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I'm looking to buy a new phone and these two are top of my list because I want a stock android experience. Nokia 8 is around 30 USD more expensive from where I live. Does the Snapdragon 835 really outperform the 821 and is it worth paying the extra bucks? for whose who have used both, which phone is better in terms of user experience in your opinion? also, have you faced any major issues with the Android 8.1 update on the Nokia 8?
The pixel has the better camera and is significantly faster/smoother, gets quicker updates and has AMOLED if you are into that. The sound quality is also better on the pixel compared to the Nokia 8.
The Nokia 8 has expandable storage and longer battery endurance compared to the pixel 2.
Choose which of these things are more important to you.
BoomXhakaLaca said:
I'm looking to buy a new phone and these two are top of my list because I want a stock android experience. Nokia 8 is around 30 USD more expensive from where I live. Does the Snapdragon 835 really outperform the 821 and is it worth paying the extra bucks? for whose who have used both, which phone is better in terms of user experience in your opinion? also, have you faced any major issues with the Android 8.1 update on the Nokia 8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have either but from what I have learnt in researching and watching demonstrations is that Nokia 8 has wonderful microphones for recording audio when shooting a movie better than the microphones of the pixel, other than that the pixel is better in everything
After using nokia 8 and pixel xl , both phones are smooth , I noticed after oreo update nokia's screen got much better with the colours , so you wont feel much difference between xl and nokia 8's screen , the camera is better on pixel xl but if you use google camera on nokia 8 the camera will get much better but pixel's camera still better , the battery is better on nokia 8 and nokia 8 is faster opening apps and multitasking , the speaker on nokia 8 might be louder than pixel but pixel's speaker is clear more than nokia , selfie camera a little bit better on nokia , both are smooth but nokia have better processor , pixel get faster updates
BoomXhakaLaca said:
I'm looking to buy a new phone and these two are top of my list because I want a stock android experience. Nokia 8 is around 30 USD more expensive from where I live. Does the Snapdragon 835 really outperform the 821 and is it worth paying the extra bucks? for whose who have used both, which phone is better in terms of user experience in your opinion? also, have you faced any major issues with the Android 8.1 update on the Nokia 8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own the Nokia 8 , it is beautiful device in terms of smoothness , display , sound and speed . the only thing that pixel beats Nokia is in the camera department .
pixel display has Amoled and it sucks because it suffers from a Burn-in . go search google if you don't beleive it .
Nokia has zero modding instead pixel xl has a lot of modding
Apart for the camera, I would say that the Nokia 8 is better in everything, especially reliabilty.
There is so much reports about problems with the Pixel 2.
ben_linux said:
Apart for the camera, I would say that the Nokia 8 is better in everything, especially reliabilty.
There is so much reports about problems with the Pixel 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And there are so much reports about problems with Nokia 8. For me I never buy any Nokia device! I have the 8 and don't use it. No bootloader unlock is for me an unusable phone.
2WildFirE said:
And there are so much reports about problems with Nokia 8. For me I never buy any Nokia device! I have the 8 and don't use it. No bootloader unlock is for me an unusable phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which kind of problems ? I don't see a lot of problems on forums, and most of them are due to Android 8.1, and not the Nokia 8 's hardware itself, so...
I can understand that you want an unlocked bootloader but this is not the case of the majority of customers
I have the Nokia 8 (although only since last Thurs) and it upgraded to Oreo 8.1 OTA the day I received it and I have no problems with this phone. It is as close to pure Android as it gets outside of the Pixel series. The camera is a bit quirky but everything else is first class, smooth and fast.
i would say staY clear of both.The pixel has loads of hardware issues coming up in it's life cycle the motherboard issues and mic and wifi issues are pretty common and damaging @BoomXhakaLaca. But if you are going with one go with the 8,there still stays hope of better imaging with the upcoming firmware update,scrolled a lot on chinese sites and the 7 plus holds its own against the good cameras.
BoomXhakaLaca said:
I'm looking to buy a new phone and these two are top of my list because I want a stock android experience. Nokia 8 is around 30 USD more expensive from where I live. Does the Snapdragon 835 really outperform the 821 and is it worth paying the extra bucks? for whose who have used both, which phone is better in terms of user experience in your opinion? also, have you faced any major issues with the Android 8.1 update on the Nokia 8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you choose after all? I'm in the same situation , between Nokia 8 ,Google Pixel 1 and Sony XA2 . I want Pixel 1 because of the camera but most of them users have problems with hardware side ( motherboard and mic ) and battery draining fast
https://www.theguardian.com/technol...ss-action-lawsuit-defective-pixel-smartphones
Nokia 8 have a decent camera , good specs and a nice battery and Sony XA2 have a better camera then Nokia 8 , decent specs and nice battery .
because i couldn't find any threads about how the phone functions after a year.
im coming from a samsung galaxy s8 witch broke after a year, and i am hesitating between the huawei p20 pro and the xiaomi mi 8 128gb.
how is the camera(selfie in particiular) on both phones? and is the fixed focus of the p20pro really a problem?
how is the battery doing under heavy usage? are they both considered 'fast phones' after a year?
really hate my galaxy s8 and want to buy another phone in a week.
rbyptr said:
because i couldn't find any threads about how the phone functions after a year.
im coming from a samsung galaxy s8 witch broke after a year, and i am hesitating between the huawei p20 pro and the xiaomi mi 8 128gb.
how is the camera(selfie in particiular) on both phones? and is the fixed focus of the p20pro really a problem?
how is the battery doing under heavy usage? are they both considered 'fast phones' after a year?
really hate my galaxy s8 and want to buy another phone in a week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't say the P20 Pro is considered a particularly fast phone going by current CPU standards. Set up right though it can still fly and it has the hardware to make itl a true powerhouse still. I think Mi8 will still be quicker if set up right.
I never use selfie camera really but I still don't think it's the best, can't compare with Mi8..
I love the P20 Pro really for the..
-Minimal notch, blacked out of course, implemented in the right way.
-Front fingerprint sensor and general awesome navigation hub it is (when onscreen buttons disabled) - maximising screen real estate
-Battery life
-EMUI! Yes, I like it and the ultimate control it gives you over apps (apart from a few system apps of course)
rbyptr said:
because i couldn't find any threads about how the phone functions after a year.
im coming from a samsung galaxy s8 witch broke after a year, and i am hesitating between the huawei p20 pro and the xiaomi mi 8 128gb.
how is the camera(selfie in particiular) on both phones? and is the fixed focus of the p20pro really a problem?
how is the battery doing under heavy usage? are they both considered 'fast phones' after a year?
really hate my galaxy s8 and want to buy another phone in a week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
phone still perform swiftly after years and around 7 firmware updates (on PIE now) - never wiped data even once since bought
dont expect it to match SD845 though, it wont,
rear camera is splendid, especially when you know how to use it better along the time you use it (early user might confused, disappointed and else, but most of seasoned photographer turned out like it)
selfie wont compete at all with your S8. S8 has autofocus on front cam. And that alone will give you much better selfie, anytime, anyday.
Selfie from this phone is not bad by any mean, it just you need to get a grasp on the optimum distance of its fixed focus lens, and turn down the exposure (this feature only avail after PIE), else it will try to lighten your face a lot (i guess this style is favourable in asia and probably india).
Battery will beat your S8 day and night, even after year usage i never had issue with battery life.
Mi8 rear cam is good, but once you know how to use P20 cam, it wont match the P20 one,
best bet on Mi8 is by using Gcam pixel 3 port. It boost the results a lot, but still with lack flexibility of manual set up (if this was not you thing, going Mi 8 route is fine i guess) - coz, Mi 8 has better development scheme ongoing. You can use custom PIE ROM and any other mod in easier manner.
if you decide to get P20 pro, better stay on stock EMUI (it has less quirk compared to stock MIUI to be honest - am using Redmi Note 5 Ai as 2ndary phone FYI). Just root, debloat a bit and tweak some stuff (adblock, LKT, disable swap, etc) its good enough for 8/9 out of 10 daily conditions you would expect as smartphone users.
thing you probably will miss from S8 (i used S8 for few months as well) would be : edge shotcut, front cam auto focus, build-in clipboard feature (well at least those are for me)
Hey guys!
I hope I'm in the right place to post/ask this. But I honestly don't know any better place to go to.
At the moment I am to decide between the Mi 8 (6/64GB) for 170 € and the Mi 9 Lite (6/128 GB) for 200 €.
I already ordered, received and set up the Mi8 and the good price for the Mi 9 Lite just appeared recently.
The Mi 8 definitely has a better performance due to the SD845 (vs SD710) and has WiFi MiMO, an OIS, as well as apt-X and costs 30 € less (at least for me). Likely due to its release date there also are way more ROMs and Mods available for the Mi8 already.
Mi 9 Lite on the other hand supports LTE Band28 (which will become more and more important in Germany), has better camera sensors, a bigger battery, an infrared blaster, SD card support, a drop notch, an audio jack and, well, in-screen fingerprint (which I guess is nice but not that important) and it was released about 1 year later which could lead to longer software support.
So there's very much points arguing for the Mi 9 Lite. But:
Does the premium SoC of the Mi 8 guarantee more updates over time then the Mi 9 lite?
Is the camera of the Mi 9 Lite really better than on the Mi 8 as OIS is missing?
Is the in-screen fingerprint more imprecise than fingerprint on the back?
Could apt-X also be applied to the Mi 9 Lite? (one day I read about it being implemented in LOS by default)
Thanks in advance for your help and opinions on this question.
Kind Regards,
Seyron
Not sure about Mi 8 but Mi 9 Lite has stunning display, it's the biggest selling point IMO. (Samsung's AMOLED)
And yes maybe Mi 8 has faster chip but SD710 is WAY more power efficient, with bigger battery it will make tremendous difference. And it's not that slow either.. (about 220k in Antutu)
Cant really speak for camera because i dont use it that much but the resulsts i have been getting are more than satisfactory (even at low lighting with night mode)
k3lcior said:
Not sure about Mi 8 but Mi 9 Lite has stunning display, it's the biggest selling point IMO. (Samsung's AMOLED)
And yes maybe Mi 8 has faster chip but SD710 is WAY more power efficient, with bigger battery it will make tremendous difference. And it's not that slow either.. (about 220k in Antutu)
Cant really speak for camera because i dont use it that much but the resulsts i have been getting are more than satisfactory (even at low lighting with night mode)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your fast answer!
Referring to this post the Mi8 also comes with an Samsung AMOLED, though I can't find much other reliable information elsewhere that would support this statement. Phonearena seems to be the only specs listing website that states it, too, as being produced by Samsung. However it's my first AMOLED device and I therefore can't compare to others. I've declared to myself that my next phone definitely would be one for under 200 € and would have to come with an AMOLED screen, which now, thanks to the special offer for the Mi 9 Lite, is met by both devices.
Yeah the battery point is a powerful one. I get 1.5 days of battery lifetime at most with low usage while I got almost 3 days out of my Redmi Note 4 when I didn't use it much.
Also B-S-G - afaik the most popular developer for GCam ports - is developing the GCam specifically for the Mi8 (among other devices) which almost guarantees a most recent and working GCam version for it. But I only can tell that the image quality is way better than it was on my Redmi Note 4, which on the other side just would be very devastating if it wasn't.
It'd also be worth mentioning that due to the different vendors I'd have 2 years warranty for the Mi 8 (Amazon) but none to a maximum of one year for the Mi 9 Lite (Banggood).
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=9065&idPhone2=9862
mi 9 lite:
Under screen Fingerprint sensor is neither fast, neither accurate and not convenient IMO;
I get aprox. 2 days battery life under light usage;
Camera is better than Samsung A50/A70 series, but I don think it is perfect;
It seems it is not primary phone, which gets best support (still android 9 vs mi 8 got android 10 officially);
Display is not perfect, but much better than Mi A3
Ambient light sensor (mounted under screen) does not for as good as on samsung phones;
In 1 month I got 3 random phone crashes /reboot.
I would probably go with mi 8.
what I can tell you about Mi 9 lite is : the screen is top , fingerprint on screen ( no need to turn your phone when on desk ) battery is xxl , microSD port , Irda port ( tv remote ) I use Nova rather than miui launcher and this phone is nearly perfect for what I do.
hey. i've had both. i don't know about the band 28 situation so i can't comment on that.
Let me start by saying that I think CC9/Mi9 lite is a missed opportunity for xiaomi. It was positioned a bit awkwardly for marketing. It's evidently not sold very well and if xda is any indication, community support is also fairly low.
Yet to me it is the most "all-rounded" phone from xiaomi in 2019 (nope, not 9t/9tPro, which are very popular), checking off all the marks for me: samsung oled, great cameras front (better than mi9) and back, beautiful build and design of the Mi9, SD card, headphone jack, big battery, good battery life, midrange prices, etc. To me it was nearly perfect (except perhaps a year old SoC instead of SD730), or as perfect as I expected from Xiaomi anyway.
Except the fact it doesn't have strong community support. I've got it about 3 weeks after its China release. I am still waiting for official pixel experience or any AOSP rom to have stable releases. I am stuck with MIUI variant roms which are stable but I personally crave pure android. That and the fact there isn't a really reliable working GCam support, nor do I know of one in development (please correct me if I'm wrong).
This makes a huge difference because I shoot a lot with the phone cameras. Right now with GCam, I get more technically impressive photos from a lower priced Redmi Note 7 than the oversaturated painting I get from Miui's own cameras, and that's from a technically inferior Samsung GM1 sensor.
As it stands now, it depends on your usage and preferences. I personally wouldn't mind the Mi8 myself, especially if it's cheaper, except they are no longer available in these parts of asia (sold out). I think Mi8's faults are that the 845 isn't as efficient, and the battery is smaller, resulting in less run time. Yet it IS a flagship, which means potentially better build, better parts (it has a LRA vibration motor vs cc9's cheaper rotary motor), world bands gsm (where cc9 has a more regional bands selection), and more community support. The camera is an IMX363, same as on pixel 3 and 3a, so it's no slouch: while it has lower resolution on paper, it really just skipped the need of marketing driven pixel binning by having larger pixels to begin with. (Personally I think the apparent race toward higher megapixels as a strategy for xiaomi is completely misguided if not deliberately misleading). Post processing would be what makes or breaks the results, and with mi8 you can get full GCam support. In fact with pixel experience rom and gcam, you'd probably get nearly identical pixel 3 experience for a bargain. While 4000mah battery would be nice, pixel3/3a does just fine with similarly small sized batteries and oled. So it may just come down to better optimization.
oh, the underscreen fingerprint sensor is just crappy and unreliable. There's a reason why it's not as widely adopted. It's not a miss if you have the capacitive ones instead.
I personally would love a well supported phone, so my pick today might become mi8. As much as I love the cc9/mi9lite, it coming onto the stage too late in the cycle after all bases are covered makes it a bit of an orphan when it comes to development. I don't personally use the headphone jack but I would miss the SD card slot. Screens are similar, brilliant Samsung OLED. In fact I think Mi8 was touted as one of the best displays from Xiaomi in terms of color accuracy. If you don't care as much about community support/aosp roms, and is content with MIUI and its camera app, then CC9 is really as good as they come this year. From the way the new xiaomi phone looks (redmi k30, cc9 pro, rumor of mi10), such thoughtful and balanced design is probably going to be a rarity in the up coming models.
Hope this helps
I agree with the reply above. Had I known that the CC9 has no Camera2 API Level 3 (only "full", which doesn't support all features making GCam development very limited), I'd probably have gone for the Mi 8. They were both at the same price when i bought the CC9, and though I enjoy having a bigger display and battery, most of the time I wonder if I'd be better off with smaller ones but Level 3 API (full support for GCam, which is important to me since I've come from a RN7 that took better pictures than the CC9), a way stronger processor and better build quality. The points that made me choose the CC9 instead were simply the teardrop notch as opposed to the huge forehead on the Mi8 and the bigger battery, as I use the phone to work on the street. Also it's a newer phone. But every now and then I question myself if I made the right decision. You'll have to weigh these points and see what is most important to you and your way of using the phone. But either one you take, you'll be making a tradeoff. Think it through patiently so you don't regret it later.
bomil said:
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=9065&idPhone2=9862
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I pointed out I already compared both phones myself using gsmarena and just summarized the main differences upon which I wasn't able to make a decision.
kesc said:
mi 9 lite:
Under screen Fingerprint sensor is neither fast, neither accurate and not convenient IMO;
I get aprox. 2 days battery life under light usage;
Camera is better than Samsung A50/A70 series, but I don think it is perfect;
It seems it is not primary phone, which gets best support (still android 9 vs mi 8 got android 10 officially);
Display is not perfect, but much better than Mi A3
Ambient light sensor (mounted under screen) does not for as good as on samsung phones;
In 1 month I got 3 random phone crashes /reboot.
I would probably go with mi 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input! I have to say that just recently a colleague ordered and received his Mi 9 Lite and the In-Screen-Fingerprint seems to be quite fast and accurate at first glance.
Camera on the Mi 8 using GCam is amazing. Especially when compared to my old Redmi Note 4.
And as this is my first Amoled it also looks amazing, but I have no comparison.
I also face sudden SystemUI reboots on HavocOS on my Mi8 about once every two to three days.
seities said:
hey. i've had both. i don't know about the band 28 situation so i can't comment on that.
Let me start by saying that I think CC9/Mi9 lite is a missed opportunity for xiaomi. It was positioned a bit awkwardly for marketing. It's evidently not sold very well and if xda is any indication, community support is also fairly low.
Yet to me it is the most "all-rounded" phone from xiaomi in 2019 (nope, not 9t/9tPro, which are very popular), checking off all the marks for me: samsung oled, great cameras front (better than mi9) and back, beautiful build and design of the Mi9, SD card, headphone jack, big battery, good battery life, midrange prices, etc. To me it was nearly perfect (except perhaps a year old SoC instead of SD730), or as perfect as I expected from Xiaomi anyway.
Except the fact it doesn't have strong community support. I've got it about 3 weeks after its China release. I am still waiting for official pixel experience or any AOSP rom to have stable releases. I am stuck with MIUI variant roms which are stable but I personally crave pure android. That and the fact there isn't a really reliable working GCam support, nor do I know of one in development (please correct me if I'm wrong).
This makes a huge difference because I shoot a lot with the phone cameras. Right now with GCam, I get more technically impressive photos from a lower priced Redmi Note 7 than the oversaturated painting I get from Miui's own cameras, and that's from a technically inferior Samsung GM1 sensor.
As it stands now, it depends on your usage and preferences. I personally wouldn't mind the Mi8 myself, especially if it's cheaper, except they are no longer available in these parts of asia (sold out). I think Mi8's faults are that the 845 isn't as efficient, and the battery is smaller, resulting in less run time. Yet it IS a flagship, which means potentially better build, better parts (it has a LRA vibration motor vs cc9's cheaper rotary motor), world bands gsm (where cc9 has a more regional bands selection), and more community support. The camera is an IMX363, same as on pixel 3 and 3a, so it's no slouch: while it has lower resolution on paper, it really just skipped the need of marketing driven pixel binning by having larger pixels to begin with. (Personally I think the apparent race toward higher megapixels as a strategy for xiaomi is completely misguided if not deliberately misleading). Post processing would be what makes or breaks the results, and with mi8 you can get full GCam support. In fact with pixel experience rom and gcam, you'd probably get nearly identical pixel 3 experience for a bargain. While 4000mah battery would be nice, pixel3/3a does just fine with similarly small sized batteries and oled. So it may just come down to better optimization.
oh, the underscreen fingerprint sensor is just crappy and unreliable. There's a reason why it's not as widely adopted. It's not a miss if you have the capacitive ones instead.
I personally would love a well supported phone, so my pick today might become mi8. As much as I love the cc9/mi9lite, it coming onto the stage too late in the cycle after all bases are covered makes it a bit of an orphan when it comes to development. I don't personally use the headphone jack but I would miss the SD card slot. Screens are similar, brilliant Samsung OLED. In fact I think Mi8 was touted as one of the best displays from Xiaomi in terms of color accuracy. If you don't care as much about community support/aosp roms, and is content with MIUI and its camera app, then CC9 is really as good as they come this year. From the way the new xiaomi phone looks (redmi k30, cc9 pro, rumor of mi10), such thoughtful and balanced design is probably going to be a rarity in the up coming models.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow! Thank you so much for your efforts taking time to write such an detailed and honest opinion.
Talking about the Pixel Experience ROM I took a look into that and counting from release date of the Mi 8 it took about 6 months for a stable and official build to be released (May 2018 -> 25th Nov 2018).
Depending on the Mi 9 lite being released in Sep 2019 one could give it 2-3 months from now on compared to the time it took the Mi 8 to get some Official ROM support. As far as I can see the first unofficial custom ROMS for the Mi8 dropped in Oct 2018 which is 5 months after release whereas the first unofficial LOS build appeared just recently for the Mi 9 Lite. Therefore it only took the Mi 9 Lite 4 months to receive its first unofficial LOS build. So it looks like the support and development isn't that bad.
But yet it's still hard to tell how much (xda community) popularity the phone could get in the near future.
For me the battery life is one of the most convincing reason to buy. It was so satisfying to reach up to 3 days with my Redmi Note 4 without having to charge it once. I know this depends on usage but I always got at least 2 days if I wasn't at home gaming on the phone all the day.
Oh and yeah - you name it - the feeling of the vibration motor is so smooth and from the first moment on gives a so much more premium feeling than I experienced with the one in my Redmi Note 4. And yes the fingerprint scanner on the mi 8 is very fast and accurate.
Vinicius Bode said:
I agree with the reply above. Had I known that the CC9 has no Camera2 API Level 3 (only "full", which doesn't support all features making GCam development very limited), I'd probably have gone for the Mi 8. They were both at the same price when i bought the CC9, and though I enjoy having a bigger display and battery, most of the time I wonder if I'd be better off with smaller ones but Level 3 API (full support for GCam, which is important to me since I've come from a RN7 that took better pictures than the CC9), a way stronger processor and better build quality. The points that made me choose the CC9 instead were simply the teardrop notch as opposed to the huge forehead on the Mi8 and the bigger battery, as I use the phone to work on the street. Also it's a newer phone. But every now and then I question myself if I made the right decision. You'll have to weigh these points and see what is most important to you and your way of using the phone. But either one you take, you'll be making a tradeoff. Think it through patiently so you don't regret it later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting point. But isn't this just depending on the ROM/software or is this a hardware issue?
I already somehow adapted to the forehead notch. I found it quite ugly the first to days. And it still is. The teardrop notch definitely is way more attractive. I guess it's missing the IR front camera, though (not that it would be that important/useful). And are the speaker, proximity sensor as well as light sensor positioned under the Amoled somewhere?
Hi all,
I have not been on the forums for a looong time.
I am about to upgrade from my P20 pro and I am trying to decide between the iPhone 12 Pro max, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xiaomi Mi11 Ultra.
The problem with the iPhone for me is the display refresh rate, the fingerprint scanner and the OS. I prefer Android and I prefer 120Hz refresh rate.
I am leaning towards both android choices. However I have watched all reviews and comparisons I could between these phones on youtube and I have a few issues:
1. I think I did not see a single review with the latest Mi 11 Ultra firmware and the xiaomi.eu ROM. This is bugging me because I cannot see a comparison with the latest updates on the cameras.
2. From the videos I watched it seems the selfie camera on the Mi 11 Ultra is a real letdown. And the rear camera used to take selfies also seem to produce bad results.
Can anyone who has used both phones give an honest opinion please?
Or someone who is using the latest firmware explain the impact of the updates since the release of the phone?
Thank you!
Buy iphone 12 pro max. Is good everywhere
avetny said:
Buy iphone 12 pro max. Is good everywhere
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sad to hear this to be honest, but somehow I was always seeing things in both Android phones especially in video recording that were annoying as hell.
Or maybe I wait for Pixel 6 to see ...
I don't have a S21 Ultra or iPhone 12 Pro Max but I do have a P40 Pro which I still thought was the best camera phone to date.
When I bought Mi 11 Ultra, I was close to returning it because I couldn't be more disappointed by its camera performance after hearing how amazing this new sensor is. I wanted to wait for the P50 Pro even if it did not have Google app support as the camera is my #1 priority and I'm a light app user.
However, it's been a month or two and even being on CN stable firmware the camera has improved massively and I no longer regret my decision and have little complaints overall about the phone. I took a lot of sample shots on slightly older firmware in my main thread and overall I'm very pleased with the results and it can only keep improving given it's not even officially out still in some countries.
I'm now on v12.5.7 and to give you a rough idea of all the updates I received on the CN model, I've gotten at least 5 updates since receiving it. Most YouTubers such as MKBHD and MrWhosetheboss were still on early stock firmware that had no camera improvements and optimizations, while they compared it to the S21U and iPhone 12 Pro Max which were all well optimized by then. This meant their results weren't that great or convincing.
kyero985 said:
I don't have a S21 Ultra or iPhone 12 Pro Max but I do have a P40 Pro which I still thought was the best camera phone to date.
When I bought Mi 11 Ultra, I was about to return it because I couldn't be more disappointed by its camera performance after hearing how amazing this new sensor is. I was considering waiting for the P50 Pro even if it did not have Google app support as the camera is my main priority and I don't use it a lot of apps anyway.
However, it's been a month or two and even being on CN stable firmware the camera has improved massively and I no longer regret my decision. I took some sample shots on slightly older firmware but I'm still very pleased with the results and it can only keep improving given it's not even officially out still in some countries.
I'm now sitting on 12.5.7 and to give you a rough idea of all the updates I received on the CN model, I've gotten at least 5 updates to date. Most reviewers including MKBHD and MrWhosetheboss were still on early stock firmware that had no camera improvements and optimizations, while they compared it to the S21U and iPhone 12 Pro Max which were all well optimized by then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What improved in the camera?
Also what do you think about the selfies? Be it with front or back camera
m2]iceman said:
What improved in the camera?
Also what do you think about the selfies? Be it with front or back camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything improved across the board with one of the main updates that rolled out. Here's one which got the most attention that the majority of reviewers from what I've seen never got to test: https://min.news/en/tech/590f98d68b0fdbb259d5fd644b74d23c.html
There's been at least two more updates that were released after that one even they didn't mention camera improvements specifically. As for selfies, I don't take enough of them to say but I generally use the rear camera with the viewfinder for the best quality and it definitely delivers the results since the front one isn't great.
m2]iceman said:
Hi all,
I have not been on the forums for a looong time.
I am about to upgrade from my P20 pro and I am trying to decide between the iPhone 12 Pro max, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xiaomi Mi11 Ultra.
The problem with the iPhone for me is the display refresh rate, the fingerprint scanner and the OS. I prefer Android and I prefer 120Hz refresh rate.
I am leaning towards both android choices. However I have watched all reviews and comparisons I could between these phones on youtube and I have a few issues:
1. I think I did not see a single review with the latest Mi 11 Ultra firmware and the xiaomi.eu ROM. This is bugging me because I cannot see a comparison with the latest updates on the cameras.
2. From the videos I watched it seems the selfie camera on the Mi 11 Ultra is a real letdown. And the rear camera used to take selfies also seem to produce bad results.
Can anyone who has used both phones give an honest opinion please?
Or someone who is using the latest firmware explain the impact of the updates since the release of the phone?
Thank you!
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Just so you understand, the Xiaomi EU ROM is based on the Chinese stable or weekly beta ROMS. There are plenty of added extras on this against any of the stock versions but the EU Devs don't write any apps, just apply their template to the relevant release. So whatever the status is of the equivalent Chinese stock ROM will be the same version on the EU ROM.
I came from Huawei too, my last being the P40Pro Plus and my first Xiaomi was the 10 Ultra and I was very pleased and that continues with the 11 Ultra. I have used stock Chinese and Global ROMs with the 11 Ultra and just love the EU version. I use the weekly branch and have had no issues at all. It is a very good all round phone and matches if not surpasses the Huawei. I had to give in me due to the lack of GMS and locked bootloaders. It was such a shame when they went down that road. Thankfully Xiaomi don't mind if you unlock but do make you wait 7 days to complete the process but once unlocked, you can swap to any stock or custom ROMs you want. Telegram has groups making camera mods and of course you can use a g-cam variant too but for me stock EU camera is pretty dam good. Multicam, super moon, slow-mo, time lapse and more.
There are a few camera comparisons against the iPhone 12 about and I think the 11 Ultra is as good or not better in some but really it's down to Android verses Apple. Make the choice that suits but I think as a user's phone, the 11 Ultra is the better choice against a phone you can never tweak with Apples.
Buy Mi11 Ultra
Things like 67W charging, IR blaster, rear display, amazing camera trick features, you won't find this on any iPhone or Samsung, the customization on Xiaomi is unrivalled, nothing else comes close.
I switched from Note 20 Ultra to Mi11 Ultra and I am never going back to Samsung.
Also, the fingerprint sensor on Samsung Note 20 Ultra was terrible, the fingerprint on my Xiaomi Mi11 Ultra works literally every single time, it has not failed once. And I love the super wallpapers so much
This is an incredibly hard question to answer. Nobody can answer you objectively.
I have always had 2 phones - an android and an iPhone. I've only recently got the 11Ultra, coming from a Note 20. I also have a 12 Pro Max.
The mi is incredibly smooth - far more so than the iPhone. But I hated the Chinese underpinnings which you could never quite get rid of. Moving to the EU ROM today has sorted that.
What of the cameras? I'm still testing. I only started with my mi on 12.5.4 and then 12.5.7 so I missed the early firmware. They've always been very good. But so is the iPhone. The iPhone is also incredibly consistent in so many situations. The mi is phenomenal in good light - I just haven't yet been able to test it much in poor light yet, although I'm pleased with the initial results, I have to say.
The fast charging sealed the deal for me
The cooling is also better so it gets consistently higher scores from the SD 888 without throttling it down 10-20%
I would agree someone needs to do another test on YouTube when the phone and rear display has been optimized and fully functional
All the tests were done on pre release software vs optimized s21u and iPhone which was hardly fair
Honestly, apart from the design, this Xiami 11 Ultra is the best of the best (I only prefer Samsung for the phone design, but I like the Xiami too). It has a lot of potential and is blazing fast. Also the display is astonishing, and speaker quality incredible. I would recommend this phone to everyone.
m2]iceman said:
Hi all,
I have not been on the forums for a looong time.
I am about to upgrade from my P20 pro and I am trying to decide between the iPhone 12 Pro max, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Xiaomi Mi11 Ultra.
The problem with the iPhone for me is the display refresh rate, the fingerprint scanner and the OS. I prefer Android and I prefer 120Hz refresh rate.
I am leaning towards both android choices. However I have watched all reviews and comparisons I could between these phones on youtube and I have a few issues:
1. I think I did not see a single review with the latest Mi 11 Ultra firmware and the xiaomi.eu ROM. This is bugging me because I cannot see a comparison with the latest updates on the cameras.
2. From the videos I watched it seems the selfie camera on the Mi 11 Ultra is a real letdown. And the rear camera used to take selfies also seem to produce bad results.
Can anyone who has used both phones give an honest opinion please?
Or someone who is using the latest firmware explain the impact of the updates since the release of the phone?
Thank you!
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This youtuber comparing with Miui 12.5.4
I thought it would be interesting to compare camera performance of these two beasts.
Found this review by Han.
Not so bad
maxel77 said:
Not so bad
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I have seen that video yesterday already and I think in the end it's all personal preference. Both phones have their pros and cons and I think in my case the 13u is the better deal.
After seeing many comparisons I see the photos and videos of the xiaomi too saturated wanting to imitate the iPhone and samsung
P6P said:
I have seen that video yesterday already and I think in the end it's all personal preference. Both phones have their pros and cons and I think in my case the 13u is the better deal.
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They are at the same level but Xiaomi 13 ultra has been launched 6-7 months later than Vivo which is a long time in this market. I suppose that when Vivo X100 Pro Plus will be launched in November It would be a better deal
maxel77 said:
They are at the same level but Xiaomi 13 ultra has been launched 6-7 months later than Vivo which is a long time in this market. I suppose that when Vivo X100 Pro Plus will be launched in November It would be a better deal
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No doubts the next vivo will have a better camera setup than the x90 pro plus. But if you look further Samsung will release their next flagship again in February 2024 which could be better than x100 pro plus. It's an endless loop and basically you can always wait and never buy. That's why I said it's personal preference.
maxel77 said:
They are at the same level but Xiaomi 13 ultra has been launched 6-7 months later than Vivo which is a long time in this market. I suppose that when Vivo X100 Pro Plus will be launched in November It would be a better deal
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There is a good possibility for the x100pp to launch in Q1/Q2 2024. Similar to how Xiaomi did it with their 11,12 and 13 line up.
On color os china, on oppo x6 pro, do always on display show all notifications or just stock sms and missed calls (as on vivo originos)?
I would like to buy this device especially for its camera that I consider superior even to the Xiaomi Mi 13 ultra. I come from years of Xiaomi, with some problems but nothing serious and I have always unlocked, flashed rom of my liking and rooted. I thought it could be done also on Vivo but it seems not and then I do not know if it is convenient the X90 pp or the certainty of being able to do everything on the Mi 13 ultra...
if you're used to rooting forget Origin OS. It's a prison cage like iOS. Most of their huge settings menu is only related to functions 3rd party apps can do better anyhow like launcher or similar.
And removing apps with adb is getting more and more painful each software update. If you live outside Europa an import Xiaomi 13 Ultra is a no brainer vs Vivo. Also gcam support is much better on Xiaomi.
On stock camera the Vivo only has advantage in 2.2-4x zoom range and at night. The front camera of both sucks for the segment, but is even worse on Xiaomi. Especially the ultra wide is far superior on Xiamo 13Ultra.. However with Find X6 Pro at same price - I would always chose that one over the Vivo - and the software on the Oppo isn't as crappy as Vivo when it comes to dark mode/notifications (that will even get worse when vivo.pem cannot be removed anymore in future). At night except for main camera the Find X6 Pro is way above both others.
A good review of 2023 phones cameras is here (Vivo based on the beta firmware with Demo-X)
(pretty sure subtitles are coming soon) - and xiaobai is a lot more objective than most english youtubers that live in China.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra is the only Chinese phone that gets the preview quite okay, not as good as Iphone 14 Pro but much better than the rest of the market when it comes to lowlight or HDR.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra ultrawide is better than X90PP? Even with smaller sensor? Why?
(sorry, without subtitles I can't understand what is said in the video)
Look at the model number. At Sony the first number is about the positioning. Size of sensor isn't everything. The ultrawide on the vivo is a much cheaper sensor vs Xiaomi.
Yeah Sony claimed the sensor was improved despite being smaller, but sometimes that's just marketing nonsense. Glad to see that the IMX858 is actually good.
Another problem that the X90PP has is bad demosaicing while calculating the 12MP image from the 48/50MP quad-bayer raw data. That leads to "smushy" textures. Apple for example does this waaaaay better, GCam too. It's especially noticeable in combination with an ultra-wide lens.
I'm really looking forward to the subtitles!!
imx 598 is more or less a imx 586 - basically 5 year old tech. besides size and therefore not too bad at low light - it's really not a modern sensor anymore. it was back then mainly used as a main sensor for midrangers...
Cannot compete with a smaller but modern 858 or even less with the IMX 890 sensor on the Oppo Find X6 Pro (which is a 2022 mid range main sensor)
The video now has subtitles. BTW Huawei P60 Pro tiny bit ahead of Xiaomi 13 Ultra overall - Oppo a bit behind - and then Vivo, ahead of Honor and then Iphone is the conclusion.
The main problems for Vivo being the boring images (you see everything - suitable for beginners or pixel peeping - but not good for interesting pictures) - the low light abilties of the zoom lens (usually at night it uses main sensor up to 5x) and the ultrawide. Strong point for Vivo are portraits (best after Huawei) and lowlight on main lens. Vivo choses the easiest option of boosting pictures brightness overall - which gives images that do well in blind tests - but transport no athmosphere. The comparison is only about photo - not video. Otherwise Iphone wouldn't be last. And yeah this review isn't about front camera - because Iphone is way better there.
With Huawei a total no go without any kind of google services for most users and no 5G- the camera king right now is clearly Xiaomi 13 Ultra - especially as you can use a global OS - or even buy a global version with proper warrranty and the longest promised software support for chinese manufacturers right now - the software situation of course also applying to chinese version after unlock and flash of global OS (not xiaomi.eu which is based on Chinese OS). The Oppo is better than Vivo because of far superior ultrawide/zoom lens in the dark (but worse when zoomed over 5x). The Magic 5 Pro doesn't make too much sense anymore - as the Xiaomi 13 Ultra is now also available globally (or very soon). Iphone well - that's apples to oranges besides the camera. A proper macro mode of course also is missing from X90PP while Huawei/Xiaomi have one.
BTW in a newer video no subs yet - Xiaobai is not recommending Huawei P60 Pro for buying. Oppo Find X6 Pro is the 4500-6000RMB choice. Iphone 14 Pro Max, S23U, Xiaomi 13Ultra and X90Pro+ get the recommendation above 6000RMB (phones are categorized by list price - and while X90Pro+ is actually cheaper than Find X6 Pro and Xioami 13U - the list price of Find X6 Pro was cheaper). For Xiobai S23U is the best android phone besides the camera (and Samsung clearly doesn't pay him - Samsung has a difficult standing in China right now much more pricey than domestic brands, unlike Europe/USA where Samsung is cheaper than the global models of Chinese flagships)
BTW - the Xiaomi 13 Ultra manual F-Stop is still problematic for user experience. They need to work on it still. Huawei is much advanced there. It's pretty solid in rumors Vivo X100 Pro+ will get variable aperture too (but unknown if variable one like Huawei or 2 stops like Xiaomi)
Oh yeah and Xiaobai vs for example Hans Tech Talk is like take someone who is a world difference in objectiveness and professionalism. There's a good reason why Xiaobai is the undisputed most reknown smartphone camera reviewer in China (though his battery life review has no relevance at all except for gamers. )