enabled both of them, face unlock will have done its job before your finger touches the screen.
Price and availability
Xiaomi does not officially sell its smartphones in the US. So you have to import a Mi 11 Ultra if you want one. The phone is currently available in China, has been confirmed for India and is expected in the UK and Europe. The price has not yet been announced for the UK or Europe, but we know it costs the equivalent of $ 925 in China. We think a price of € 1,000 is likely, based on the € 750 price tag on the Mi 11.
Our opinion
The Mi 11 Ultra is a familiar Xiaomi story: Really very impressive hardware that has been disappointed by a few annoyances that should have been worked out. The main 50-megapixel camera takes great photos, and I really like the video performance, but focusing up close is random. The screen looks amazing, but there are still problems with the touch sensitivity of the curved sides. MIUI 12 is attractive and fast, but I found annoying bugs.
All of this spoils the Mi 11 Ultra and it's a shame. I can live with the size of the phone and the huge camera module and appreciate the high specs, but I don't accept fundamental issues that can make it annoying to use. When the hardware is this good on paper and you're dealing with a company as large as Xiaomi, those irritations just shouldn't be there.
The bigger problem with this is that the competition has largely resolved these issues, especially with the 2021 lineup. Apple, Samsung, and OnePlus have great high-end smartphones at roughly the same price as the Mi 11 Ultra. While not perfect, they don't have the same basic problems as the Xiaomi phone. It's frustrating as the Mi 11 Ultra is otherwise a very capable and extremely desirable phone and should match or even better what these brands have to offer.
Is there a better alternative?
It is difficult to recommend the Mi 11 Ultra directly due to its availability. Assuming you're paying $ 1,000 for the phone, we'd recommend spending it on a OnePlus 9 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro, or for a good deal, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. All three phones have great cameras, top-notch performance, and very attractive screens. In other words, everything the Mi 11 Ultra offers, just with the convenience of ordering on the spot.
How long it will take?
The glass and ceramic case should be durable in general use, and a case is included to protect the phone in case of serious problems. The Mi 11 Ultra also has an IP68 waterproof rating. Google Android updates may not arrive very quickly, but Xiaomi regularly keeps its own software up to date. There is 5G on board so you can connect to the fastest network. The phone's specs are the best you can get right now. It takes at least two years.
Should you buy one?
No. Buying the Mi 11 Ultra is still quite complicated at the moment, and there are more equivalent and better phones that are more readily available.
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