Editor's Note: Updated Results and Conclusion for Xiaomi 11T Review
by Andrei Frumusanu on September 22, 2021 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Smartphones
- Xiaomi 11T
In last week’s review of the Xiaomi 11T series, we had covered both the 11T and the 11T Pro, two almost identical phones that were otherwise differentiated by only the SoC powering them, as well as their charging speeds.
In our original review at the embargo time, and in testing done in weeks prior to the announcement, we had noted that the MediaTek powered 11T exhibited extremely uncompetitive battery life test results. Our conclusion on the device, lacking any evidence of something being wrong with the phone, was that this seemed something related to the platform, and that it was seemingly inferior to the 11T Pro.
Shortly after the announcement event (we’re not quite sure exactly when it went live), Xiaomi had issued a firmware update where battery life seems to have improved a lot (Many thanks to Domingo Gomes for the heads-up and some initial before & after testing). We also updated and redid our battery life testing over the next days.
The new battery life results showcase the 11T slightly outlasting the 11T Pro, ending up more in line with expectations of where we had hoped the two phones would end up. Most importantly, this was a large improvement and discrepancy over the initial review firmware.
In terms of technical background as to what exactly had changed pre- and post-update, I hadn’t been able to measure any difference in performance, display power, or stead-state CPU power, with all results ending up almost the same as what we experienced prior. This is only anecdotal evidence, but it seems the DVFS might be faster to respond to dynamic workloads, but we can’t be certain of it. We’ve reached out to Xiaomi on the situation, but haven’t had yet received any comments back.
In view of the new battery life results, we’ve updated the conclusion and evaluation of the Xiaomi 11T within that review to properly represent our more positive take on the device:
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
22 Comments
View All Comments
Andrei Frumusanu - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
I clearly stated that I measured no difference in performance. Display brightness is controlled and static. Please do not spread baseless misinformation.DougMcC - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
Curious what device you use to measure display brightness to avoid such cheating.eastcoast_pete - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
Duly noted. Were you able to re-run your full performance measurements? I was a bit confused by the absence of any numbers for those, except for battery life. However, as I trust your reviews, your data mean that the SoC utilizes all cores, so that is good to know. All the more puzzling then what the difference to the previous firmware is.Zoomer - Saturday, October 2, 2021 - link
From the article, nothing was observed. Speculation - could be as simple as disabling debug mode, but we have no way to tell.Plumplum - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
Great...It's done!
It's better with this separate article.
melgross - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
It looks like a very minor increase. I don’t see why it’s being touted here as significant.The_Assimilator - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
I don't see anywhere it's being touted as significant. Perhaps you need to take some reading comprehension classes?Exodite - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
While I'm not melgross..."...Xiaomi had issued a firmware update where battery life seems to have improved a lot..."
"Most importantly, this was a large improvement and discrepancy over the initial review firmware."
I'm inclined to interpret those lines as a 'significant' improvement.
YMMV.
melgross - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
Perhaps you’re the one who needs an increase in your reading comprehension. The quotes that Exodite posted is what I was referring to from the article.If a “large improvement” isn’t significant, then what is?
dada_dave - Wednesday, September 22, 2021 - link
The battery life increased by ~6 hours. That is a large and significant increase. I made the same mistake at first, please recheck the chart. The old number is at the bottom in with a black bar (as opposed to grey bars for the other phones, the red bar for the pro number, and the blue bar for the new results).