(Attention: Xiaomi does not officially import the following devices to the US. The prices mentioned in the article are approximate conversions of the MSRP and they may not reflect the market price in the US. All of the affiliate links included are from third-party sellers and may not represent the MSRP. The devices may not include a warranty or support your carrier. Please pay additional attention if you wish to buy one of the devices. If you still wish to buy a Xiaomi device check our dedicated guide here).
The best Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones in 2022
| Editor’s choice | Best value-for-money | Best gaming option | Cheapest option | Best price-performance ratio | Value-for-money alternative | Another value-for-money alternative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Poco F4 GT | Poco F4 | |||||
| Image |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Pros |
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Cons |
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Rating | Read the Xiaomi 12 Pro review | Read the Xiaomi 11T Pro review | Read the Poco F4 GT review |
|
Not yet rated | Not yet rated | Not yet rated |
| Offer* |
– |
– |
Update note: After the release of the Poco X4 GT and Poco F4, we included both in this list.
Jump to:
Recommended Xiaomi smartphones by NextPit in 2022
Listed here are both Xiaomi and Redmi smartphones that the NextPit editorial staff has recommended. For each price range from $200 all the way to a lofty $1,000, we put our best choice forward. As you would have noticed, there was a deliberate choice not to include Poco smartphones in this comparison.
For transparency reasons, decisions were linked to editorial reasons, in order to provide us with additional time to review more Poco models that were released this year. We will of course devote a dedicated comparison to Poco models in the future.
The best choice in 2022: Xiaomi 12 Pro
Check out NextPit’s full review of the Xiaomi Mi 12 Pro
The Xiaomi 12 Pro is Xiaomi’s most expensive smartphone this year (that might change soon with the Xiaomi 12 Ultra). But the smartphone has attracted a lot of criticism with its price of around $999.
Ok, Xiaomi has raised its prices, but here we have a very competitive Android flagship with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, a very nice 6.7-inch AMOLED display in WQHD+, and 120 Hz adaptive. The Xiaomi 12 Pro also accepts 120-watt charging, with the compatible adapter included in the box.
My colleague Camila Rinaldi was able to test it out and gave it a 4 out of 5 score. Camila found that the Xiaomi 12 Pro offers excellent performance, one of the most advanced charging solutions on the market, and a competitive camera module. My colleague, on the other hand, regretted the lack of an IP68 rating, the unique non-expandable 256GB storage configuration, and bloatware that is not worthy of a high-end smartphone at around a thousand bucks.
The best gaming flagship: Poco F4 GT
Check out NextPit’s full review of the Poco F4 GT on NextPit
The Poco F4 GT positions itself in the upper mid-range segment comfortably. It’s not a full-fledged flagship like a Xiaomi 12, but it sets the right tone with its specifications that go all out when it comes to performance and multimedia content.
It is a smartphone made for gaming, armed with a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, a 120 Hz AMOLED display, and very good temperature control. The smartphone won’t overheat even during long gaming sessions and you can play all your games at a constant 60 frames per second. The Poco F4 GT has a very special feature – retractable physical triggers are very nice to use.
Its 4,700 mAh battery isn’t the longest lasting on the market, but it more than makes up for it with its 120-watt Hyper Charge fast charger. Going from 0 to 100% in 25 minutes is what’s known in the industry as a “game changer.” If you’re looking for a premium smartphone with MIUI that’s more suited for gaming than photography, I think the Poco F4 GT is the best choice.
The best choice in 2022: Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro
Read NextPit’s Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro review
The Xiaomi 11T Pro has almost all the good points of the Xiaomi Mi 11, which happens to be the manufacturer’s flagship device, with very few compromises made that are rather forgivable in my opinion. However, my colleague Ben who reviewed the device was not so forgiving, hence the 3.5-star rating.
The 120Hz AMOLED display sports a Full HD+ definition and not WQHD+ like the Mi 11. The triple 108MP camera module has slightly lower resolution sensors but boasts larger apertures. We also lose out when it comes to wireless and reverse charging compared to the Mi 11.
But on the flip side, the Xiaomi 11T offers a larger 5,000 mAh battery (vs. 4,600 mAh), wired charging at 120 watts (vs. 65 watts) as well as an extended update policy with up to 3 major Android versions and 4 years of security patches, which is a record for the Chinese manufacturer. With a starting price of $629 on various online retailers, I definitely prefer this model to the classic Xiaomi Mi 11 still sold for $640 thereabouts.
Best value for money: Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G
The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is an ultra-competitive mid-range device, at least on paper. / © NextPitIf we ignore its absurd name, the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is the smartphone with the best price/performance ratio in this selection. For less than $500, we get a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ and 120 Hz adaptive, a MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC, a 108 MP triple photo module, and a 4500 mAh battery that accepts 120-watt charging.
In short, the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G ticks almost all the boxes to rule the mid-range segment. We haven’t had a chance to review it yet, but on paper, it’s definitely the most cost-effective model in this selection.
The price-performance alternative: Poco X4 GT
As an alternative to the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G, we recommend the Poco X4 GT, which is available for less than $400. This handset carries a few weaknesses like a LCD display instead of an AMOLED slab and a rather mediocre camera configuration. However, the overall impression of this smartphone is a really good one because this Poco handset makes compromises in the right places.
The LCD panel makes for a pretty decent screen and even offers a 144 hertz refresh rate. The primary camera delivers great results (at least during the day), and there is a fat 5,080 mAh battery to go with it, which can also be charged quickly at 67 watts.
The MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC delivers a more than a solid performance, armed with 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage space that is, unfortunately, non-expandable. The rather limited update policy is also something to be aware of in this model. Otherwise, there is really not much to criticize about this device.
Another price-performance alternative: Poco F4
As an alternative with a very good price-to-performance ratio, we recommend the Poco F4, which was released alongside the Poco X4 GT. This is because it offers a super-smooth AMOLED display with a high refresh rate of 120 hertz. In addition, you can expect a solid primary camera, a strong performance thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, and a rather impressive 67 watt quick-charging capability.
Unfortunately, you will have to settle for a miserable 2-megapixel macro camera for a price of $400. For cost reasons, the manufacturer ditches wireless charging and IP certification as usual. What is unusual in the mid-range market, however, is the lack of a 3.5 mm jack and support for microSD memory cards.
The best cheap smartphone: Redmi Note 11
Every single year, Xiaomi renews its entry-level range with a Redmi. The Redmi Note 11 is the base model among the 5 variations that this range currently has. It is slightly more premium than the Redmi 10 launched by Xiaomi this year (not to be confused with the Redmi Note 10).
Thus, for less than $300, we have a 6.43-inch AMOLED screen in Full HD+ and 90 Hz. The large 5000 mAh battery promises very good autonomy and still charges at 33 watts. The Snapdragon 690 SoC should allow a mainly utilitarian use, especially since it must deal with 4 GB of RAM.
We’ll have to wait until we can finally test it to find out more about the performance of the quad 50 MP camera module and its classic 2 MP macro and depth sensors that we love, needless to say!
Between Xiaomi and Redmi: Which do you pick in 2022?
If we were to take Xiaomi and Redmi into consideration, we have to consider them as two distinct brands and two ranges within the same catalog. Yes, I know, it’s complicated, but basically, Xiaomi is slightly more premium overall than Redmi.
However, there are times when Redmi’s flagship range is sometimes more interesting than Xiaomi’s entry-level handsets. For example, the Redmi Note 11 Pro at $280 is more competitive than the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite at $300. By the way, we asked you in our survey if you still feel comfortable with Xiaomi—and the answer was a big fat NO.
Top of the range
Let’s start with Xiaomi’s flagship range. These are the top-of-the-range smartphones of the manufacturer with, generally, the most premium technical specifications. The flagship of the range is the Xiaomi 12 Pro with its vanilla version, the Xiaomi 12. But the range will also come in several versions more or less premium in the coming months, as was the case with the Xiaomi Mi 11 last year and its versions Mi 11 Ultra, Mi 11i, Mi 11 Lite 5G, and Mi 11 Lite.
Moving down the hierarchy we arrive at the Mi Note. Here too it comes in several models as last year with the Xiaomi Mi Note 10, the Mi Note 10 Lite, and the Mi Note 10 Pro. It remains to be seen whether Xiaomi will renew this range this year or not, knowing that there was no Xiaomi Note 11 last year and that Redmi seems to have absorbed it.
Mid-range
If we take Xiaomi as the global scale brand, the manufacturer that is, Redmi constitutes the mid-range of its catalog, but if we consider Xiaomi and Redmi as two brands, Redmi also has its own sub-ranges, from flagships to entry-level.
Redmi’s top-of-the-line, which corresponds to Xiaomi’s mid-range, is the Redmi Note. They too come in several numbered versions like the Redmi Note 11, Note 11S, Note 11 Pro, Note 11 Pro 5G, and Note 11 Pro+ 5G, from the basic to the most premium model.
Entry-level
Next up are the Redmi all-in-ones, which is the entry-level with the Redmi 10 this year. Here again, we’ll probably see variations of the Redmi 10A, which is more affordable, and a Redmi 10C, an intermediate model. Well, at least there you are sure to be on entry-level models of Xiaomi and Redmi.
The Poco catalog
Poco is a rather unusual sub-brand. The brand seems to be quite independent of Xiaomi compared to Redmi. Within the Poco catalog, you can again find further differences and classes based on a wide price range.
The Poco F models, like the Poco F4 GT, are the flagship models, being the most powerful and expensive smartphones from the manufacturer. The Poco X like the Poco X4 Pro 5G represent Poco’s mid-range price segment, with smartphones that place more emphasis on the quality of the screen and the camera. The Poco M like the Poco M4 Pro make up Poco’s entry-level segment, with prices of less than $200 while offering more limited (but still functional) specifications, in addition to a longer battery life.
Poco smartphones are less popular outside of Asia though. You are more likely to find a Xiaomi or Redmi device in a store than a Poco device. On the other hand, Poco models are the Xiaomi models that usually see the biggest price drops over time.
Xiaomi and Redmi
| Model | Price (varies) |
|---|---|
| Xiaomi 12 Pro | $1,119.90 |
| Xiaomi 12 | $909.90 |
| Xiaomi 11T Pro | $569.90 |
| Xiaomi 11T | $469.90 |
| Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE | $349.90 |
| Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G | $449.90 |
| Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G | $369.90 |
| Redmi Note 11 Pro | $329.90 |
| Redmi Note 11S 5G | $249.90 |
| Redmi Note 11 | $199.90 |
| Redmi 10 | $179.90 |
That’s it for this selection of the best Xiaomi smartphones to choose as of August 2022. What do you think of NextPit’s choices? Which model should be in this comparison that you think we didn’t mention? What is YOUR candidate for the best Xiaomi or Redmi smartphone in 2022? Tell us all about it in the comments!
List updated in August 2022. The comments prior to the update have been retained.
