Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra has a second display on its huge camera bump

Xiaomi pulled out all the digital stops Monday to show off one of its smartphone crown jewels, the Mi 11 Ultra, as part of a two-day launch event that saw the Chinese company also debut its first foldable phone. The Mi 11 Ultra, announced alongside the Mi 11 Lite and Mi 11 Lite 5G, is brimming with the kind of top-of-the-line specs you might expect from one of the highest profile Android phones of 2021. 

But its standout feature is a second screen, a feature that’s even more unusual when you consider the Mi 11 Ultra is not a foldable phone.

There’s a display on the front, of course — a 6.81-inch AMOLED panel. But there’s also a second, tiny screen located on the huge camera bump, to the right of the three rear cameras. That display takes the form of 1.1-inch AMOLED, which Xiaomi says is useful for info and alerts like battery life, the time and incoming calls if the phone is face down. More importantly, it displays selfie previews, meaning you can rely on the Mi 11 Ultra’s three “pro-grade” rear cameras for taking selfies. 

The Mi 11 Ultra’s rear camera module consists of a 50-megapixel main sensor as well as a 48-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 48-megapixel periscope-style telephoto lens. Text on the gargantuan camera bump lists “120x,” which surpasses Samsung’s signature 100x Space Zoom feature seen on recent Ultra versions of the S20, S21 and Note 20. Plus it has 10x optical zoom, making the Mi 11 Ultra a veritable zoom king. 

As you would expect of a flagship, the Mi 11 Ultra has a laundry list of top-notch specs too: a crystalline display; the fastest Android processor around, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888; a large 5,000-mAh battery; a set of stereo speakers co-developed by Harman Kardon; and a trifecta of fast-charging support. Xiaomi’s Mi 11, launched internationally earlier this year, shares a number of these features including the processor, display, and speakers. 

New to Mi 11 Ultra, and Xiaomi’s broader Mi line, is an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. A “pressure relief valve” is key in helping the device withstand water submersion for for 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5m, according to the company.

Xiaomi didn’t announce prices outside of China yet, but the 256GB version, which is the model launching internationally, will sell for 6,499 yuan (around $990, £715 or AU$1,295). For more details, take a look at specs chart below.