Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite unboxed on video, Pro and Ultra to join the now official March 29 launch

After Samsung’s recently announced ‘A’ series of phones - the A52 and A72, which bring pretty good value, Xiaomi is the next candidate for the mid-range crown in the first half of 2021!

The Mi 11 Lite will be the little brother to the already familiar Mi 11 and future Pro and Ultra versions (which also should be coming very soon).

To make it even more credible, the “leak” doesn’t even come from a familiar “leakster”, but from an Italian retailer, which has listed the Mi 11 Lite on their website, and uploaded an unboxing video on YouTube. The original video was deleted as we were working on this article. We’ve found it re-uploaded by another user, so you might be lucky to see it before it’s taken down!
Anyway, it was not quite as revealing as you might think, since the top part of the phone barely made it in the shot.

The specs are also here and they come from the Twitter tipster Sudhanshu Ambhore. They are for the 4G model, which indicates two things: there will be a 5G version of the phone, and the rest of the hardware might also be slightly different between the two, but we are yet to find out.

• 6.55", AMOLED, FHD+, 2400 x 1080, 90Hz
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G
• 64MP + 8MP Ultra Wide + 5MP Telemacro
• 4250mAh, 33W
• Android 11, MIUI 12
• Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Dual SIM, microSD slot, No 3.5mm jack
• 164 x 74 x 6 mm
• 150 g

As you can see, there is no mention of water-resistance or OIS - premium features, usually reserved for more expensive phones. As far as we know, the Galaxy A52 4G is the cheapest recently announced device to offer both at a compelling price. Then again, Xiaomi’s offer will probably end up costing a bit less. Speaking of which, Sudhanshu’s price prediction is €300/$357/£257.

It's important to note that Sudhanshu claims Xiaomi's phone will feature the Snapdragon 732G, while earlier leaks pointed at a 775G, which could be a global debut for this chip. However, we think both might end up becoming a reality, since there'll be a 4G and 5G versions of the phone, with the latter getting the more powerful processors.

We discussed smaller and lighter phones in a recent article about the upcoming Asus Zenfone 8 “Mini”, and we are very happy to see a big company finally join the likes of Apple and Google with more pocket-friendly phones. At 6.55-inches, the display (and therefore size) of the phone isn’t compact by any means. However, there are flagships that are almost twice as heavy as the Mi 11 Lite, so we have to give Xiaomi credit for giving people a big screen on such a light phone. For comparison, the Galaxy A52 by Samsung, weighs 189 grams (6.67 oz).

Generally, if that’s a difference in weight between two laptops or even tablets, this wouldn’t be a big deal. On a phone, it’s a whole other story, since it’s with you anywhere, all the time, so you definitely grow to be able to tell the difference! Furthermore, Xiaomi was able to fit a pretty big 4260 mAh battery into the Lite, which is also surprising, but great! Even more admirable is the fact that the phone should come with a 33W fast charger in the box!

Xiaomi has scheduled the “Mega Launch” for March 29 at 7:30 PM GMT+8 (7:30 AM ET). As mentioned earlier, apart from the Lite, we expect to finally see the Pro and Ultra versions of the Mi 11 series, which must bring some interesting features, like 120W charging speeds and a display next to the rear camera modules for taking high-quality photos and videos!