Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge Review – Charge Like Never Before

Xiaomi is kicking off the new year 2022 by releasing the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G, which the company claims is India’s fastest charging phone. This Xiaomi phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 920 processor, which replaces the Snapdragon 750. Depending on the variant, buyers can choose between 6GB and 8GB of RAM. Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge comes pre-installed with MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11.

Xiaomi is the first company to release a phone with support of 120W fast charging in India, despite the fact that multiple manufacturers have promoted fast charging as their key selling point. Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G is claimed to fully charge in just 15 minutes. Is this new Xiaomi phone a gimmick, or does it have the potential to compete in other fields as well? Come find out with me in this detailed review.

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Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge comes in two variants: 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB, with a price tag of Rs. 26,999 and Rs. 28,999, respectively. The smartphone is available in four different colours: Stealth Black, Pacific Pearl, Camo Green, and Purple Mist. They all have a matte finish. The Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G is available in India starting January 12th. It will be sold on Flipkart, Mi.com, Mi Home stores, and offline merchants.

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Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge box packaging looks quite familiar to me as the 11 Lite NE and comes with the following items inside the box:

• Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge
• 120W Power Adapter worth Rs.3,999
• USB Cable
• SIM Eject Tool
• Clear Soft Case
• Screen Protector (Pre-Applied on the Phone)
• Warranty Card and User Guide

Before we talk in detail about the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.67 inches AMOLED
• Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 920
• RAM & ROM: 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB
• Software: MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11
• Rear camera: 108MP + 8MP + 2MP
• Selfie camera: 16 MP
• Battery: 4500 mAh
• Weight: 204 grams
• Dimensions: 163.6 x 76.1 x 8.3 mm

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G is a big phone indeed with a peculiar flattened side design which you guys gonna love. The edges are rounded so that they don’t leave a mark on your palms, and it’s still comfy to hold in your hand. The 11i HyperCharge’s polycarbonate frame does not feel cheap, but its 204g weight is noticeable and it’s heavy for single-handed usage, believe me.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G comes with a large 6.67-inch display. It has slim bezels all around and a small punch-hole cutout near the top. The fingerprint scanner on the side is perfectly positioned, and my thumb naturally sits on it. The volume controls are also easily accessible. The right side of the phone has all the buttons, whereas the left side is totally empty. In addition, this phone features dual speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack (Yes!), an IR blaster, and a USB Type-C port.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G’s back panel is made of glass, giving it a premium look. The Camo Green colour, which also has a matte appearance, was what took my attention. When light strikes the surface at the appropriate angle, the colour shines across. The camera unit is quite large and will definitely attract a lot of attention. While the glass back does a good job of hiding fingerprints, Xiaomi includes a clear case in the box.

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Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge has a 120Hz refresh rate Full HD+ AMOLED display. The display was smooth at 60Hz, which was the phone’s default setting, but when I switched to 120Hz via Settings, it became even smoother. It was obvious that there was a significant difference. The display does not support a variable refresh rate and runs at either 60Hz or 120Hz.

The display has bezels surrounding it, but they aren’t wide enough to distract you from your viewing experience. When it comes to user experience, the display is bright and provides excellent sunlight legibility. It also offers good contrast, with deep blacks and delicate whites, which is noticeable when rendering content with a high dynamic range. The panel is HDR 10+ rated and produces brilliant colours. The large 6.7-inch display provides an excellent viewing experience. I was able to watch videos in Full HD resolution on Netflix and Amazon Prime. The punch hole cutout on top of the display for the selfie camera seems to be one of the smallest among other phones in this segment in the market. I tried the display outside, and it performed admirably in direct sunlight, with different viewing angles offered by the large display. Gorilla Glass 5 is put on top of the screen to protect Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge from normal wear and tear.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset, a solid chipset that handles day-to-day tasks with ease. There is either 6GB or 8GB of DDR5 RAM, which is more than enough to run various apps in the background. The processor ensures that the smartphone performs smoothly and that it works well with the MIUI operating system. Switching between apps and scrolling through different social media feeds was also buttery smooth. I experienced no lags or hiccups while scrolling at 120Hz.

However, things that are more GPU intensive, such as editing a clip for Instagram or playing games like BGMI with graphics settings higher than medium, appears to stress the phone. The device can still run heavy games smoothly, which should be sufficient for the majority of users. The chipset includes VC liquid cooling, which helps to keep the phone’s temperature under control.

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We tested some high-resolution games on Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge, such as BGMI and Asphalt 9, and they performed flawlessly. The graphics quality in Call of Duty is set to medium, while the frame rate is limited to maximum. The graphic quality reduces to a low level at the highest available frame rate. During my gaming sessions, the phone did not get too hot, and I was able to get 60fps while playing BGMI at high graphics.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge comes pre-installed with MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11 and the software appears to be well-optimized. It runs the November Android security patch. MIUI 12.5 was well-optimized for the Dimensity 920 processor, and I had no lag while surfing the interface or scrolling through social media and browsing apps. The apps loaded quickly and the animations were also smooth. The software is quite similar to what we’ve seen on several Xiaomi, Redmi, and Poco phones. I found lesser bugs, which is also worth mentioning.

MIUI offers a lot of customization options, at the same time there are a lot of preinstalled apps. These apps can be uninstalled, which helps to clean up the interface. Xiaomi’s ‘App Vault’ appears by default when you swipe right from the homescreen. This can now be changed to display the Google Discover news feed, or it can be turned off entirely. The UI, in general, is pretty feature-rich, but it does feel a little cluttered and contains some bloatware which I already mentioned. The company has a history of delivering two years of updates for its phones which I expect from Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge as well.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G features three cameras on its back: a 108-megapixel primary lens with an f/1.89 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. It features a 16-megapixel front camera for selfies. The camera interface is similar to what we’ve seen on other Xiaomi phones recently, and it has all of the typical shooting modes, as well as quick toggles for HDR and AI. The Macro toggle is still buried in a sub-menu, making it easy to miss.

Photos captured on the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G in daylight were excellent. The smartphone was quick to precisely measure light and lock focus, but in the end, it tends to boost sharpness and contrast. This gave objects under the shadows a watercolour-like look. The ultra-wide-angle camera offers a far wider field of view, and images seemed to be of decent quality on the phone’s display, but image quality was much lower when compared with the primary camera. Furthermore, frames captured with the main sensor and the ultra-wide-angle sensor have no colour symmetry. The macro lens is good, but there is no auto-focus, making it difficult to capture the perfect photo. Furthermore, the lack of megapixels in the macro lens results in a reduction in detail.

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The phone handles colours beautifully and takes crisp close-up images. Subjects were also well separated from the background, thanks to the subtle depth effect. The phone’s portrait mode shots had good edge detection, and I could adjust the blur level before taking a photograph. The front camera of Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is good but not great. It works great in bright outdoor lighting, but it softens the image when used indoors. Because of its limited field of view, it is not ideal for group selfies, although it is good for selfies overall. The primary camera artificially brightens the image in a dark environment, resulting in noticeable noise and jumbled colours on the frames. There is a specific night mode for capturing low-light images, which works well in most cases as long as the phone is kept steady.

The primary camera can record videos at a resolution of 4K, while the selfie camera can record at 1080p. Stabilisation was good throughout the day, however, there was jitter in videos captured while walking around at night. In general, the cameras performed much better in daylight than in low-light situations.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge’s 4,500 mAh battery fulfils the fast performance, providing a day of battery life with the display set at 120Hz refresh rate. This smartphone includes a monster 120W fast charger in the box and the company claims that it takes 15 minutes to fully charge a depleted battery. With my usage, the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G had a decent battery life that easily lasted more than a day. After only 10 minutes of charging, the battery is about 70% charged, which is fantastic.

It’s worth noting that this awesome charging speed is only possible when the Boost Mode is turned on. This option allows the device to charge at its maximum power without having to worry about heating. While charging, the phone does become a little warm, but not too much. By default, Xiaomi keeps the Boost Mode setting disabled, and users must manually enable it in Settings inside the Battery and Performance section. The battery takes roughly 15-16 minutes to charge entirely from 0 to 100 per cent once enabled. Speaking of which, Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge is the only phone in its category to feature 120W fast-charging technology. As a result, it charges way faster than any other smartphone, with or without its boost charging speed.

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Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge features dual speakers, backed by Dolby Atmos. The speakers are excellent, producing a loud and clear sound. Thanks to Hi-Res certification, the smartphone’s audio capabilities extend to both wired and wireless audio. Overall, the audio quality is excellent, and it improves the phone’s entertainment and gaming experience.

There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB Type-C port and an IR blaster on the phone. The SIM tray is located on the bottom of the device and can carry two SIM cards or one SIM and an SD card, with both SIM slots supporting 5G connectivity.

Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge features a fast and accurate side-mounted fingerprint scanner which does the job pretty well. The fingerprint scanner, along with the volume rockers, is located on the right-side panel.

Pros

• Superb display 
• Whopping 120W fast charging 
• 108MP primary rear camera 
• Corning Gorilla Glass 5 

Cons

• 4500 mAh battery only 
• Hybrid SIM slot