The Xiaomi 11T Pro is now available for pre-order in Malaysia, and just like most Xiaomi smartphones, its sheer value for money is the best selling point of this phone. After all, the 11T Pro is a Snapdragon 888 phone for only RM2,099 – this is one of the most affordable smartphones in the market now with such a chipset.

Aside from that, other aspects of the 11T Pro are really quite good too, including blazing fast charging speed. If a phone with flagship-class performance for half the price catches your fancy, keep on reading this hands-on of the 11T Pro.

First, let’s talk about the different variants of the 11T Pro. Two configurations of the phone are available here in Malaysia: the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM costs RM2,099, while the other 256GB variant with more RAM at 12GB goes for RM2,299 – very competitive price tags for a Snapdragon 888 phone.

Beyond the different RAM capacity, both configurations of the 11T Pro have the exact same hardware. These include a 6.67-inch 1080p AMOLED display with a fast 120Hz refresh rate, a rather sophisticated camera system (108MP primary sensor + 8MP ultra-wide angle + 5MP telemacro lens), and a 16MP selfie camera.

Aside from that, the 11T Pro also features a generous 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W Xiaomi HyperCharge; this can supposedly fully charge the phone in only 17 minutes. While the 11T is not the first phone to come with this level of charging speed, it’s certainly impressive that a phone at this price point sports such a feature.

Naturally, I wanted to see if the 11T Pro can really be fully charged in only 17 minutes. With the provided 120W charger in the box, the phone got up to…about 85% in 17 minutes. Granted, this is still very impressive charging speed, though it’s not quite as fast as Xiaomi claims it to be.

Of course, I’ll repeat this charging speed test a few more times in the full review, so stay tuned for that.

Fast charging speed aside, the 11T Pro itself is also an equally fast smartphone. The Snapdragon 888 chipset can handle practically everything I throw at it. It feels very fast and zippy, and I can even run Genshin Impact at 60fps. That being said, it can’t quite sustain this frame rate consistently in the game, as with most Android flagships.

Anyway, further enhancing the gaming experience of the 11T Pro is its fast 6.67-inch 2400 x 1080 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes the phone feel even more responsive. The screen quality itself is also reasonably good with vibrant colours and very deep blacks – typical traits of an AMOLED panel.

Now, let’s get to the design and build quality of the 11T Pro, which is where you’ll see the cost-cutting measures to bring down the price of this phone. The back panel, for one, looks quite nice with a “brushed metal” finish, but in actuality, it is made out of plastic, so it does feel a little cheap.

Granted, this isn’t exactly a surprise: some aspects of the phone had to be sacrificed to bring down its cost. Though it doesn’t feel particularly premium, at least it looks quite sleek with a hole-punch cutout on the screen and minimal bezels. In short, it has the aesthetics of a proper modern smartphone.

Last but definitely not least is the camera performance of the 11T Pro. Though its triple camera system lacks a zoom lens, the camera performance does seem quite promising. The 108MP primary sensor, in particular, can capture some really good-looking shots. Judge for yourself with the sample images below.

I haven’t had the time to extensively test out the 8MP ultra-wide angle lens and 5MP telemacro shooter of the 11T Pro yet, but they do seem reasonably capable. Personally, I’m quite excited to put the telemacro camera through its paces to see just how close I can get to a subject without losing focus.

For only RM2,099, the Xiaomi 11T Pro does offer a lot of value for money. Sure, its build quality isn’t particularly great, but some sacrifices had to be made to bring down the price of the phone. Plus, you’re getting fast, flagship-class performance at this price point – that’s all that matters to some folks.

You’re also getting extremely fast 120W charging speed – with the 120W charger already bundled with the phone – along with a pleasant-looking AMOLED display clocked at 120Hz. As far as first impressions go, the 11T Pro shows a lot of promises; I’ll see if this changes as I continue using it as my daily driver.

The Xiaomi 11T Pro is currently available for pre-order in Malaysia until 29 September. It is priced at RM2,099 and RM2,299 for the 256GB + 8GB and 256GB + 12GB models respectively. Those who pre-order the latter configuration will also receive a complimentary Mi Watch Lite and Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic.