Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite REVIEW: After successfully launching its slimmest and the lightest smartphone of 2021 - Mi 11 Lite 4G in India recently, the global smartphone brand Xiaomi recently unveiled the 5G variant of 11 Lite dubbed Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G in India with top-end features. This smartphone is also touted as the slimmest and the lightest smartphone like the Mi 11 Lite 4G.

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Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G offers a rich color palette and comes in four classy color variants - Diamond Dazzle, Tuscany Coral, Jazz Blue, and Vinyl Black. The smartphone comes in two variants - 6GB + 128GB at Rs 26,999 and 8GB + 128 GB at Rs 28,999. This new slimmest mobile phone comes with a 64MP triple camera setup, 6.55-inch FHD AMOLED Dot display with a 90Hz refresh rate and Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC.

I reviewed the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Tuscany Coral variant for more than a week which is competing against the popular OnePlus Nord 2, Realme GT, and Vivo iQOO Z5 5G. Here's what I think about this new offering from Xiaomi. Both Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G and Mi 11 Lite 4G may look similar in terms of design but let me tell you one thing -- the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a true upgrade from Mi 11 Lite 4G, especially in terms of performance and credit goes Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset. Despite being a 5G smartphone, Xiaomi has managed to make it an extremely handy, comfortable, and lightest smartphone to use.

The reason why Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G can be a good choice for those customers looking to buy a smartphone under Rs 30,000 is that the brand didn't compromise with features and performance to make this phone lightweight. As I mentioned above, the smartphone offers top-end features which will attract young buyers. Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is ultra-thin (just 6.81mm) and lightweight has a body (just 158gm). The device also comes loaded with NFC built-in and is also the segment's first 10-bit smartphone with Dolby Vision.

In terms of design and outlook, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is incredibly beautiful and gives a premium look just like the other Mi 11 series smartphones. The smartphone is indeed the slimmest and the lightest smartphone of 2021. The smartphone is extremely lightweight and very comfortable to use and it will definitely give you a good feeling when you hold this handy smartphone. It comes with a smooth anti-glare matte-finish frosted glass that helps minimize fingerprint smudges. Offering a comfortable in-hand grip, the design is further accentuated by razor-thin 1.88mm bezels on both top and side for maximum screen size.

Whether you talking on the phone for long hours or you are watching IPL matches and web series on OTT platforms, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G won't disappoint you - It is easy to hold and one can carry it in hands for long hours comfortably. With the plastic frames and glass back, the device gave us a premium in-hand feel. Overall, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has scored decent marks in our review. At the back, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has a curved square camera block with a triple-camera module and a LED flash on the top left corner and you will see Xiaomi 5G branding as well. It features an advanced 64MP primary camera with 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 5MP Tele-macro camera. The device comes with thin bezels.

On the right side of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G, you will find the volume rocker and power button with the side-mounted fingerprint scanner (which did a good job during the review period) and at the bottom, there is a speaker grille dual stereo speakers setup, USB-C port and a slot for dual nano-SIM cards. The only disappointing part here is, the smartphone has ditched the 3.5mm jack. Connectivity options on the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/Yes, GPS, Bluetooth v5.20, NFC, Infrared, USB Type-C, 3G, and 4G (with support for Band 40 used by some LTE networks in India). Sensors on the phone include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, compass/ magnetometer, proximity sensor and fingerprint sensor.

One of the major USPs of the device is its display. This newly launched Xiaomi phone comes 6.55-inch FHD AMOLED DotDisplay. Inspired by Mi 11 Ultra, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a segment-first 10-bit smartphone with a Dolby Vision display and offers HDR 10+ support.  The combination of its 90Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate registers a faster device usage experience, without any lags or stutters. The display has a camera hole in the top left corner and the bezels of the device are thin around the sides. The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G also has an AI Face Unlock feature, which worked fast. The colors came out well on screen, thanks to the AMOLED display. The device ensures a smooth experience while you are scrolling through your feed or playing games. It packs robust protection with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and comes with eye care functions to protect you from eye strain such as 360 ambient light sensor, Sunlight mode 3.0 and Reading mode 3.0. Overall, the experience with Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G display was up to the mark.

On the rear side of the device, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G comes with a powerful triple camera setup with a 64 MP main camera with an f/1.79 aperture and a pixel size of 0.7-micron; 8MP camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a pixel size of 1.12-micron, and a 5MP camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a pixel size of 1.12-micron. The rear camera setup has autofocus. The smartphone also has a 20MP front camera for video calls and selfies. Like all Xiaomi premium models, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G also comes so many in-built camera features. The camera setup on the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE packs in 50+ director modes, which you can use to create stellar videos. This includes interesting features in the camera app such as One-click AI cinema, cinematic video filters, and also Vlog mode and many more and the camera features include Pro Mode, Portrait, Night, 64MP, Slow Motion, Panorama, and Time-Lapse.

While reviewing this device, I checked most of the camera features and the images captured with the device were detailed, high-resolution pictures, and colorful in bright lighting conditions. The night mode was good and took some good images in low-light conditions and when we compare it with other smartphones in this price range. Overall, has produced good results.  And front camera also managed to record decent videos and capture detailed and colorful selfies. However, in the low light conditions, the selfie camera lacked sharpness but the overall camera experience with the front camera was up to the mark.

In terms of performance, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC. The device runs Google’s Android 11 operating system with the company’s own MIUI 12.5 skin on top. While playing games like Temple Run 2, Battlegrounds Mobile India, Garena Free Fire Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile on this phone, the device gave lag-free gaming. The graphic quality was good in basic settings. Overall, the device is fast, smooth, switching between multiple social media platforms and applications was smooth.

Battery performance:  Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is backed by a 4250mAh battery that can easily last for a day. It also comes with 33W fast charging support and can easily be charged 0-50 percent in just 20 mins. The battery on this phone is less than 4,500 mAh and lasted over 24 hours on normal usage. We didn't face heating issues on normal to heavy usage. The overall battery performance was above average.

Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Verdict: Available at the starting price Rs 26,999, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a decent mid-range smartphone that is undoubtedly very slim and comfortable to use. The smartphone is loaded with top-end features and can be a good option for young buyers. The device can be a good option for your Diwali shopping because with bank offers, you can purchase the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G at an additional cashback worth Rs 2000, coupled with a special Diwali offer of Rs 1500, at Rs 23,499 for 6GB + 128GB, and  Rs 25,499 for 8GB + 128GB variant.