Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE review: renewed in the processor

Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE , this is the name of the new smartphone of the Chinese house, ready to supplant the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G (go to the review ), a product that in a certain sense has taken the longest step of the leg. This smartphone is in fact exactly identical to the previous one, except for the processor which is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G instead of the Snapdragon 780G. Let's see why and what changes.

Unboxing of Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE

Inside the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE package there is the 33 W charger, the USB Type C cable for charging and file transfer, a transparent protective cover in TPU and a pre-applied protective film for the screen.

Design & Ergonomics

There is no difference between this new Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G New Edition and the previous Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G and Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite (4G) : neither aesthetically nor functionally. The design therefore remains the main workhorse of this smartphone given the thinness of only 6.8 mm and the super low weight of 159 grams.

These downward numbers were obtained thanks to a high-level material processing, that is, by implementing the magnesium alloy, a material also used in the aeronautical and aerospace industry which, compared to aluminum, has greater strength and durability as well as lightness.

In any case it is not a compact smartphone, the dimensions on the long sides remain those of a typical phone these days. The display is also a confirmation: 6.55 inches of good quality with Amoled technology, FHD + resolution and 90 Hz refresh rate (240 Hz touch sampling rate) and HDR10 + support. The yield is good both in terms of color and brightness which has a sufficiently wide range to be enjoyable both in the dark and in the sunlight. Compared to the Mi 11 Lite 4G in this case I did not find unevenness in the Amoled panel.

The fingerprint sensor is located on the power button, laterally on the right, it works well and was probably placed here and not below the display due to the extreme thinness. It is however safe but above all responsive and effective, just a little uncomfortable for left-handers.

The main speaker works in conjunction with the earpiece capsule in the speaker to offer the stereo effect when playing songs, videos or hands-free calls, the quality is good and all in all it guarantees a good experience in the context of multimedia, but the door is missing. 3.5 mm audio. The proximity sensor is there and works well and so is the vibration feedback which is the right full-bodied.

Functionality

The software area remains the sore point of Xiaomi smartphones, even on this Mi 11 Lite 5G which in effect has the same version and the same defects as the 4G version and other products in this price range.

This is Android 11 with MIUI 12 graphic interface which should soon update to version 12.5, of which you can see the first news in our preview. The first thing that catches the eye after the initial configuration is the presence here too of numerous pre-installed applications which, however, fortunately, can be uninstalled.

In the settings there is the possibility to clone applications in order to use multiple accounts on various social networks, the turbo video game to promote performance compared to energy saving, the ability to open applications in the window, the Lite mode for the less practical with smartphones and various advanced settings for energy saving if we find ourselves far from a battery charger and a low residual charge. On the other hand, Xiaomi's Super Wallpaper are absent, animated backgrounds that would adapt well to the Amoled screen, present instead on the Poco F3 as seen in our review . In any case you can however install them manually (link). The always on display instead is present but remains on for a maximum of 10 seconds missing the setting to keep it always on, behaving more like an ambient display.

In general, the operating system works well, only some lag every now and then or the forced passage to 60 Hz refresh rate on some applications represent a limit in the user experience that in any case is good considering the price range.

For the rest compared to the LTE variant the only difference is a couple of more features to manage 5G connectivity and then deactivate it or activate it if necessary.

Performance

Returning to the initial theme of this review why did Xiaomi make a new smartphone? We can say that the company was forced.

Leaving aside the energy terms in China and the trade war between this country and the United States, which still have implications in the story, the biggest problem is the surge in demand for products with microprocessors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry found itself unprepared to face this sudden increase, thus generating the famous shortage problem. There is therefore effectively a lack of production and the excellent Snapdragon 780G was the first medium-high-end SoC with a 5nm production process, the same for example as the Snapdragon 888. It is thus apparently a waste to engage factories capable of producing 5nm chips. , already in trouble, with a mid-range processor when they can focus on high-end chips, consequently it seems, because an official statement is still missing and probably never will be, that Qualcomm has decided to stop production in favor of the Snapdragon 778G , very similar but with a 6nm production process, entrusted to TSMC foundries.

The good news is that the 780G and the 778G are two excellent processors and the latter is destined to be widespread, it is no coincidence that we already find it on Galaxy A52s 5G and Realme GT Master Edition , it works well, does not heat up and offers performance that does not they make you regret a higher-end CPU and above all a renewed GPU so it is also suitable for important gaming sessions.

Just to give an empirical example on Geekbench there is a difference of only 9-10 points less in single-core and 3-400 points less in multi-core in short, not particularly influential even if it is less bodied.

Then there is support for WiFi 6, obviously 4G and 5G connectivity , bluetooth 5.2, NFC connectivity, infrared transmitter, USB Type-C port and various GPS modules.

In support there are then 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128 GB of internal memory UFS 2.2 expandable via MicroSD by means of a hybrid slot in which to insert the expansion or the Nano SIM.

The reception also works well and here obviously the difference with the previous model is to have or not have 5G connectivity and here too the same goes, in order to keep it in your pocket for many years it is definitely recommended.

 

Camera

No difference on the photographic sector with a 64 megapixel main sensor (f / 1.79) with 4-in-1 pixel binning and 1.4 micro pixels, 8 megapixel ultra wide angle sensor (f / 2.2) and 5 megapixel telemacro sensor (f / 2.4), and single-tone flash. In the front instead Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE has a 20 megapixel sensor, while the LTE variant uses a 16 megapixel sensor.

The quality is good in relation to the price range with an ultra wide angle that suffers the most from strong contrasts and a macro that is usually quite useless. The main camera, however, achieves pleasant and balanced shots. I say almost no difference because if you juxtapose two photographs taken with both smartphones you can notice some differences, albeit tiny, in some cases, however, as at night the 4G variant tends to do better, in others the 5G model even if there is to be considered. a small software version difference between the two. Selfies are nice but HDR is always a bit limited.

In videos it can record up to 4K at 30 fps but only in 1080p at 30 fps it is possible to switch from the ultra wide-angle camera to the main one during recording, again a small difference compared to the LTE variant that does not allow it. The quality is decent, partly the lack of optical stabilization is felt but the electronic one does a good job.

 Battery & Autonomy

The battery 11 Xiaomi Lite 5G NE is always from 4250 mAh with support for rapid charging at 33 W . No particular difference compared to the Mi 11 Lite 5G which therefore allows you to cover the working day with more than 5 and a half hours of screen on thanks mainly to an aggressive software towards applications forced to save energy by default.

Compared to the LTE model, it has a slightly shorter duration due to the more energy-intensive processor which, however, offers a greater sprint from the point of view of performance.

In conclusion

In conclusion, the judgment given to the 5G version a few months ago remains valid, even for this smartphone. Undoubtedly it is the one to be preferred over the 4G version whose only advantage can be a lower price: sometimes in fact it is found at excellent offers around 200 euros and in that case it is to be preferred. If, on the other hand, it is not found for less than 290 euros, the 5G versions are preferable and among other things, for this Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE , the company has formalized 3 Android updates and 4 years of security patches .

News that already enriches an excellent overall package: a good product from the point of view of performance, cameras and multimedia, with the only drawback of the lack of the proximity sensor that plays tricks during longer calls due to of spot screen wakes.

Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE is available at the price of 399 Euro on the official website or on other stores such as Amazon with effective availability towards the end of October, while there has been a price relocation for Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G fixed now to 349 Euros.

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