Xiaomi 11T Pro review: An entry-level premium smartphone ahead of peers

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is a good smartphone for people to experience premium features on budget

If early smartphone market trends are anything to go by, 2022 is going to be the year of mid-premium smartphones. In this segment, Samsung and OnePlus have already taken the early lead with the launch of the Galaxy S21 FE 5G (review) and the OnePlus 9RT 5G (review), respectively. Next in line is the Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi, which has recently launched in India the Xiaomi 11T Pro.

What’s good

There is a lot to like about the Xiaomi 11T Pro, and most of the things the phone is good at makes a perceptible difference in everyday use. Take for example its 10-bit 6.67-inch fullHD+ AMOLED screen. Its enhanced refresh rate (120Hz) improves everyday experience by rendering smoothly the user interface elements, transitions, and animations. The benefit of enhanced refresh rate extends to gaming performance, and together with enhanced touch sampling rate (up to 480Hz), delivers a wholesome experience in supported games. The display is good for watching videos, thanks to Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and MEMC. Rounding up the package is the 360-degree ambient light sensor and auto colour calibration tech. While the ambient light sensor automatically adjusts display brightness, the auto colour calibration tech adjusts the screen colour tone based on ambient lighting conditions.

Complementing the screen is the dual symmetrical stereo speakers powered by Dolby Atmos and tuned by Harman/Kardon. The speakers’ output is loud, clear, and balanced. Together with the dazzling display, the speakers work wonders in elevating the smartphone’s multimedia and gaming experience.

Be it smooth everyday experience, immersive multimedia experience, or playful gaming experience, every bit about the Xiaomi 11T Pro’s overall experience is made possible by the power-packed performance of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip. It is a flagship-grade chip that delivers consistent performance irrespective of the task you put it through. Equally impressive is the phone’s power efficiency. Powered by a 5,000 mAh battery, the phone sails through a day of regular usage with screen set to 120Hz refresh rate and dark mode enabled. Extensive power-and-graphic intensive usage depletes the battery quickly. However, the phone’s industry-leading 120W fast charging makes up for it – takes about 20 min to charge a completely drained out battery.

What could have been better

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is a mid-premium smartphone better than many others, but there are areas where it could have been better. Starting with design, the Xiaomi 11T Pro looks similar to the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max (review). Not that it looks dull or ugly but lacks the zing of a premium smartphone. Moreover, it is tall, bulky, and heavy. Not just the design, the choice of construction material (plastic) leaves one asking for better.

Imaging is another area where the Xiaomi 11T Pro delivers mixed results. Its 108-megapixel based triple-camera set-up on the back is good, but not flagship grade, especially in low-light conditions. In daylight scenario, the phone’s primary camera on the back impresses with output full of details, fine highlights and shadows, and good dynamic range. The ultra-wide-angle camera is as good in daylight conditions, but there is no colour symmetry in the photos taken by the primary and the ultra-wide-angle sensor. The tele-macro sensor boasts autofocus and it is one of the best you get in its segment, but it works best only if there is some light to brighten up the frame. Otherwise, the captured frame turns out to be dark, noisy, and grainy. As for the front camera, it is decent at best and there is not much about it to write home about.

Compensating for an underwhelming still photography competence of the Xiaomi 11T Pro is the top-notch videography capabilities. It is the only smartphone in its segment capable of recording 8K resolution videos at 30 frames-per-second and 4K 30fps videos in HDR10+ format. On top of these video recording abilities, the Xiaomi 11T Pro is loaded with several value-added features meant for improving the experience of both amateurs and pro. However, not all features support 4K resolution and the phone shifts to 1080p at 30fps without raising an alert. Not just bad integration of features, it is confusing and detrimental to the otherwise solid video capability of the smartphone.

What’s missing

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is an entry-level smartphone. Therefore, it misses out on some of the pro-grade features such as IP68 rating, wireless and reverse wireless charging, and 3.5mm audio port. Important to note, albeit the audio jack, these features are uncommon in mid-premium smartphones. However, the addition of these would have helped the Xiaomi 11T Pro justify its ‘Pro’ moniker.

Verdict

Priced Rs 39,999 onwards (Base model: 8GB + 128GB), the Xiaomi 11T Pro is not just affordable but also the most feature-rich smartphone one can get in the mid-premium segment. It is brimful of premium features, including some industry-first such as 10-bit display with support for Dolby Vision, 120W fast charging solution, etc. Like all other smartphones, the Xiaomi 11T Pro is not perfect. However, the imperfections look minor in overall scheme of things. That said, the Xiaomi 11T Pro makes a solid smartphone for people to experience premium features on budget.