Thoughts on Mi 11 Pro vs 12 Pro


General85

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5 Oct 2021
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The time to order my Xiaomi device is here. Thinking the 11 Pro or 12 Pro. Difference is around $250(ish), not sure if it's worth the jump. Just wondering your thoughts on the 2 devices? Thanks!
 
why not buy 11ultra insted?
dont like ultra myself but i dont know whats your priority
 
why not buy 11ultra insted?
dont like ultra myself but i dont know whats your priority
I love a good camera and I know the 11 Ultra is good but I'm not hugely keen on the large camera bump or the weight of it. Compared to the 11 Pro, I can't justify spending another $250-300 for the Ultra.

The 12 Pro, I could justify as it's newer technology and new design. Plus I'd be paying it for a brand new release whereas the 11 series is nearly a year old now.

The only thing I'm unsure of is how good the 12 pro is compared to the 11 pro. One thing I'm disappointed about, it's not IP rated.
 
I did order my 12Pro at tradingshen for 792 Euro

first I didnt want to order cause of the missing lte bands for germany,
but I logged the network in my region, and I dont really need Band20 so I did order the 12 cause of the camera upgrade
 
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I agree with dannejanne. I have used 11 pro now for one month. I really like the 5x zoom, both when using the stock camera and *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum*. Better than I expected.. I do think the 12 Pro is more like a sidegrade than upgrade. It is not obvious that the main camera sensor on 12 Pro is better. Shutter time is probably faster but the image quality may not be better or perhaps worse than 11 Pro. 11 Pro also have a ip68 rating and support for all major LTE-bands. All things considered I think it is hard to justify paying $200-$300 more for a phone that is only slightly better (or not better at all and for some people a downgrade).
 
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why not buy 11ultra insted?
dont like ultra myself but i dont know whats your priority
I had the Ultra half a year ago. It was too heavy and bulky for my taste. Mi 11 Pro feels much nicer in the hand and photos from the main camera seems to be more or less equally good.
 
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I agree with dannejanne. I have used 11 pro now for one month. I really like the 5x zoom, both when using the stock camera and *no-support-for-this-app-on-this-forum*. Better than I expected.. I do think the 12 Pro is more like a sidegrade than upgrade. It is not obvious that the main camera sensor on 12 Pro is better. Shutter time is probably faster but the image quality may not be better or perhaps worse than 11 Pro. 11 Pro also have a ip68 rating and support for all major LTE-bands. All things considered I think it is hard to justify paying $200-$300 more for a phone that is only slightly better (or not better at all and for some people a downgrade).
Nice to hear. Apart from the main cameras, how do the others compare to the 11 Ultra? The rest of the phone (apart from the rear screen which I would never use) is the same isn't it?
 
Nice to hear. Apart from the main cameras, how do the others compare to the 11 Ultra? The rest of the phone (apart from the rear screen which I would never use) is the same isn't it?
Yes, Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra are the same expect for the rear screen (and back design) on 11 Ultra and better telezoom and ultrawide sensors. I mainly use the main camera so I do not miss having the better auxiliary cameras on 11 Ultra that much.

Mi 11 is also a good phone but the poor battery life and lack of telephoto lens (and ip68) makes it less appealing given that it is only slightly cheaper than Mi 11 Pro.

I have seen some camera tests of 12 Pro on youtube. It looks good but nothing special.
 
Yes, Mi 11 Pro and Mi 11 Ultra are the same expect for the rear screen (and back design) on 11 Ultra and better telezoom and ultrawide sensors. I mainly use the main camera so I do not miss having the better auxiliary cameras on 11 Ultra that much.

Mi 11 is also a good phone but the poor battery life and lack of telephoto lens (and ip68) makes it less appealing given that it is only slightly cheaper than Mi 11 Pro.

I have seen some camera tests of 12 Pro on youtube. It looks good but nothing special.
Agree about the Mi 11. I've just ordered the 11 Pro. How is the battery life? I haven't seen much on it as I can't find many videos in English on the 11 pro. Guessing because not many people import it.
 
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Agree about the Mi 11. I've just ordered the 11 Pro. How is the battery life? I haven't seen much on it as I can't find many videos in English on the 11 pro. Guessing because not many people import it.
I use the app accubattery to track battery life. On 11 Pro it drains around 12% per hour when the screen is one. When I had Mi 11 during the spring 2021, the screen on that phone drained 15% per hour, 11 Ultra also drained 15% per hour. Not sure why I get better battery life on 11 Pro. Could be due to software optimization. I get one day with intensive use and two days with normal use.
 
I use the app accubattery to track battery life. On 11 Pro it drains around 12% per hour when the screen is one. When I had Mi 11 during the spring 2021, the screen on that phone drained 15% per hour, 11 Ultra also drained 15% per hour. Not sure why I get better battery life on 11 Pro. Could be due to software optimization. I get one day with intensive use and two days with normal use.
Sounds good regarding the battery for the 11 Pro. I look forward to receiving mine. I'm still yet to decide if it's worth flashing or not but we'll see.
 
Ye that is a real shame. For me, it would have still worked but I can understand for some.
It used to work for me as well. The problem now in Sweden is that the two largest mobile phone operators are currently shutting down their 3G-networks and it will be a complete shutdown in 2023. This implies that I would get no connection at all or only 2G connection when visiting rural areas in Sweden (which rely on LTE-band 20). I can accept 3G speeds from time to time but 2G is a complete dealbreaker. Not sure how it works in other countries.
 
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It used to work for me as well. The problem now in Sweden is that the two largest mobile phone operators are currently shutting down their 3G-networks and it will be a complete shutdown in 2023. This implies that I would get no connection at all or only 2G connection when visiting rural areas in Sweden (which rely on LTE-band 20). I can accept 3G speeds from time to time but 2G is a complete dealbreaker. Not sure how it works in other countries.
That's a shame. Guess it depends if you wanted the 12 as well?
 
That's a shame. Guess it depends if you wanted the 12 as well?
Yes. I am satisfied with 11 Pro so no need for 12 Pro at the moment. However, I may try the 12 Ultra later if that phone will support band 20 and be lighter than 11 Ultra.
 
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It used to work for me as well. The problem now in Sweden is that the two largest mobile phone operators are currently shutting down their 3G-networks and it will be a complete shutdown in 2023. This implies that I would get no connection at all or only 2G connection when visiting rural areas in Sweden (which rely on LTE-band 20). I can accept 3G speeds from time to time but 2G is a complete dealbreaker. Not sure how it works in other countries.
In Denmark all the 3G connections are gone before 2023.
I keep my mi 11 ultra for 1 more year i guees, but i live in Copenhagen and the the good 5G connection.
But still need 2G for my Webasto car heater with the 2G simcard in , but this will still survive for a long time, 4G is just 4G most places have it, like Sweden i think
 
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I'm Lucky enough to own two Mi 11 pro's, one is rooted weekly and the other is stable no root. I've had them since August. I love them. I didn't think the ultra was worth the extra money.
I've been looking closely at the 12 Pro. One thing really strikes me. It's roughly the same price as the Mi 11 pro.
I can't justify getting it. I do like the 1HZ refresh rate, higher clock speed, more efficient cpu, better gpu and Sony image sensor. But I can't convince myself to get one. If I didn't own two mi pro's, I probably would.
 
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I'm Lucky enough to own two Mi 11 pro's, one is rooted weekly and the other is stable no root. I've had them since August. I love them. I didn't think the ultra was worth the extra money.
I've been looking closely at the 12 Pro. One thing really strikes me. It's roughly the same price as the Mi 11 pro.
I can't justify getting it. I do like the 1HZ refresh rate, higher clock speed, more efficient cpu, better gpu and Sony image sensor. But I can't convince myself to get one. If I didn't own two mi pro's, I probably would.
Roughly the same price? 11 Pro is way cheaper. I assume you compare the initial price of 11 Pro vs the price of 12 Pro now?

Btw, do you perceive any differences between stable and weekly firmware?

I recently bought a P50 Pro second hand that I use beside my 11 Pro. In my eyes the camera on P50 is superior. Even photos taken with the main camera looks better on P50 despite a much smaller sensor. Shows that software is more important than hardware. It would be interesting to compare 11 Pro and 12 Pro.
 
Roughly the same price? 11 Pro is way cheaper. I assume you compare the initial price of 11 Pro vs the price of 12 Pro now?

Btw, do you perceive any differences between stable and weekly firmware?

I recently bought a P50 Pro second hand that I use beside my 11 Pro. In my eyes the camera on P50 is superior. Even photos taken with the main camera looks better on P50 despite a much smaller sensor. Shows that software is more important than hardware. It would be interesting to compare 11 Pro and 12 Pro.
I have the Mi 11 pro 12G ram, 256G ROM version. DHGate is the only place where its priced at £550. I bought one of the phones from them and was a little disappointed because it had very small scratches on the back. It's probably because they flashed the phone with a weekly build and installed Google play and wasn't careful enough. The 12 pro is £725 on Aliexpress.

As of yet I haven't noticed any difference between weekly and stable. It's to early to say. It's only been a few weeks. They are very recent MIUI 13 Android 12 fastboot builds.

I do like good cameras . But it's not my main focus.
 
I have the Mi 11 pro 12G ram, 256G ROM version. DHGate is the only place where its priced at £550. I bought one of the phones from them and was a little disappointed because it had very small scratches on the back. It's probably because they flashed the phone with a weekly build and installed Google play and wasn't careful enough. The 12 pro is £725 on **********.

As of yet I haven't noticed any difference between weekly and stable. It's to early to say. It's only been a few weeks. They are very recent MIUI 13 Android 12 fastboot builds.

I do like good cameras . But it's not my main focus.
Ok. I bought my Mi 11 Pro 8/128 at tradingshenzhen for €500 during cyber monday. It is more expensive now but still much cheaper than 12 Pro.
At the moment 11 Pro 8/256 costs €597.00 and Mi 12 Pro 8/256 €837.00 at tradingshenzhen. Given the lack of band 20 on 12 Pro I would not pay more than €500 for that phone.
 
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I'm Lucky enough to own two Mi 11 pro's, one is rooted weekly and the other is stable no root. I've had them since August. I love them. I didn't think the ultra was worth the extra money.
I've been looking closely at the 12 Pro. One thing really strikes me. It's roughly the same price as the Mi 11 pro.
I can't justify getting it. I do like the 1HZ refresh rate, higher clock speed, more efficient cpu, better gpu and Sony image sensor. But I can't convince myself to get one. If I didn't own two mi pro's, I probably would.
dont be fooled by all the specs they are boasting about. Having seen many reviews the refresh rate only dials down to 10hz minimum. Xiaomi is known for their unoptimised software and that will be apparent more especially with A12 in the building too. I would opt out of getting a xiaomi phone and look for something else.
 
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