Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge Review: You Can’t Ask For Anything More Under Rs 30,000

Xiaomi has kickstarted 2022 with the launch of two smartphones: Xiaomi 11i and 11i HyperCharge. Both the phones cater to the Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 market segment and the Hypercharge variant costs Rs 2,000 more.

If you are asking about the differences, well, on paper, the only difference is that the cheaper Xiaomi 11i comes with a bigger battery but with 67W fast charging while the Hypercharge variant offers 120W fast charging and a slightly smaller battery. Apart from the battery and charging capacities, both the phones are exactly the same.

Xiaomi has put in a lot of thought behind the 11i HyperCharge handset to create a smartphone that offers good value under Rs 30,000. Claiming smooth performance, decent cameras, great display quality, 5G and the incredible new 120W charging tech, the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is trying to stand apart from handsets from OnePlus, Realme, Samsung and even it’s own sibling– Poco.After using this phone for over two weeks, here’s the review.

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Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge Design

Xiaomi hasn’t really changed a lot when it comes to the design of the new and have simply tweaked certained aspects to make this appear fresh. The Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge comes with a glass rear panel (not Gorilla-branded glass) and the frame is made of plastic. On the front, Xiaomi is offering Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The sides of this phone are flat making it look a bit different. There’s IP53 rating making this phone splash proof but note that it is not completely waterproof.

The Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge may feel a bit bulky as it weighs around 200 grams. Also, fitting this device inside tight trouser pockets requires some work as it’s a large phone and pretty thick as well.

The build quality is sturdy and the finish is quite premium. While the focus is mainly on the phone’s battery capabilities, Xiaomi has managed to squeeze in an IR remote and headphone jack as well, which is definitely a good thing. The headphone jack supports external mics while recording videos and the IR remote comes handy in controlling home appliances. Also, there’s a fingerprint scanner on the right side of the phone.

This phone comes in four colours: Camo Green, Pacific Pearl, Purple Mist and Stealth Black.

Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge Display

The Xiaomi 11i 5G HyperCharge comes with a 6.67-inch Super AMOLED display panel with Full HD+ resolution. The display offers 20:9 aspect ratio with up to 120Hz refresh rate and a pixel density 395 pixels per inch. The viewing angles are good and you won’t face any issues when using the phone under direct sunlight.

The colour production is good and with support for 120Hz refresh rate, everything appears super smooth on this phone. Overall, you cannot really have any complaints about the display and you wont get a better display than this under Rs 30,000.

Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge Performance

Coming to the performance of this phone, the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G chipset. Now, this chipset from MediaTek is tried-and-tested and it’s a delight to use this phone. This device will easily cater to the performance needs of all kinds of users, including those who like to play games a lot.

There are two variants of this phone. You can buy the phone with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage or you can opt for the 8GB of RAM and the same 128GB storage space. There’s a microSD card slot and you can expand the storage.

It’s a dual SIM with support for 5G connectivity. So, the moment India gets 5G, you can continue to use the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge.

Like with all Xiaomi phones, this one too runs MIUI interface. Xiaomi is offering MIUI version 12.5 which is based on the Android 11 operating system.The phone comes preinstalledwith a lot of unnecessary apps which thankfully Xiaomi lets you delete.Overall, the experience is quite smooth and there aren’t software issues as well. If you haven’t used a Xiaomi phone before then you will have to bea bit patient to get used to the interface.

Now, here’s a piece of advice, if you are a heavy user then opt for the 8GB RAM version as MIUI interface tends to be quite resource intensive over time.

The device will please you with its performance capabilities and there’s much to complain about.

Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge Camera

Talking about the camera, this phone features a triple rear camera setup with a 108-megapixel Samsung HM2 sensor with an aperture of F1.8. Secondary sensors include an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle, and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. At the front, it gets a 16-megapixel shooter for clicking selfies.

For average users, the camera capability of this phone will easily please them. The colours are decent and overall the images look quite vibrant. The selfies look great as well for social media usage.

But if you are into serious mobile photography then you will soon realise that Xiaomi needs to work a bit more on the camera software. This is because images tend to look artificially edited sometimes due to that extra sharpness or over saturation some times. On the other hand, there are times when the colours appear dull.

The device supports 4K video recording and the headphone jack comes handy. If you are a content creator then you can plug an external mic on this phone.

Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge Battery

Now talking about the biggest highlight of this phone: 120W fast charging. On paper, you can charge the 4,500mAh battery of this phone in 15 minutes. But in reality, it may take a little under 20 minutes. The good part is you can be assured that you will have enough battery to last you the entire day by just charging it for around 15 minutes.

Note that you will have to go inside the setting menu and enable the boost charging to get 120W fast charging. Else, the phone will charge at 67W. The good part is that Xiaomi is offering the 120W fast charger for free with this phone.

Having said that, even with 67W charging, your phone will get charged in about 25 minutes. The battery life is pretty good and for moderate users, the device can also last for 2 days in power saving mode.

Another fact here, you can use the charger to charge your laptop as well if there’s support for USB Type-C charging on your laptop.

The Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is all about 120W fast charging and the 15 minutes charging claims. If you are fine with your phone taking 25 minutes or even 30 minutes to get fully charged then buying the Xiaomi 11i makes more sense as it’s exactly the same phone and costs Rs 2,000 less.

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Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge Verdict

The 120W charger along with the fast charging technology is something Xiaomi should be proud of as it is bringing to a mid-range phone. Also, the fact that Xiaomi is not forcing people to buy the charger separately is a good move. With the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge, there’s no doubt that Xiaomi is offering the best in terms of battery life and charging speeds. Apart from this, the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge is a good phone overall and you really shouldn’t have much to dislike in this phone.

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