Xiaomi claims its new Mi 11 Ultra phone camera can go neck and neck with the Sony RX100

The Mi 11 Ultra is truly specced-out.

Xiaomi on Monday launched the Mi 11 Ultra, a phone it claims can go neck and neck with professional cameras in photography. During the launch event, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun called the Mi 11 Ultra a turning point for smartphones, breaking with convention to compare it with the Sony RX100 M7 instead of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra or iPhone 12 Pro Max.

All this may sound like a stretch but Xiaomi has strong hardware backing those claims. The brand also showed off a Mi 11 Ultra against Sony camera comparison on stage with very promising results. The customary DxOMark review puts Xiaomi’s new phone well above the Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus making it the best smartphone camera available today – if you’re into that sort of thing. So, there is surely a lot to look forward to.

Also Read | Xiaomi Mi 11 launched with 2K 120Hz display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 and 108MP camera

Coming to that camera hardware, the Mi 11 Ultra is truly specced-out, even more so than either of the phones we mentioned above, or anything else in the market today. It has a 50MP primary camera with a large 1/1.12-inch Samsung GN2 sensor (a first for any smartphone currently) sitting behind an optically stabilized f/1.95 aperture lens. This is paired with two 48MP cameras (Sony IMX598), one with an ultra-wide-angle lens behind an f/2.2 lens with 128-degree FOV and another with a periscope-style telephoto lens – the setup one ups Samsung for a total of 120x zoom.

If the rear setup wasn’t jam-packed already, Xiaomi has also squeezed a 1.1-inch rear AMOLED “always-on” display here for rear camera selfies and notifications.

Rest of the Mi 11 Pro is no slouch either. It is a flagship through and through with a 6.81-inch E4 AMOLED display with a 2K or QHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate (480Hz touch sampling). Not only is it HDR10+ certified, it can also play Dolby Vision content like the iPhone 12.

Under the hood, the Mi 11 Ultra packs the Snapdragon 888 with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS3.1 storage. Software inside the phone is Xiaomi’s MIUI 12.5 which is based on Android 11. Powering the phone is a 5,000mAh battery with 67W fast wired and wireless charging. Rounding off the package are Harmon Kardon dual stereo speakers and IP68 water and dust resistance – that bit is a first for any Xiaomi phone.

Also Read | Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G review: Out to eat OnePlus’s lunch

The Mi 11 Ultra has a ceramic back (available in white and black) and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front held together by a metallic frame.

Xiaomi held two separate launch events today, one specific to China and another for global markets. In China, the Mi 11 Ultra will start at CNY 5,999 (roughly Rs 66,500) for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, while the 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB models of the phone will sell for CNY 6,499 (roughly Rs 72,000) and CNY 6,999 (roughly Rs 77,500) respectively.

Alongside the Mi 11 Ultra, Xiaomi also launched the Mi 11 Pro, Mi 11 Lite 5G and Mi Band 6.