Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE Review

New with the lightweight 5G (but much improved)

Introduction

Not too long ago, Xiaomi announced a line up of the 11 Series of Smartphones, dropping the word ‘MI’ in between. We also did the review of the Xiaomi 11T HERE. So Xiaomi this time has introduced 3 models in this lineup, The Xiaomi 11T Pro, Xiaomi 11T and Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE.

Specifically our focus here for the review is the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE , a lightweight mid ranger that feature much on the mid budget level pricing but with certain features taken from its flagship. Let’s look at the new Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE and find out what it can do in this review.

Design

The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE design is built similarly to the previous Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite, which is a model released around 6 months ago. The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE back is made of smooth plastic construction with fine reflective surface when it shines under the light which brings in mirror-like reflections that is so nice staring at it. Due to its matte surface build, you will have no trouble touching on it with reasonable grip and it leaves almost no fingerprint mark or traces.

Xiaomi does provide a translucent casing in the box so at least, it is protected against any light surface drops. The camera portion is an island of bump consisting of 3 camera sensors and a flash. Putting it on the table is almost flat and it shows the slimness of the phone at just 6.8mm.

Continuing on the sides, on the right hand side, there is a volume up and down button and a power button that also functions as a fingerprint scanner, while the top houses an IR blaster for remote control, a top speaker, microphone and DUAL SIM Slot, while the bottom portion has a speaker, mic and a USB C port. All of the phone sides are made of aluminum. Over to the camera design, the same color applies to the side of the phone and the bottom/top part as well with mirror finishing touch to it. Audio wise, this ensures good call quality and clear stereo speaker enjoyment at anytime. No headphone jack but it is expected for not having one since it comes supplied with a Type C to 3.5mm adaptor which does not require you to get another additional adaptor for it.

The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE comes in three colors, Bubblegum Blue, Peach Pink, Truffle Black and Moonlight White which carries the weight of 158 Grams. Personally the weight is very light overall with good device body ratio holding on to my hands.

Display

Over the display department, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is powered by a 6.55 Inch FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass 5 that supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. Display is spot on with visible accuracy and contrast level which Xiaomi made a right choice selecting AMOLED screen even at this pricing range. It has adaptive refresh rate display which means when the screen is sitting idle, it will run at 60FPS, once you start your browsing and work or play, it will automatically adjust up to 90FPS. Depending on your daily usage and just a handful of games does support 90FPS gameplay. Other features include a 240Hz touch sampling rate which is an advantage when it comes to the accuracy and sensitivity over the touchscreen when gaming with the phone. On top of that with the density of 402PPI, you will enjoy the best of display with accurate colors when streaming your favorite movies or even scrolling over web pages.

Camera

When it comes to the camera portion, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE rear camera consists of one 64MP 6P camera, one 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP telephoto macro lens, followed by a dual LED flash. Pictures taken were clear during day with good amount of light and clarity produced on each picture. During night shots, it came out not too bad as well with visible shadows and contrasts that differentiates the environments. The selfie images are bright and good during day time as well which is powered by a 20MP wide angle lens , A few shots were taken over different modes as above and the result truly works well. A sample of 10x zoom, normal, 108MP and automatic shots taken were balanced, with little noise.

On video recording you get support up to 4K at 30FPS, stutters are visible while recording but it’s very minor with good details during recording. FHD video is awesome with good stabilization support. Dual video mode is also supported which you can capture both front and rear recording at the same time. Such feature is great for VLoggers that be able to take the advantage with added more styles over your recording such as Magic Zoom, Time Lapse and many more.

Performance

Performance wise, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G Octa-Core Processor, 128/256GB of internal storage and 6/8GB RAM. Call quality test shows no problem with a choice of calling via 3G, VOLTE or WOWIFI depending on your Telco Carrier. Once 3G towers shutting down by end of this year, this device should have no effect on your daily use. The phone does come with 5G connectivity support if you are looking for a 5G phone, WiFi 6/AX, Bluetooth 5 and NFC. Testing over WiFi connection gets up to an average of 866MBPS transfer speeds, ensuring blazing fast speed for multimedia and streaming. If you have a WiFi 6 router, you will be able to make use of the hardware features without issues.

Over to the gaming side, basically this phone will perform well on games such as Mobile Legends, Genshin Impact and the newly launched FINAL FANTASY VII THE FIRST SOLDIER with low mix medium settings applied and with such light weight, gaming is quite fun holding on the phone.

Above is the Benchmark performance, which delivers a very good scores on each of the test between its graphics, and processor performance. The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is suitable for those seeking for a Mid High range performing phones.

Battery performance wise, you will get around 11 hours of it, a mix of calls, surfing, email, streaming, and a few Call Of Duty matches. Turning on the battery saving mode under 20% will get you around extra 2 to 3 hours of conservative usage. The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE comes with a 33W fast charger, which will charge up the phone to 100% from 10% in around 1hour 45min average. 

Specifications

Verdict & Conclusion 

The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is a device that is generally for those who are seeking for performance, a phone that is just perfectly nice for starter mobile content creators, with a mix of light gaming on the go, while enjoying all the mid tier performance you can get while just paying for an affordable price. With so much to offer in a single smartphone, this phone could fit on any enthusiasts and productivity person alike, that is meant for most in the era of 5G coming with things done fast, edit beautifully and all is complete with just a phone in your pocket.

Pros

• 90Hz Refresh Rate Display
• Lightweight Phone
• Good AMOLED display
• MicroSD Card Slot

Cons

• No 3.5mm headphone jack

Pricing and availability

Starting from now, the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE will be available in two variants at RM 1,399 for the 8GB+128GB variant and RM 1,599 for the 8GB+256GB variant, and can be purchased from Shopee.