OF all the Xiaomi releases, it’s always the “T” series that gets me excited.
While the main numbered range of Xiaomi phones is where the company debuts its flashy new tech, the T series is where the real action is—because of how the brand incorporates those new tech features at a price that makes the competition “tremble.”
The Xiaomi 11T Pro might have dropped the Mi branding, but it still carries all those flagship features in the areas where it counts. The 11T Pro has almost exactly the same camera array, and the same chipset as its pricier siblings, but it also packs an even bigger battery and is the fastest charging phone ever. HyperCharge offers the industry’s fastest charging speed, fully charging the phone’s 5000mAh battery in just over 15 minutes—that’s probably shorter than your usual coffee break. And while other brands are ditching bundling charger, Xiaomi made sure to include the 120W charger in the box.
If you’ve used up most of your bonuses to buy presents and still want to get a flagship-level device—the Xiaomi 11T Pro might just be the perfect fit for your Christmas stocking.
BUILD AND DESIGN
RIGHT off the bat, I’d say the design is one area that could’ve gotten a bit more attention as the Xiaomi 11T Pro isn’t the most visually distinct smartphone in the world. It doesn’t look bad, but it’s also not going to make you take out your wallet. Or maybe it’s just because we got the Meteorite Gray color, and as you probably know by now, blacks and grays aren’t my favorite hue on smartphones. So I’d pick either the Moonlight White or Celestial Blue instead. This time though, Xiaomi has done something a bit unusual with this particular finish. Instead of making it all shiny, like in the Mi 10T, the paint layer below the glass is made to look like brushed aluminum. So you have a glass back that’s made to look like metal. Hmmm.
The display is covered by Gorilla Glass Victus—Corning’s toughened glass which is nice, but just to be safe, better slap on that free jelly case and avoid those smudgers and fingerprints. On the back is a rectangular module that houses the cameras. A nice improvement over the Mi 10T Pro is that the camera bump doesn’t stick out like a mountain range anymore. The bump on the 11T Pro is less imposing and won’t make the phone wobble as much on your desk.
Finally, the Xiaomi 11T Pro is IP53-rated for dust and splash resistance. It will survive light rain and pool splashes but submerging it in water is like mingling with the Christmas crowd without wearing a face mask—not a good idea.
DISPLAY AND SOUND
IF you are used to big phones with flat screens, then the 11T Pro will fit snugly in the palm of your hands. You get a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 2400 x 1080 Full HD+ resolution. It also has HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support, a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and a 480Hz touch sampling rate. The bezels are reasonably thin and balanced and there’s a small punch-hole center at the top housing the 16MP selfie camera.
That said, the display of the 11T Pro is excellent. The screen is sharp making text very easy to read and the colors are vibrant. There are several color scheme options to choose from if you want it to be more saturated or standard. And while you are on the display settings, you might want to explore the AI image engine as well. This feature can further enhance photos and videos. Super resolution upscales the resolution of videos, while AI image enhancement can identify objects and dynamically adjust display effects.
When it comes to audio, the 11T Pro has two dedicated loudspeakers that have been tuned by Harmon Kardon so you can expect great sound quality. The speakers can get loud enough and you also get some noticeable bass.
CINEMAGIC CAMERAS
ANOTHER promise of the Xiaomi 11T Pro is to help you create cinemagic with its triple camera setup—the results were great and experimenting with the different video modes was a lot of fun.
The 108MP main sensor is the lead star with a supporting cast made up of an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP telemacro. You get all the usual Xaomi camera modes like Portrait, Pro, HDR, AI, Night Mode, Slow Motion, Dual Video, Time-Lapse, Panorama, Long Exposure, and Beauty.
The f/1.75 108MP main camera is comparable to the one on the Mi 11. In well-lit enviros, its easy to take great-looking shots with lots of detail and vivid colors. If you want even more details, you can switch to high-res mode that uses the sensor’s full 108MP, though you can’t zoom, or turn on other features. It also performs quite well in low-light conditions but with some acceptable noise in your photos.
The 16MP selfie camera didn’t disappoint either and I liked how it can separate you and blur the background.
The cinemagic happens in video mode. Since everyone is into making videos these days, Xiaomi made sure to beef up its videography game. The Xiaomi 11T Pro can shoot up to 8K at 30fps, or 4K at 60fps with image stabilization. You get a range of extra options like letterboxing, macro video, object tracking and audio zoom, and even more camera modes. There’s Vlog mode, which automatically edits several seconds-long video clips together; clones that can create multiple copies of your subject; and movie effects like magic zoom, slow shutter, time freeze, night timelapse and the Inception-inspired parallel world. Xiaomi 11T Pro puts a film set in the palm of your hand, and it’s up to you to execute your creativity.
PERFORMANCE/BATTERY
THE Xiaomi 11T Pro runs on the flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset that makes the phone super snappy and able to handle all sorts of apps and games.
During the last month, it never hanged, rebooted or suddenly closed apps despite switching from multiple apps for work, opening the camera to take photos, answering calls and my occasional gaming binges. I did read about some heating complaints regarding the Snapdragon 888, but I guess I haven’t pushed it too much or played long enough to make it heat up.
FINAL WORD
THE Xiaomi 11T Pro brings a lot of flagship features to a more reasonable price point. The Snapdragon 888 processor makes this a match for the most demanding users and gamers, and the display and speakers ensure an immersive viewing experience during your downtime. You also get a versatile set of cameras and the video modes will be a lot of fun for content creators. Meanwhile, the HyperCharge feature ensures that should you use up the battery, you can just take a quick break and have it ready again in no time.
The Xiaomi 11T Pro 8GB+256GB version is available for P27,990 while the 12GB+256GB is priced at P29,990. Every purchase comes with a free eco bag and Mi Bunny.