Xiaomi Mi 11 vs Google Pixel 6a
Here we compared two flagship smartphones: the 6.81-inch Xiaomi Mi 11 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G) that was released on December 28, 2020, against the Google Pixel 6a, which is powered by Google Tensor and came out 16 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Xiaomi Mi 11
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- Has a 0.71 inch larger screen size
- Handles wireless charging up to 50W
- Supports higher wattage charging (55W versus 18W)
- Thinner bezels – 8.4% more screen real estate
- Has 2 SIM card slots
- 20% higher pixel density (515 vs 429 PPI)
- Reverse charging feature
- Has a built-in infrared port
Reasons to consider the Google Pixel 6a
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- Shows 26% longer battery life (32:11 vs 25:31 hours)
- The phone is 1-year and 4-months newer
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
- Weighs 18 grams less
- Ready for eSIM technology
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Value for money
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | AMOLED | OLED |
| Size | 6.81 inches | 6.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3200 pixels | 1080 x 2400 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 20:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 515 ppi | 429 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 900 nits | 500 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1100 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 91.4% | 83% |
| Display features |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 96.9% |
| PWM | - | 240 Hz |
| Response time | - | 3 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 164.3 mm (6.47 inches) | 152.2 mm (5.99 inches) |
| Width | 74.6 mm (2.94 inches) | 71.8 mm (2.83 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.1 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 196 g (6.91 oz) | 178 g (6.28 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | IP67 |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Blue, Green, Purple | White, Black, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G | Google Tensor |
| Max clock | 2840 MHz | 2800 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) | 8 (2 + 2 + 4) |
| Architecture |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 680 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 3 cores at 2.42 GHz: Kryo 680 Gold (Cortex-A78) - 1 core at 2.84 GHz: Kryo 680 Prime (Cortex-X1) |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex A55
- 2 cores at 2.25 GHz: Cortex A76 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-X1 |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | 4 MB |
| Lithography process | 5 nanometers | 5 nanometers |
| Graphics | Adreno 660 | Mali-G78 MP20 |
| GPU shading units | 1024 | 1280 |
| GPU clock | 840 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~1622 GFLOPS | ~2170.9 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 246540 | - |
| GPU | 272062 | - |
| Memory | 162285 | - |
| UX | 191481 | 913000 |
| Total score | 878675 | 914585 |
3DMark Wild Life Performance
| Max surface temperature | - | 41.4 °C |
| Stability | 91% | 56% |
| Graphics test | 30 FPS | 37 FPS |
| Graphics score | 5037 | 6194 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 11329 | 6177 |
| Video editing | 7611 | 5806 |
| Photo editing | 28453 | 17969 |
| Data manipulation | 9842 | 9425 |
| Writing score | 14880 | 15432 |
Memory
| RAM size | 8, 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 2750 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) | Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | MIUI 14 | Stock Android |
| OS size | - | 14.3 GB |
Battery
| Capacity | 4600 mAh | 4410 mAh |
| Max charge power | 55 W | 18 W |
| Battery type | Li-Po | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (50 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (83% in 30 min) | Yes (42% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:50 hr | 1:51 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:45 hr | 10:54 hr |
| Watching video | 10:58 hr | 16:44 hr |
| Gaming | 03:56 hr | 06:05 hr |
| Standby | 98 hr | 91 hr |
General battery life
Camera
| Matrix | 108 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 12032 x 9204 | 4032 x 3024 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | Dual LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (1080p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 114° |
| Lenses | 3 (108 MP + 13 MP + 5 MP) | 2 (12.2 MP + 12 MP) |
| Wide (main) lens |
- 108 MP
- Aperture: f/1.9 - Focal length: 26 mm - Pixel size: 0.8 micron - Sensor: 1/1.33", Samsung Bright S5KHMX (ISOCELL Plus CMOS) - Phase autofocus - Optical stabilization |
- 12.2 MP
- Aperture: f/1.7 - Focal length: 27 mm - Pixel size: 1.4 micron - Sensor: 1/2.55", Sony IMX363 (Exmor-RS CMOS) - Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) - Optical stabilization |
| Ultra-wide lens |
- 13 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/3.06", Omnivision OV13B10 (PureCel) |
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2 - Focal length: 17 mm - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/2.9", Sony IMX386 (Exmor-RS CMOS) |
| Macro lens |
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4 - Pixel size: 1.12 micron - Sensor: 1/5", Samsung S5K5E9 (ISOCELL CMOS) |
- |
| Camera features |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode - RAW support |
| Samples | Photo samples of Xiaomi Mi 11 from DxOMark | Photo samples of Google Pixel 6a from DxOMark |
| Megapixels | 20 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 5380 x 3620 | 3840 x 2160 |
| Aperture | f/2.3 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 27 mm | 24 mm |
| Pixel size | 0.8 microns | 1.12 microns |
| Sensor type | ISOCELL CMOS | Exmor-RS CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1/3.4" | 1/2.8" |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
DxOMark camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic camera score
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth features | LE, A2DP | LE, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 3.1 |
| USB features |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS, NAVIC | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC * | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | Yes | No |
| Number of SIM * | 2 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | - |
| eSIM support * | No | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat * | 24 | 20 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | No | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | December 2020 | May 2022 |
| Release date | January 2021 | June 2022 |
| Sensors |
- Hall-effect sensor
- Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Barometer
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | - | Not included |
*
Disclaimer!
NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, connectivity, and software are more important to you, then choose the Xiaomi Mi 11 . But if the gaming, battery life, design, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Google Pixel 6a .