Main technical characteristics of the Xiaomi 11T Pro:
Design of the Xiaomi 11T Pro
The design of the Xiaomi 11T Pro smartphone does not really mark a break with most other mobiles currently available on the market since it offers fairly common lines. In hand, it cuts a pretty good figure, especially with its glass back. This returns to the profiles with a rounding that allows you to have an excellent grip on a daily basis. The back leaves fingerprints, despite everything and on our black model loaned by the brand to carry out this test, it can almost act as a mirror because it is so shiny. It reminds us of the back of the Poco F3.
Not really compact, the mobile weighs 204 grams on the scale, which puts it slightly above the average of today's mobile phones. It is not particularly thin either with 8.8 mm thick when the thinners on the market offer 7.4 mm, or even less. The island of the optical block protrudes slightly from the rest of the back of the smartphone. It is on two levels with, initially, a microphone and a triple LED flash and, slightly higher still, the three photo sensors aligned in the vertical direction. The bottom of the block is black, but not as reflective as the rest of the mobile's back cover.
If we take a look around the device, we can notice the power button which also serves as a fingerprint reader. This one turned out to be perfect, as it was particularly reactive and blocked access to all other people who did not have a registered finger. Its location is good since it falls naturally under the thumb when holding the laptop. It should be noted that it is quite rare to see such a position on a smartphone in this price range usually privileged under the screen. We deal with it.
The double button to manage the volume is installed just above the power button. It is one between volume up and volume down, although we would have preferred to have two separate buttons, easier to identify by touch. Note the presence, in opposition of two loudspeakers. They are designed by Harman/Kardon, a sign of good quality. They are installed on either side of the screen, one on the upper profile and the other on the lower edge, in a position that can be described as high when the mobile is held in landscape mode, limiting the risks of having the fingers in front synonymous with a disturbed diffusion. The sound offered by the 11T Pro is rather good quality with a fairly coherent, relatively dynamic and well-spatialized tonal set, which is quite rare for a mobile phone. The sound of the 11T Pro isn't quite as warm as it is on the Google Pixel 6 Pro, however, in our opinion. Too bad it does not have a headphone jack. You have to go through an adapter or a Bluetooth wireless link for this. The 11T Pro, like all the brand's smartphones, also benefits from an infrared emitter, on the upper profile, to make it a universal remote control to control a television, a Blu-ray player, etc. Finally, note the presence of a SIM card drawer that can support two simultaneously, but not to expand internal storage capacity with a memory card. Damage. Care must therefore be taken to choose between the version with 128 GB or the one offering 256 GB of internal memory.
In terms of connectivity, the 11T Pro is complete since it offers Wi-Fi 6, 5G and Bluetooth 5.2 without forgetting NFC for contactless payment or pairing with a compatible device . The 11T Pro wants to compete with the most high-end models, but does not offer the same level of protection that the latter benefit from, particularly in terms of water and dust resistance. Indeed, while the best smartphones are waterproof, certified IP67 or IP68, the 11T Pro must be satisfied with an IP53 certification which means that it is resistant to splashes, only.
A screen allied with multimedia since it is HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compatible
On the display part, the 11T Pro also marks a difference with the high-end models and even some Premium mobiles that only offer a flat screen where the others offer a curved screen. This implies the presence of much thicker edges on the sides, but also at the top and bottom of the screen. However, the 11T Pro's screen is remarkable in that its 6.67-inch AMOLED panel is HDR10+ and Dolby Vision compatible, like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13.
Watching films or series using these standards is a real treat, offering a very high level of contrast and excellent color management, as well as the general brightness of the panel. Like the top of the range, it offers a refresh rate of 120 Hz in adaptive mode, which means that it can manage the passage from 60 to 120 Hz on its own, depending on the applications used. The screen is bright enough to remain readable, even in direct sunlight. In the settings it is possible to change the color scheme between Intense, saturated, standard and custom (original, P3 or sRGB). A mode allows you to select the application of adaptive colors in order to optimize the rendering of colors according to the ambient light. In addition, note that the smartphone offers several functions of image engines by artificial intelligence including Super Resolution (to improve videos), image improvement by AI, HDR improvement and MEMC function in order to optimize the fluidity of videos. The screen benefits from Gorilla Glass Victus protection to limit scratches and breakage in the event of a fall.
More than respectable performance
With its Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset and 8 GB of RAM, the Xiaomi 11T Pro smartphone offers very good performance. It is therefore available with 128 or 256 GB of non-expandable internal storage space. On a daily basis, the 11T Pro reacts quickly and offers perfect fluidity when it comes to switching from one application to another. It is as efficient on office applications as it is on social networks and in games where its screen is a good ally. It can run the most demanding games without problems and allows you to enjoy very good gameplay. After several minutes of intense tests or games with a high level of detail, the mobile heats up a little, but not so much that you can no longer hold the device in your hand. It's moderate, but worth mentioning all the same.
Like other smartphones, we subjected the Xiaomi 11T Pro to several performance measurement tools, of which here are the main results.
A fluid system served by a beautiful customizable interface
Like other Xiaomi or Poco smartphones, the 11T Pro is powered by Android 11 with an MIUI version 12.5.13 software overlay at the time of our test. We have already mentioned it during our test of the Redmi Note 10S, Mi 11, Mi 11i or Poco F3, for example. We invite you to read one of these tests to learn more. Several applications such as antivirus, cleaner are automatically installed on the device. A tool to change themes is also available. The parameters are organized a little differently than in other systems, which can be slightly disturbing at first glance, but which, in the end, remains perfectly manageable over the course of its use. We appreciate the high level of customization made possible on this system by Xiaomi, thus allowing you to have an interface that meets your expectations.
Note that Xiaomi recently announced three major Android system updates and four years of security updates for its devices, which gives us plenty to see.
Photo configuration identical to the Xiaomi 11T
For the multimedia part, the 11T Pro is quite capable of playing streaming video content with HD quality, since it supports Widevine DRM L1 compatible with different platforms, including Netflix and Disney+, for example. To take photos, the 11T Pro uses the same configuration as the Xiaomi 11T, i.e. a 108-megapixel main sensor accompanied by the same sensors as the Poco F3, i.e. an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 5-megapixel macro sensor. . The main module produces excellent photos with very good sharpness and a high level of detail. The colorimetry is rather respected and the movements are quite limited. The 11T Pro landed a score of 117 in the DxOMark ranking which is correct, but putting it on par with the TCL 20 Pro 5G, Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G (Exynos) and below models like the Vivo X60 Pro , the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, the OnePlus 8 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S21 or the Google Pixel 5 to name a few.
The Camera application interface is quite classic with the different shooting modes accessible at the bottom from left to right: Pro, Video, Photo, Portrait, Plus, the latter being customizable, which is a excellent thing in order to place in the main interface the modes which are most often used.
Many modes are also available, which is also a good point: night, 108M, short video, panorama, documents, Vlog, slow motion, accelerated, video effects, long exposure, dual video and clone. An audio zoom function is also provided allowing you to focus on an element of the scene by capturing the noise it makes. Clone mode allows you to film yourself and appear twice on the image for sequences that are often quite funny. Note the possibility of capturing scenes with 8K Ultra HD definition at 30 frames per second with a recording limitation of 6 minutes maximum. Ultra HD rendering can be more than enough, especially at 60 frames per second, thus offering very good fluidity while maintaining maximum detail. Overall, we found that the video functions offered within the 11T Pro were relevant and made it possible to obtain very good quality content.
Decent autonomy and very fast charging
With its 5000 mAh capacity battery, its Snapdragon 888 processor and its 120 Hz screen, we were able to obtain autonomy that we can achieve with an honorable quality since we were able to use the mobile for just over a day with a single charge in rather intensive mode.
One of the main features of the Xiaomi 11T Pro, particularly highlighted by its manufacturer, is its ability to support the load at 120 watts. It uses a technology called HyperCharge which is based on a 120 watt power supply delivered with the mobile and a suitable cable. Xiaomi announced 17 minutes to fully charge the 11T Pro. However, during our tests (the same operation repeated several times under the same conditions), with the block and the cable provided by the brand, we were able to go from 1% to 77% in 15 minutes, the screen remaining on. Add another 5 minutes to go up to 87% and another 7 minutes to go up to 100%. We therefore did not manage to reach the deadline announced by the brand to recharge his mobile. A problem with our test model? Upcoming optimization? In any case, the charging operation remains very fast and in particular on the first percentages of battery gained once the mobile is connected.
Finally, at this price, it's a shame that we can't take advantage of wireless or even reverse charging.
Our opinion on the Xiaomi 11T Pro
The Xiaomi 11T Pro does not mark its difference in its design, but rather by its video capabilities and its impressive ability to recharge its battery in record time, although, according to our tests, it is not as fast as its manufacturer claims. Its autonomy is correct and we particularly appreciate the quality of its screen, a treat for video content. The photo part is a little disappointing with results that we would have hoped for a little better at the minimum level of the 10T Pro, its predecessor, which it does not manage to beat in this area. It also lacks waterproofing, but otherwise it is a very good smartphone, especially for those who like to create videos and not spend too much time next to a socket for charging.