[Before we head into this review, we would like to take a moment to apologize and say that we weren’t able to publish last year because of my final exams and my little love, Tintin the Chinchilla, passed away. So, we had to take this for a long-term review instead, due to the unfortunate events.]
The thing with us lately is that we like to properly use a phone long enough to give our verdict and I know it may not be a feasible strategy in the long run and it is going to change, but otherwise it gives us a better understanding of most products we review. That said, Xiaomi Malaysia sent us the Xiaomi 11T and Pro for us to review and we decided to take it for a long-term experience (due to an unfortunate circumstance) and there’s a lot more to talk about than I expected. So, here’s our Xiaomi 11T and 11T Pro review and why the 11T is a better choice.
Xiaomi 11T | 11T Pro
Looks nice but the Premium feel is Missing
A good feeling phone makes up for part of the experience and its no doubt that the Xiaomi 11T looks good with the brushed finish on the back covered in an odd material we can’t seem to point out if its glass or plastic. But the premium feeling the phone once had, its neither present nor absent. It looks amazing but feels odd.
If you were to hold or carry a Mi 10T side by side, it’s easy to make a mistake and label Mi 10T is the successor as it did have quality hardware and build all in all which I am a fan of. The Xiaomi 11T and Pro feels hollow which I kind of wished wasn’t the case. The polished back can be slippery, so I’d suggest you get a case while you’re at it although it does come with a TPU case, which is really decent. Just make sure to keep the phone safe.
Technically same phones with one difference
Yes, you read that right – every aspect of this phone is identical except for the processor and before we get into that, here’s what you are getting regardless of the pro or the non pro smartphone:
- 6.7” Full HD+ AMOLED Display
- 8GB RAM (or 12GB for the Pro) and storage varying from 128GB to 256GB
- Triple Camera Setup (108MP, 8MP and 5MP) with 16MP front facing camera
- 5000Mah Battery with different charging standards
Now we all know by now that the 11T Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 which is quite possibly the most popular processor of 2021 as you can see it being powered by every flagship out there. The non-Pro gets a completely new processor and that’s the MediaTek Dimensity 1200. It’s been quite some time since we have seen a MediaTek smartphone here and we were delighted to be able to review one back again. The processor clock speed is higher with the Dimensity 1200 at 3.0GHz (compared to 2.84GHz 888).
Beautiful Display Though
Regardless of which Xiaomi 11T you get, I have to admit that the 6.67” FHD+ AMOLED display is a sight to behold. Time and time again, Samsung displays have been the first choice for many smartphone manufacturers and the moment you see AMOLED, it’s always a Samsung panel.
These displays have really good true blacks and good brightness coverages with images that just pop in every way possible. Given that high refresh rates are a thing in today’s world, the phone does have support up to 120Hz and supports Dolby Vision right out of the box. So, expect the colors to be more creator-like. It’s covered on top of a Gorilla Glass Victus, which means it’s a lot more durable but again, applying screen protector wouldn’t hurt it. Otherwise, you can really enjoy some good shows on the phone on the move.
Crazy Fast Charging Speeds, which I love
I don’t think I would have believed how fast this phone can charge with the brick that’s included inside the box. Both the Xiaomi 11T and 11T Pro comes with its own Power Adapter rated for different power. The 11T Pro charges the phone from 0-100 in just 20 minutes which is crazy, thanks to the 120W Xiaomi HyperCharge – I think if you get used to this, its hard to go with any other phone’s fast charger. The 11T supports 67W which is still crazy fast okay – and does the same 100 percent in less than 40 minutes.
Now, the issue with these fast-charging standards is that: previously we have seen and it’s been proven that the faster the charging protocol, the faster the battery deteriorates very fast. One good reason why we do long term reviews is to see if there’s any drop and there is: the 11T Pro used to last longer than 2 days with a sim card on standby and now it only does close to 2 days. So, there is some effect to it. But given that most users won’t even notice as it still holds up for more than a day, I don’t think it would be an issue but otherwise it is still a concern for me really.
Xiaomi 11T is Fantastic, with Dimensity 1200 being an amazing Processor
In the past, MediaTek had their fair share of hit and misses and as a semiconductor brand they gave their best shot, but all those downs didn’t stop them from making a good processor which is what we see today with the Dimensity 1200. Think of the Dimensity 1200 like AMD in the world of PCs, because they aren’t afraid to give their best shot.
Dimensity really is their saving grace because in terms of efficiency, consistency, and thermals, it checks off every box with a breeze. Now synthetic benchmark scores are just scores showing the raw performance of a phone. Don’t take it in a wrong way, yes you can feel the temperature with the 11T but it isn’t as obvious as the Snapdragon variant.
It’s fascinating to see the difference because it’s not every day you get to see a brand making the same phone sans the processor, so you could see it with your very eyes.
I didn’t notice any frame drops in the higher refresh rate mode when the phone was running some heavy background tasks such as updates, installing application and retrieving notifications. The gaming experience on this was pleasant too – somehow the frame rates were consistent and so was the performance in games like Grid which is what we use to test the gaming prowess of a smartphone. Hearing all this sounds good, right? So, what kind of problems did I encounter with the Pro then?
The 11T Pro is riddled with Problems, no thanks to Snapdragon 888
Right out of the box, in fact the Pro is the first phone Xiaomi 11T I chose to use. Over the time, until the 2nd or third update, the display would drop frames and switch back to 60Hz even when it’s set to run in 120Hz. A bit bizarre because even if it uses adaptive technology, the phone switches when the display isn’t in use or notices the motion or scrolling is getting slower, hence the “Adaptive” in its name, but this was just weird.
Even going to the settings, switching to normal and Adaptive, the change wasn’t as instantaneous. It took a few minutes to do that. After an update it was fixed but this was not an issue with the Dimensity powered Mi 11T.
Next was how there was inconsistency in performance: where the phone throttles and has a failsafe which is noticeable. When we were playing Grid for more than 30 minutes, we noticed the frame rate drop and the phone getting much warmer than its Dimensity counterpart. So, the performance too took a dip which made the experience unpleasant.
Now if you are wondering if this is a Xiaomi issue, it isn’t because since the Snapdragon 888 announcement, we have been seeing the same issue with other phones that we have reviewed including gaming smartphones that took quite the huge hit really. So, seeing this cripple the phone makes the phone depressing and guess what’ the camera performance is subpar too.
Camera Image Comparison
The image comparison is simple: we take the same shot, same settings, and all that, and compare it side by side. So, we specifically did a night shot because it’s obvious as to how well the 11T performs as compared to the Pro. For one, the tone on the image is more balanced and none of that strong saturation going on the Left image whereas the Pro over processes the contrast giving unnecessary blacks which comes off bad that if you look at the car’s wheel – it fails to capture the disc brake where the Dimensity 1200 processing is impressive. Objects that are located further away have significantly poor detail and too much contrast with the Pro.
This isn’t the first time where the 11T Pro performs poorly, even in daylight you can see some significant differences which I have added the images below in the slider for you to see. A smartphone camera is an important aspect of a phone because these days we capture more than ever. But when the 11T outperforms the pro and costs less, we have some serious problems right there.
Other than that, I am still not happy with the whole removal of OIS for Digital EIS which only works in video and as for photos, make sure to pray that the situation you’re in is steady ground and your hands are too. Slight shake can take a blurry image and as it gets darker, the phone suffers a lot.
11T Pro Samples
11T Samples
In fact, you can check out Nasi Lemak Tech’s camera comparison where they faced a similar issue.
MIUI has gotten Buggier, even under Long Term
I used to be a huge fan of MIUI because the features it included and given that it’s one of the nicest UI out there, I loved it. But not after MIUI 8 (I think?) – we could sense a pattern that causes a bunch of hiccups. The camera has an issue with the shutter, specifically the Snapdragon variant where there’s a delay once you hit the shutter button – a good three second delay and sometimes the shutter won’t trigger the image. The settings menu is chaotic, and it needs a better organizing method.
Hope MIUI does a better job and brings back the good times we had with MIUI with 13 – at this point, that’s all I can hope for because there’s a caveat – Xiaomi did promise 3 years of proper updates with the Xiaomi 11T, so that’s good news.
Missed Opportunities
I really wished Qi Wireless was included because as of right now – the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE which goes head on with these, have that and support for DeX. Oh, and turns out it still doesn’t even support MHL. Finally, that USB 2.0 standard needs to drop because if Xiaomi is going to market these as Cinema Smartphone, well, 2.0 is quite possibly the worst port to transfer files that goes above 1GB size mark. I still believe the 11T should have retained the Headphone jack, given that they emphasize a lot on this phone being a cinema-like camera.
Conclusion
We are pretty much at the end of the review, and I have to say this: I believe the Xiaomi 11T running Dimensity 1200 deserves the “Pro” crown instead of the Snapdragon 11T Pro. The Pro moniker should bring better upgrades to the table as compared to the predecessor, but instead all we saw was downgrades like in the camera department such as removing OIS for EIS, poor software performance and the Snapdragon 888 just made the experience unpleasant.
The Xiaomi 11T on the other hand though, it sure does go through similar problems but when you realize it does tasks more efficiently, performs better and gives a whole lot less problem at a much more affordable price tag, its a phone I don’t mind having in my pocket. In fact, I am going to continue using it as my second daily driver, since Android 12 ruined my primary daily driver for the worse.
So, there you have it – the Xiaomi 11T is the true Pro smartphone among both and that’s the phone you can consider purchasing – for that, we give the Xiaomi 11T (not the pro) a Silver award.
Special thanks to Xiaomi Malaysia and the PR for gracing us with these smartphones to make this content happen.
