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This is the best phone I used all year — and information technology'due south not Apple or Samsung

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The Xiaomi Mi 11 is the all-time phone I used literally all year. It's never been far from my pocket since I reviewed the phone, which I recall is as good an endorsement of this well-priced Android flagship phone equally any other.

While technically mi xi launched in 2020, the Xiaomi Mi 11 merely reached British shores in March, after making its showtime advent in Mainland china the Dec earlier. During my original review of the telephone in March, I praised its 6.8-inch QHD display, powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset and constitute things to like about the design, audio quality and the MIUI 12 operating organization.

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While it lacked in some areas such every bit its photography, the Mi xi won me over by existence surprisingly inexpensive while offer a significant feature overlap with phones that costs hundreds more.

A niggling while after finishing that review, I institute a new manner to appreciate the Mi 11, this time for its telemacro photographic camera. Most macro cameras on phones are a waste of time, producing dark, grimy shots. The Mi 11 is a rare exception. Past offering a larger sensor and plenty magnification that you lot can go on the telephone out of your subject'southward light, you can actually have good close-ups with the photographic camera.

The Mi 11 so became my work phone for a fourth dimension, by which I don't just mean I checked emails and Slack messages. I actually wrote a few articles on it if I fancied a break from my laptop, which isn't as stupid as it may sound. The big display is great when y'all're typing in a word document, and it immune me to appreciate the telephone'southward surprisingly great haptics equally I wrote up news stories and features.

Partway through the yr, a new Mi 11 arrived: the Mi eleven Ultra. This was a phone that I was tempted to swap to due to its eye-catching rear display and impressive triple photographic camera array. But I never did, because ultimately it was an unpleasantly heavy telephone whose special features I knew I would non brand plenty employ of over the long term. Function of why the base Mi 11 appealed to me then much was how it offered pretty much everything I wanted from my phone, with very niggling frills.

Even at present the combination of an first-class screen, lengthy bombardment life, and Snapdragon ability for mobile gaming have made the Mi xi the perfect phone for when I want to wind down or ignore my WhatsApp messages. And so the Mi 11 nonetheless finds itself in employ and on my desk, ix months after it first arrived.

I've been strongly impressed by other devices, such equally the remarkably improved Google Pixel six, I too similar the well-specced Samsung Galaxy S21 and OnePlus ix serial, and the highly refined iPhone 13. I even tested another Xiaomi telephone, the Xiaomi 11T Pro, which offers 120W charging. Cipher's felt quite as fast to accuse over again since, including the Mi 11, but it wasn't enough to persuade me it was time to swap.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max, and before that the iPhone 12 Pro, have remained my main phones throughout the year. Merely that's my own error for burial myself too deeply in the Apple tree ecosystem. If I was notwithstanding an Android user, I likely would have had the Mi eleven as a daily commuter telephone as soon as it came in. In fact, sometimes when Apple's heavy, slab-sided iPhone feels as well unwieldy, I am tempted to back up my messages and photos and make the switch to the lighter simply but as premium Mi eleven.

My fourth dimension with the Mi 11 may well end next year if I find a new phone I gel with similarly that offers meliorate specs. But perhaps it volition be from the aforementioned company. With the Xiaomi 12 at present official, yous tin bet I'll exist keeping an center on this new flagship. Maybe my favorite phone of next year will be the follow-up to my favorite this year.

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Richard is a Tom'southward Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and any else people demand advice on. Following on from his MA in Mag Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's besides written for WIRED U.1000., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking well-nigh how to brew the perfect loving cup of specialty coffee.