The Xiaomi Mi 11 series is getting shown off very soon, with a global launch confirmed for February 8, and rumors suggest the main phone will be joined by a Mi 11 Lite and a Mi 11 Pro. We'd heard some rumors on the Mi 11 Pro, but nothing on the Lite - but that's finally changed.
According to leaker Digital Chat Station, on Chinese social media site Weibo, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is indeed coming, and the post includes quite a few details on the upcoming budget phone. That leaker typically talks in coded language for their leaks, but based on previous leaks from them, it seems very likely this is about the Mi 11 Lite.
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Apparently the Mi 11 Lite will be powered by an unannounced Qualcomm chipset, the Snapdragon 755G, the 700-series name suggesting it's a mid-range processor. It’s likely to be 5G-capable too, as the Snapdragon 765G and Snapdragon 750G both are 5G chipsets. Some rumors claimed that the Snapdragon 755G will be built on the 5nm manufacturing process, similar to the Snapdragon 888 with a high-performance Cortex A78 core.
Further, the source talks about the Xiaomi Mi 11 cameras. Apparently, there will be a 64MP primary camera with an unknown image sensor, joined by a 5x telephoto lens for zoomed pictures. That level of magnification is likely to call for a periscope solution, which is an advanced kind of zoom lens that's typically better for longer-distance zooming than telephoto lenses.
Interestingly the vanilla Mi 11, the specs of which we know thanks to the phone launching in China in late 2020, does not have any telephoto shooters, which raises doubts over this leak.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite is also tipped to sport a flat OLED display with a single punch-hole notch. We expect it to support a high refresh rate too, as that's a feature Xiaomi typically prioritizes for its budget phones, though the leak doesn't touch on that.
When the Xiaomi Mi 11 launches on February 8, with or without a Pro and Lite model, we'll be sure to bring you all the details on the new handsets, so check back to TechRadar then for everything you need to know.
