iPhone 12 and Galaxy S20 trounced by dark horse: say hello to the Xiaomi Mi 11

Ever since the first details about the Xiaomi Mi 11 emerged online, excitement over the firm's follow-up to the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro has been building rapidly.

Just as potentially worrying reports about the Samsung Galaxy S21's leaked benchmark scores have broken cover, the seemingly astonishing power and performance on offer from the Xiaomi Mi 11 has been revealed in a series of detailed leaks.

And in a world were even the most premium, wallet-breaking Apple iPhone 12 Pro can still only deliver its user a 60Hz refresh rate screen experience, taking just one look at the Xiaomi Mi 11's slated 120Hz refresh rate screen and it's easy to see why not just Android phone rivals should be getting hot under the collar.

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Which is a feeling that will no doubt have intensified after the latest Xiaomi Mi 11 leak, which once more has revealed the top-tier spec and benchmark performance it looks set to offer when the phone launches on December 28.

The Mi 11 was spotted this time on phone benchmarking site Geekbench by Twitter user Abhishek Yadav, who mere hours ago posted this tweet:

As can be seen in the top tweet, Yadav posts the Geekbench 5 score for a handset dubbed the 'Xiaomi M2011K2C', which has been identified by multiple people as actually the Xiaomi Mi 11 (or potentially the Mi 11 Pro).

And the specs listed are truly top-tier. The phone comes with the very latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip (SoC), a Adreno 660 GPU, 12GB of RAM and runs Android 11. The phone is also confirmed as coming with 55 Watt Fast Charging tech.

Most importantly, though, the Mi 11 Pro is shown to boast a single-core score of 1,135 and a multi-core score of 3,642, which absolutely smokes the leaked benchmark for the Samsung Galaxy S21.

And, what's more, these high scores are doubled down on by additional benchmark scores for this handset, which all post in under the same name and with the same level of single-core and multi-core performance.

And, when you throw in that the Mi 11 is slated to not only boast a 120Hz refresh rate screen, which is double that offered by any Apple iPhone 12, and also that the screen's size will be a far-reaching 6.76 inches and it will have a QHD+ resolution, it therefore looks like the Mi 11 is going to outperform the incoming Samsung flagship, as well as take Apple to school in terms of screen tech.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 appears to be setting itself up to take on all comers.

As to what the Xiaomi Mi 11 will look like, a super short teaser video has broken cover online that shows the rear of the handset for just a few seconds. The authenticity of the video has yet to be determined, however it does show the same design that has already been leaked.

The design features a rounded-off square rear camera array which appears to show a triple-lens setup with flash sensor. The primary shooter on the phone is believed to be a 108-megapixel lens, which would see it match that on offer in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, with that partnered with an ultra-wide and telephoto zoom.

Here at T3 we couldn't be more excited for the Mi 11 range of phones, and while we've got a suspicion that the specs we're seeing here are for the Mi 11 Pro version of the phone, we're also kinda hoping they are just for the Mi 11, as that would mean an even more powerful phone is about to be introduced.

We're excited most, though, as Xiaomi had an excellent year in 2020, with its Mi 10 range really breaking through into the mainstream as a desirable flagship consideration, and we see 2021 as potentially the year where Xiaomi really does cement itself as one of the world's very best phone makers.

Last year the smartphone war was won by OnePlus with its excellent OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 8T offerings, but this year it sure looks like Xiaomi is truly ready to go toe-to-toe with every maker active on the market. And the most worrying thing for its rivals is that Xiaomi almost always managed to undercut them in terms of price.

Naturally, T3 will be looking to go hands on with the Xiaomi Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro as soon as possible, so be sure to check back in soon for our official take.

In other phone news the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G price has been confirmed and it is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S20 5G.

The new handset is costed in at €150 cheaper than the S20 5G in Europe, with a leaked pricing stating it will hit the market at €879.

This positions the phone between the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, which retailed for €649 at launch, and last year's handset.

The cost saving is thought to stem from the phone using a 'glasstic' backplate and lower resolution screen when compared to last year's S20.

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