Xiaomi Announces Mi 11 Flagship Device and Upcoming MIUI 12.5 OS

• The Mi 11 has landed with impressive specs and a great price, even if you have to buy a charger separately.
• Xiaomi has also announced MIUI 12.5, the next major version of its mobile operating system.

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for Xiaomi as the Chinese consumer electronics giant has managed to give birth to the first Snapdragon 888 device before the end of the year. The Mi 11 is the new top-range flagship from Xiaomi, and it comes at a single size of 6.81” AMOLED screen displaying content at a QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The max storage configuration reaches 256GB and the RAM size is 12GB, but there’s also an 8GB RAM/ 128 ROM version.

In the camera department, there’s a 108MP shooter in the back, a 13MP ultrawide (123-degrees) snapper right under it, and a 5MP macro lens next to the array. The front cam is a 20MP selfie system that’s placed in a punch hole at the upper left corner.

The battery is a 4,600 cell which can be charged at 55W or 50W wireless, while it also has a 10W reverse charging function. Xiaomi followed Apple’s example and didn’t include a charger in the retail box, and considering that Samsung is expected to do the same with its upcoming flagship devices, this is an established practice now. Consumers are expected to buy their quality chargers separately.

So, what effect does this have on the price? Xiaomi has priced the Mi 11 at the same level as its predecessor, starting from $610 for the 128GB device and going up to $720 for the 256GB version. That’s pretty impressive for a phone with these specs, and if you agree, you will be happy to learn that you can pre-order it already. The first sale is scheduled for January 1, 2021, so the availability of the Mi 11 is immediate.

One more thing announced by Xiaomi yesterday is the imminent arrival of MIUI 12.5, which will come with additional privacy-minded features like locking access to clipboard and preventing apps from stealthily drawing the user’s location data. Xiaomi said MIUI 12.5 is snappier on the performance side because it uses 20% less memory, so older devices should see a big difference. Also, it consumes about 25% less power, which is great. As Xiaomi clarified, this is a major release even though it wasn’t named the “13”, and is set to be the OS that runs on all Xiaomi phones in 2021.