The Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge is an excellent mid-range smartphone that boasts a whopping 120-watt rapid charging speed. In terms of comparison, it’s five times faster than Samsung’s Galaxy S21 and six times more efficient over iPhone 13. iPhone 13. Naturally, we had put it to the test to determine whether it could live up to the lofty expectations.
What is the phone number?
Mi 11i Mi 11i is a rebranded Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus (Chinese version) and was released in India in the beginning of this month at around $360. The Mi 11i the fastest charging smartphone on the market however, Xiaomi has also brought the latest technology to the mid-range instead of restricting this to the high-end market, and this makes it more appealing.
It is worth noting that the Mi 11i (or it’s the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus China) isn’t the only Xiaomi phone to feature the 120W speed charging feature. Its flagship killer Xiaomi 11T Pro unveiled in September 2021 was the first Xiaomi device with 120W power, and it was later introduced in the category of flagship phones with Xiaomi 12 series. Xiaomi 12 series. In addition Vivo’s subbrand iQOO also has 120W on the iQOO 7 but it’s limited to China.
How did we test
In this review, we’ve tried our experience with the Xiaomi Mi 11i’s HyperCharge’s power of 120W HyperCharge technology and compared its charging capabilities in four different scenarios shown below. These scenarios will help assess the Mi 11i’s durability to the demands of streaming an HDR video in 4K HDR video, or playing a game that requires graphics and the way they could (or could not) hinder the phone’s rapid charging. In addition to watching how the speed of charging changes in time, we’ll also look at fluctuations in the battery’s temperature to verify Xiaomi’s claims on the most important features of the charging circuit. This makes 120W charging safe for use in everyday life both for the phone and the users.
Disclaimer The tests were conducted in winter at temperatures that were approximately 18 Celsius (approximately 65 F). Heating is produced when charging because of energy loss which, in turn causes charging to slow down. Therefore, our test could be different in warmer temperatures.
Mi 11i HyperCharge/Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 120W charging test
| Charging Scenario | Time taken from 5% to 50% | Time taken from 5% to 90% | Time taken from 5% to 100% |
| Charging without case | 6 minutes, 8 seconds | 15 minutes, 8 seconds | 19 minutes, 45 seconds |
| Charging with silicon case | 6 minutes, 19 seconds | 16 minutes, 19 seconds | 20 minutes, 50 seconds |
| Charging while watching 4K video at full brightness | 7 minutes, 11 seconds | 17 minutes, 55 seconds | 21 minutes, 38 seconds |
| Charging while playing Genshin Impact | 9 minutes, 6 seconds | 25 minutes, 46 seconds | 30 minutes, 8 seconds |
Charging speed test without a case
The first test is a charge analysis of the Mi11i HyperCharge. This is a look at the typical pattern of charging that is seen on smartphones. To gauge the time required to charge the battery of 5,000mAh with the power brick of 120W that comes in the case that comes with the HyperCharge Mi 11i I tested Battery Log. Battery Log Android app. In the first example the charging speed is measured without the case that comes in the box. The phone is left unattended for the duration of the charge.
Xiaomi claims that the phone can go from 0% battery power to 100% in just 15 minutes. But, the results are taken from the controlled environment of an academic lab, and could not be replicated in real-world scenarios. To simulate actual usage scenarios for the test, we had the phone’s Wi-Fi and its Always-On Display (AOD) activated throughout the duration of charging.
Our tests reveal that our findings that the Xiaomi Mi11i HyperCharge increases from 5% capacity, to 90% capacity in just a couple of seconds, which is more that 15 mins. It will take about five minutes to reach a 100 percent level of battery power which brings the total amount of time needed to charge the device from 5 to 100% in around 20 minutes. This may not be true with Xiaomi’s claims, however the results are amazing. It is possible to connect the phone to the charger for around 10 minutes and you will get over 65% battery that should last for many hours of intense use.
The green curve on the graphs below shows the fluctuation in the battery’s level over time, while the yellow curve shows the variation of temperature with time. The Y-axis to the left side indicates battery levels, and that on the right represents the temperature in Celcius.
Examining the variations in the battery’s temperature throughout the test of charging We can see that the battery reach a peak temperature of around 40 ° Celsius (104 °F). Its temperature in the start of charging is 24 , Celsius (75 degree Fahrenheit) but it rises to its highest in just 6 minutes when the battery reaches 50 percent capacity. The temperature of the battery begins to decrease after 90%, as the battery enters its trickle charging phase. After the charge cycle the battery’s temperature will be around 36° Celsius (97 °F) that isn’t excessively hot, but you might feel the heat if use your smartphone while it is charging.
Speed test of charging using the silicone case
In our next scenario we will look at what the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge charges using this clear case provided in the case. This test is vital because a lot of users will to have cases fitted with their phones in order to protect them from the phone from being damaged by impacts. Since silicone acts as an insulator for heat, it encapsulates the heat produced while charging and decreases the ability of the phone to emit heat into the surrounding air. Xiaomi relies on a variety of design elements, including several battery cells, and the 50-50 split design, to keep the amount of heat generated at bay.
In our tests, we apply the same method, where we ensure that the phone’s Wi -Fi and AOD switched on, however we don’t utilize your phone for the duration of the time of charging. The battery’s temperature will be three degrees Celsius (37 degree Fahrenheit) more i.e. it is 27° Celsius (81 degree Fahrenheit) when the case is on the phone when compared to the phone without. Yet it doesn’t surpass the maximum temperature of this case. In fact, it remains less than 1 degree Celcius (34 degree Fahrenheit) and is at 39 ° Celsius (102 degree Fahrenheit) at its maximum — even though it is approaching the maximum temperature later, at the 40 percent mark. We also observed the faster decline, which starts at around 80% battery charge and the battery is at 36 ° Celsius (97 degree Fahrenheit) at the close testing.
Regarding the amount of duration that the Mi11i HyperCharge to charge batteries, it charges from five percent up to 90% in just 16 minutes, which is an additional minute compared with the earlier test. It takes five minutes more to get to 100 percent, the Mi 11i HyperCharge completes the battery charge cycle in just 21 minutes.
While the 1-minute difference between the two cases can be observed, however, it is not going to be a noticeable difference for users who use their phones daily. Within 10 hours, the smartphone is charged around 62%.
Charging speed 4K video streaming
While there is a small and, therefore easily overlookedthe difference between our initial and second test, the following scenarios expose Xiaomi’s Mi 11i HyperCharge to greater stress. It is because we are charging the phone while streaming four-channel HDR movie on YouTube while maintaining the display’s the maximum brightness. Xiaomi promises a display brightness of 700nits on its AMOLED screen on the Mi11i, so it is possible that there will be to see some drain on battery in this regard. However the phone is stored in a case that will make it more difficult to.
When we begin our battery test The phone’s temperature is 27,0 degrees Celsius (81 degree Fahrenheit). The temperature increases to around 38 ° Celsius (100 degree Fahrenheit) when it reaches the mark of 40. The temperature increases by two inches Celcius (36 °F) in the range of 50%, and then reaches approximately 40 ° Celsius (104 °F). Since the display is on constantly, the temperature is maintained in the 40 degree Celsius (104 degree Fahrenheit) till the battery is at 92% capacity. After which the characteristics of a trickle charge lead to a slight decrease in temperature. When the battery is at 100 percent capacity, it’s only 38° Celsius (100 degree Fahrenheit) that is slightly hotter than previous tests.
In terms of the time taken, the Mi 11i HyperCharge shoots from 5% to 90% in about 18 minutes and reaches the 100% mark in a few seconds short of 22 minutes. That one more minute from our last test — and two more from the first one — but we would be nitpicking by actually treating it as slow.
The Mi 11i HyperCharge gains about 55% charge in 10 minutes of charging using the 120W brick.
Charging speed gaming
With 120W superfast charging on the Mi 11i HyperCharge, we expect many users to leverage the safeguards put in place by Xiaomi to avoid overheating of the smartphones. This is especially beneficial when you are in the middle of a gaming session and do not want low battery levels to mar your streak. In order to test how well these safeguards keep the Mi 11i HyperCharge from reducing the gaming performance on the smartphone while charging in a jiffy, we play an unrestricted session of Genshin Impact on the phone. Genshin Impact is one of the most graphics-intensive games on Android, which makes it ideal for our testing. Notably, we chose to skip using the case in this test to be able to feel the heat (literally) with the increase in temperature during gaming.
We used GameBench to test how the Mi 11i HyperCharge’s gaming performance changes with combined heat generation due to charging while gaming. Chips including CPU and GPU are coded with throttling algorithms that prevent the system from generating excessive heat during intensive tasks such as gaming. To fend off excessive heat and to prevent temperatures from rising further, these algorithms limit the performance of the CPU and GPU. Using a benchmark tool such as GameBench gives us a fair idea about the throttling due to heat generated while playing the gaming coupled with the heat generated during charging the Mi 11i HyperCharge using the 120W fast charger.
Disclaimer: GameBench gave us a free journalist license for using their tool, which is otherwise paid. Although GameBench helped us with a free license, they did not have any input in this article.
Looking at the variation in temperatures first, the Mi 11i HyperCharge’s battery starts charging at 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) and reaches a peak temperature of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in just under four minutes because of the high graphics requirement of Genshin Impact. The temperature float between 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) and 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) until the charging is complete.
Unlike the previous three scenarios where the charging curve was nearly straight (representing an almost steady flow of charge into the battery unaffected by the stressors), the charging rate begins to fall right as the phone hits its peak temperature. This is possibly a preventive measure to avoid excessive heat generation within the charging circuit. The reduced charging rate translates to a longer charging period, with the Mi 11i HyperCharge taking nearly 26 minutes to reach the 90% mark and another five minutes to rake up the remaining charge to complete charging. Therefore, the phone takes a few seconds more than 30 minutes to complete charging while gaming.
Talking about the gaming performance of the Mi 11i HyperCharge, it rendered Genshin Impact at a frame rate varying between 25 and 30 frames per second (fps). There were observable frame rate drops when the warrior used a weapon in a battle, lowering the frame rate to about 15 fps. Furthermore, as the phone got warmer, frame rate drops become more frequent while the Mi 11i HyperCharge’s MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset equipped with a Mali-G68 GPU struggled with ceaseless stuttering. Although the frame rate drops did not impair the gameplay significantly (because of the open-world single-player nature of the game), they could be infuriating in online and high-paced multiplayer games like PUBG Mobile.
Final verdict
The Mi 11i HyperCharge continues to impress with its superfast charging time in various scenarios. Although the charging takes longer than the time claimed by Xiaomi, we were at peace with the results. Moreover, the excellent heat management was astounding, as the smartphone never breached the 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) mark, even when we played a graphics-intensive game while charging it. Another benefit to the device is that the 120W charger you get inside the box can be used to fast charge other devices. I used it to charge my 13-inch MacBook Pro 2020 and managed to charge it faster than the standard 61W Apple charging brick that came with the laptop, despite the Xiaomi charger being smaller in size.
But at the same time, the gaming performance on the Mi 11i HyperCharge suffered considerably when charging, and that may not be acceptable to seasoned mobile gamers. A downside of the excellent heat management was the galling performance throttling on the device. To be fair to Xiaomi, the onus here lies on the mediocre Dimensity 920 but the lesson here is that the smartphone may not be the best choice for gamers.
Is the Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge worth buying?
The Mi 11i HyperCharge is a worthy midrange smartphone and a good competitor to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy A52. Its 108MP triple cameras, pretty colors, and 120W fast charging make it a lucrative device, even though the excessive weight may not be something many would admire. But the device is nowhere close to being positioned as a gaming smartphone, especially if you plan to game and top up the battery at the same time.
The Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge (as well as its twin sibling, Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus) is currently limited to India and China. Do note that Xiaomi also sells another device called (Mi 11i in Europe ), but that is a completely different device that is a victim of Xiaomi’s dumbfounding naming scheme across the different markets it sells smartphones.
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