Xiaomi 11T Pro Review: a brilliant screen and a scandal fast charge above everything else

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is the new high-end smartphone from the Chinese company, the most ambitious of the new family that loses the Mi surname to establish itself as a Xiaomi terminal from which its best smartphones will evolve from now on. And as it is more and more common, we cannot talk about one more terminal in the Xiaomi catalog for several (and powerful) reasons. We have tested it to verify it.

Specifications of Xiaomi 11T pro

A “made in Xiaomi” design

The very thin line that defines a high-end smartphone of the franchise model of each brand may begin to be defined by the most differentiated design. At least that is what happens with Xiaomi’s extensive 11 family.

After the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Ultra, the latter boasting of a design focused entirely on its camera module, the design of the new Xiaomi 11T Pro is closer to that of its little brothers in the RedMi family than to the manufacturer’s reference models.

This is not bad news at all. Just a matter of some personality and differentiation. The Xiaomi 11T Pro is presented with a great body and the characteristic curvature of the back, made of glass . The frame is made of aluminum in the same tone as the rear.

In this new Xiaomi, that back has a glossy finish with the consequent ease of catching fingerprints, although they are removed just as easily. The gray model that we have been able to test is especially visually attractive due to the brushed metal tone.

In the design of the front, in addition to a reduction in frames that is only notable, the lack of continuity of the different layers from the frame to the screen is noticeable , which is protected with Gorilla Glass Victus.

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is a terminal that we can consider large, with the usual handling limitations of a terminal with a screen larger than 6.5 inches, but I liked it a lot in hand. It gives us a feeling of lightness (the official weight is 204 grams) and is very pleasant due to its 8.8 mm thickness, nuanced by the curved finish and not excessive width.

The touch of the glass on the back is correct and I did not find it slippery at all, so, overall, it offers a very secure grip.

Fingerprint reader on the side button and stereo speakers

The physical elements that are part of the design of the Xiaomi 11T Pro are as expected. At the bottom is the place of the USB-C port, one of the stereo speakers and the slot for the nanoSIM (Dual SIM).

If we continue on the sides, we only have to look at the right, which is where the power button and the volume controls are placed. In both cases the touch and route is correct.

We are now on the power button, slightly curved and very soft to the touch so that we are not lazy to touch it. At the end of the day is where we find the fingerprint reader.The situation is very slightly above the midpoint of the lateral, which in my case means that it is not so direct to place the finger to identify ourselves in it.

The reading of our fingerprint is reliable and fast (just place the finger on it, without pressing although we can configure it so that it only activates when pressed), but it is always advisable to also have face recognition activated to ensure the fastest possible identification.

Already at the top of the phone is the infrared port and the second stereo speaker, which has a special relevance in the overall sound of the equipment, which is also certified by Harman / Kardon.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the rear protrudes is a handicap to use the screen when the terminal is resting on the table, because with the touch of the fingers there is an obvious rocking of the device.

Dolby Vision AMOLED display at 120 Hz

Placing ourselves in a price range that starts at 650 euros, the screen can no longer be just anybody.

In this Xiaomi 11T Pro we talk about a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with P3 color coverage and Dolby Vision . It’s also HDR10 + and features a 120Hz refresh rate and touch sampling up to 480Hz.

The screen, with a 20: 9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels, offers a high level visual experience, especially in contrast and high brightness, reaching 800 nits with a maximum peak of 1000 nits.

With these contrast and brightness values, the display is excellent indoors and perfectly usable outdoors even in very strong direct light. The response of the automatic brightness sensor has seemed fast and quite reliable.

With fairly regular and reduced frames, the screen occupies the entire front, although the secondary camera has a considerable presence that somewhat reduces the overall experience when we are viewing videos, which happens to be one of the most satisfactory experiences with this Xiaomi 11T Pro thanks to the HDR10 + and Dolby Vision support if we are consuming compatible content.

But thanks to the adaptive 120 Hz refresh rate , which we can force to 60 Hz from the screen control options, the Xiaomi 11T Pro screen collaborates in an important way in the daily experience with the phone, especially in what it has to do with the agility of the interface and the game.

The Xiaomi 11T Pro also supports customizing the screen display by switching between various color modes. We have up to four starting options available, including one that adjusts the display to the ambient light. A second customization step already allows us to define more specifically the associated color space (P3, sRGB or original) as well as the fine adjustment of color, saturation, contrast and gamma values.

Finally, we must mention the special display modes, where we find from the reading mode to the anti-flicker mode or the IA image engine that certainly does not have much relevance.If you are one of those who wants to have information on the screen even when it is off, this Xiaomi 11T Pro does not lack the always-on screen mode , which we can customize a lot in almost all the sections you can imagine.

Dolby Atmos sound with good stereo speakers

We return to the sound section , of which we already advance some idea, because it is one of the aspects to highlight of this terminal.As we have indicated in the design section, in the Xiaomi 11T Pro we have two stereo speakers that offer a forceful, well-balanced sound and with support for Dolby Atmos that gives an extra presence, mainly to the bass. What there is not is a headphone port.

Dolby Atmos can be deactivated in the system’s audio options (something we do not recommend) as well as personalize the experience both when we use the integrated speakers and when we use Bluetooth devices, including headphones.

Among the Dolby Atmos configuration options we find preset audio profiles as well as graphic equalizers associated with different musical styles or one that we can define completely according to needs or preferences.

An interior led by the Snapdragon 888

Xiaomi plays it safe with the interior of its new 11T Pro. Its reputation and value for years as an excellent assembler of the best hardware components on the market is something that it maintains over time even from very low ranges.

The Snapdragon 888 is the king of the party, which is joined by a fixed amount of 8 GB RAM for the Spanish market as well as an internal memory of 128 and 256 GB (UFS 3.1).

The terminal heats up without causing excess concern when we play with it. Also when we dare to record video in high resolution, having caused some other forced closure (and warned by the operating system).

Fast charging … really

Almost everything associated with the battery of the Xiaomi 11T Pro turns out on paper spectacular. At the outset we are facing a 5000 mAh battery , a statement of intent.However, we have not noticed that that extra with respect to the most common 4500 mAh makes a difference. In tests with the refresh rate set at 120 Hz (it is adaptive to the Android style) we have averaged about 18 hours of total autonomy, rising above 25 hours when we have reduced and forced the refresh rate to 60 Hz.

In any case, as always happens to us, the experience with 120 Hz on a day-to-day basis is worth it, taking into account that the day of intensive use is assured . And especially with the promised extremely fast charging of the Xiaomi 11T Pro.As the movement is demonstrated on foot, Xiaomi includes as standard with the Mi 11T Pro a charger ready to take advantage of this functionality. Specifically, we are talking about a 120 W USB-C charger and 6A cable ready to take advantage of it.

And boy does it. All the publicity that Xiaomi makes of this ultra-fast charge we have been able to verify reliably. To go from 8 to 100%, the Xiaomi 11T Pro only required the passage of exactly 17 minutes. And without excessive heat. But if we are really in a hurry, with 5 minutes we take practically half of the charged battery.

MIUI very visual and customizable

Until in a few months we can see the new MIUI, this Xiaomi 11T Pro must comply with version 12.5 of the Xiaomi layer on Android 11.

With this layer we find the usual string of Xiaomi own applications and services, as well as endless customization options for the terminal, not only in the appearance section but especially in the options and operation of the terminal. Think of something that you want to adjust to your tastes and there is probably that option, yes, it is still not as accessible or where you expected it.

Xiaomi 11T Pro, the opinion and note

Xiaomi has not wanted to rush this 2021 to complete one of its most interesting families in all its history. Little by little, and without a surname in between, the high-end of the Asian manufacturer is gaining solvency even in sections so far banned from them.The Xiaomi 11T Pro bets everything on a combination that has convinced us: a Dolby Vision screen and a fast charge as we have not seen. The rest of the elements correctly accompany the 11T Pro but on a lower scale. The camera, the performance despite the Snapdragon 888 or the design comply but do not stand out. To think about it.