Mi 11i vs Mi 11 Ultra - What's the Right Phone for You?

By Mara Anton

Posted on March 29, 2021

They’re here – the latest flagship phone series from Xiaomi. Mi 11 Lite, Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11i were unveiled for the global market, with two accessories in tow: Mi Smart Band 6 and Mi Projector 2 Pro. If Lite is pretty self-explanatory, you might be wondering what’s Mi 11i all about and whether it’s better than the Ultra for you.

Called the Star Performer, Mi 11i (or Mi 11 Pro in China), is the best option if you want a great phone but aren’t necessarily looking for a pro tool for photography or videography. It’s easy to tell which is which since this one lacks the secondary display the Ultra has.

Mi 11i is the Pro you should consider

The Mi 11i has a 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, something we’ve come to expect from high-end phones, and it’s HDR10+ ready. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 888 so it has the latest in terms of chip performance, it’s 5G-enabled and offers 8GB of RAM with either 128 or 256GB of storage.

You’ll be happy to know Xiaomi hasn’t skimped on camera features. The main sensor is a 1/1.52″ sensor capable of 108MP photos, joined by an 8MP ultra wide camera and 5MP tele. The latter may not feel like a huge win but if you tend to use them less than the wide or the selfie camera, it won’t bother you at all. By the way, the selfie is a 20MP camera with Night Mode.

When it comes to audio, you’ve got stereo speakers to rely on. Count on 4,520mAh battery with 33W fast charging and USB-C port.

So, what about the Ultra? What extras does it offer? And are those “essentials” or just “nice-to-have” features?

Mi 11 Ultra: more camera, another display

Well, the Mi 11 Ultra stands out through its three pro-grade cameras. The 50MP main camera is actually equipped with Samsung’s GN2 1/1.12″ super sensor, which shows in the crispness of the photos as well as the super-wide dynamic range, even in low-light conditions. This one is joined by a 48MP periscope (not tele) camera that gives you 120x digital zoom and 5x optical zoom. Finally, you’ve got a 48MP ultra-wide angle camera, loads better than the one on Mi 11i. Not enough? The Ultra allows you to do dual phone recording to shoot one video with multiple devices.

While these are the most striking differences between the two, there’s something to be said about the size of the device and battery/charging features too.

For one, the Mi 11 Ultra is a 6.8-inch device, with a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It comes with 12GB of RAM from the get-go and Snapdragon 888, of course. Mi 11 Ultra was definitely built to suit several environments and user needs if we consider the sunlight and reading modes added to the model. It was also IP68 certified and more importantly carries a second display on its back.

The rear display is 1.1” inches, AMOLED, and supports notification alerts, besides acting as a rear selfie preview. It can also be used with super power saver mode to avoid depleting your battery too soon.

Speaking about battery, the Mi 11 Ultra benefits from a larger 5,000mAh cell and handles 67W wired turbo charging with 67W wireless turbo charging and even 10W reverse charging. A must, if you know you tend to be on your phone most of the time.

All in all, consider Mi 11i if you want a great phone camera and long lasting battery but definitely upgrade to the Ultra if you know you’re gonna use the phone for more than the daily selfie and occasional sunset.

Mi 11i starts at 649 euros while the Mi 11 Ultra will be sold for 1.199 euro (12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage version).