Xiaomi Mi 11 has a Snapdragon 888 chip, 108

As promised a week ago, Xiaomi on Monday launched the world's first smartphone with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip — the Xiaomi Mi 11.

The phone was announced at an event in China — sorry folks, global launch is yet to come — and will become available in China on Jan. 1.

Besides sporting Qualcomm's latest and greatest mobile processor, the Mi 11 is a typical Xiaomi flagship, with some very strong features that will make you question why you ever considered buying a pricier flagship phone, but also with a few compromises to keep the price down.

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Xiaomi Mi 11 has an absolutely massive main camera lens on the back. Credit: xiaomi

The Mi 11 has a 6.81-inch AMOLED display with a 3,200 x 1,440 pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. There's an imposing triple rear camera on the back, with a 108-megapixel main sensor, a 13-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, and a 5-megapixel telephoto sensor. The camera is capable of 8K video recording at 30fps, On the front, there's a 20-megapixel shooter, located in a tiny hole in the upper middle part of the display.

Xiaomi Mi 11 can come with a leather back or there's a special edition variant with textured glass. Credit: xiaomi

The phone comes with 8/12GB of RAM and 128/256GB of storage memory. It has a 4,600mAh battery with 55W wired fast charging, 50W wireless charging, and 10W reverse wireless charging. Other interesting features include Harman Kardon-branded dual stereo speakers, AI-enhanced video shooting mode for very dark environments, and a pretty wide color selection, which includes black, white, and blue as well as an optional leather back in khaki or smoke purple.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi's Apple Watch clone costs $61, has 9-day battery life

One thing that's missing — besides an official water resistance rating — is the Pro version of the phone. This year, instead of launching several variants of its flagship, Xiaomi is only launching one, the Mi 11. Fortunately, this one seems plenty powerful and will be a great test for just how good the new Snapdragon chip is.

Xiaomi Mi 11 starts at 3,999 yuan ($612) in China; there's no word on international pricing or availability yet.