Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE Review

OS, UI and software

The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE (Xiaomi 2109119DG) arrives with Global MIUI 12.5 based on Android 11. As usual, global MIUI versions lack the traditional apps included by default in MIUI for the Chinese market. Still, they retain typical MIUI features that make the UI easily recognizable. For example, the Lock Screen contains the Mi Home, Mi Remote, and flashlight shortcuts accessed from the button placed in the bottom left corner. The bottom right corner houses the shortcut to the Camera app. By default, there's a dual-time zone clock widget on the Lock Screen but this can be changed from the Widgets options and the Lock Screen settings. A swipe up unlocks the smartphone unveiling the Home Screen comprising a Time and Date Widget, a Weather widget, a Google search bar with embedded voice and Google Lens search, two rows of apps, and a docked row of apps. A swipe to the right from the Home Screen opens the second desktop with additional apps and app folders. You have the option to choose an app drawer from the Home Screen settings. This type of layout has its own customizable features, including sorting the apps into categories. The Task Manager offers a number of features. From here, you can activate the Floating Windows features for a select app, use the Cleaner, run a Security scan, make a Deep clean, or Manage apps. The applications themselves are listed vertically, two per row. When you "tap and hold" on an app, a new window with app-specific options appears allowing you to lock/unlock the app, enter split-screen mode, make it a floating window, or visit the app settings. There are two folders - one with the Google apps and another one with the usual Tools. Desktop shortcuts are supported. A swipe to the right from the Home Screen opens Google Discover, this can be inactivated from the Home Screen settings. MIUI 12.5 allows you to choose from two styles of displaying the notifications and quick settings shades. The default one is the MIUI style. This means that if you swipe down from the top left side of the screen, you will get the list of notifications. A swipe down from the right side of the screen, opens the quick settings toggles, with the brightness level bar. The second style is the classic Android 11 one with the notifications and quick settings appearing together. As usual, the Widgets menu can be open if you make a zoom-out gesture on the screen. It allows you to access to change the wallpaper, widgets, and Home Screen settings - transition effects, default screen, icons layout, etc. Being a global version, the UI lacks the typical China-targeted apps and access to the content they provide. At the same time, with official Google Play services onboard there are plenty of Google apps grouped in a dedicated folder on the Home Screen for convenience. You get by default, among all else, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, YT Music, Drive, Duo, Photos, Contacts, Calendar, News, Play Store, Google Assistant. The usual applications are present including Phone and Contacts, which are merged, Messenger, and File Manager. The Tools folder contains the usual extended Calculator, Clock, Compass, Voice recorder, Screen recorder, QR code scanner, Downloads, ShareMe, and the PreSale app. Other applications, traditional for MIUI, include Weather, Notes, Themes, Mi Video, Mi Remote, Security, Music, Themes. The Security app contains the usual features and tools such as the Cleaner for optimizing the internal storage, Security Scanner, Game Speed Booster, App Manager, Data and Battery monitor as well as various device management services such as app lock, deep clean, dual apps, second space, block list, etc. Their design and functionality haven't changed in a significant way and duplicate many features and settings available in the Settings menu. The Settings menu has evolved a lot in the past few years and has become more streamlined. There are not many differences between MIUI 12.5 and MIUI 11 in terms of the Settings menu layout and comprising options. The list begins with a settings search bar. The various groups of options are only visually set apart by slightly visible horizontal lines and reasonable padding. The first group provides device-specific information in the About Phone, System Apps Updater, and Security Status menus. From the first, you get the model name, software version, backup and reset options, storage management. The System Apps Updater works for the applications only, not the operating system. The Security Status includes the system security updater, Google Play Protect, and the Google Play system update. The Find Device feature is also present but in order to use it, you have to log in with your Mi Account and sync it to the Xiaomi Cloud.

The second group of options is dedicated to the various types of connectivity. Here you get dedicated menus for the SIM cards and mobile networks, Wi-Fi connectivity (with Wi-Fi Assistant and Wi-Fi Direct), Bluetooth, and additional options under "Connection & sharing". The latter comprises MI Share, Cast display, Portable hotspot settings, Wireless display, NFC, Nearby Share, Andriod Auto, and so on. The third group of options manages the AOD Display and Lock Screen, the Display, Sound & Vibration, Notifications & Control Center, Home Screen, Wallpapers, and Themes. From the AOD settings, you can choose whether to use it or not, set the notifications effects, activate the rais to wake or double-tap to wake/turn off features, choose the clock format on the Lock Screen, set a button shortcut for the Camera app. The Display settings include the already standard choice between Light Mode and Dark Mode, Dark Mode scheduling, brightness level, Reading Mode and scheduling, text size. You can also choose which apps should load in full-screen mode. There's also a dedicated Color Scheme menu with three pre-set color schemes and two that work within the DCI-P3 and sRGB color spaces and allow you more granular control over those. Finally, there's the Refresh Rate menu from where you can manually choose from a 60Hz or a 90Hz refresh rate for the screen. The Sound & Vibration menu is the classic MIUI one with quick access to alarms, notification sounds, ringtones, and volume bars. It also contains a Sound Assistant, haptic feedback settings, DND management, etc. The third group continues with the Notifications & Control Center menu. It begins with three big icons for managing the lock screen, floating notifications, and badges, which were introduced in the first instances of MIUI 12. Further down, you can also manage the notifications for each app. A third option is to customize the notification shade. You can choose between an MIUI and an Android layout. Moreover, you can also change the layout of the Control Center (quick settings and notifications appearance) in the way we've already explained in the UI part above. The Status Bar options include toggles for what to show or not and how to display it - battery indicator, notification icons, connection speed, etc. You can also opt for hiding/showing the notch system-wide or for pre-select apps.

The Home Screen settings can also be accessed from the Widgets menu. They let you choose the default launcher, enable/disable Google Discover, choose the Home Screen style and System navigation, edit the icon size, number of icons appearing on the desktop, etc. The Home Screen style is about whether you want to use an app drawer or not. The classic one is without the drawer. The System navigation allows you to choose from navigation with onscreen buttons or gestures.

The Wallpaper and Themes applications lead to tons of online content but at their core, they are all synced with your Mi Account From here you can further customize the lock style, status bar, icons, favorites tray, boot animation boot audio, ring tones, and many other features. The fourth group of options begins with the Passwords & Security menu from where you can set up your screen lock, fingerprint unlock, face unlock, and Bluetooth unlock. You can also set up a privacy protection password, emergency alerts settings, emergency SOS data, and check out further privacy details plus app-wise authorization and revocation of access to date. This group also includes the Privacy Protection menu and the Apps menu from where you can access system app settings, manage the applications and their home screen shortcuts, enable dual apps, app lock, and manage their permissions. All these features can also be accessed from the Security app. The fourth group is where you will find the Battery menu, which can be accessed from the Security app as well. The last menu from the group is called Additional Settings and these are quite varied - date and time settings, languages and input options, a choice of regions. The Additional Settings found in the fourth group continue with options for button shortcuts that is - you can choose what happens if you touch, long-touch, or double-press any of the onscreen and physical buttons or combinations between them. For example, you can set that pressing together the Power Button and Home onscreen button will activate the torch. Another feature from this menu is the Quick Ball - something that MIUI offers since the dawn of its existence. This is just another way of navigating through the device. There are also the Screen Recorder and the good old One-handed Mode. Xiaomi also includes an option to clear the speaker by playing 30-second audio. It is here that you can enable or disable the RAM extension by 2GB which is at the expense of the storage. By default, this feature is on. Xiaomi has provided various accessibility features sorted into groups. Enterprise mode is the final option in these Additional Settings. The fifth group of settings comprises the Digital Wellbeing and parental controls and Special features such as Game Turbo, Video Toolbox, Floating Windows, Second Space, Lite mode, which have already been discussed in our reviews of previous Xiaomi smartphones. The sixth group is all about accounts management - Mi Account, Google, Accounts & Sync. The last group contains again settings for your Privacy, Location access, and Services & Feedback.