Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite missed the global Mi 11 launch, but it's still coming

The Xiaomi Mi 11 launched in Europe yesterday (February 8), marking the flagship’s first foray outside China. Rumors from the likes of Gizmochina also pointed to the arrival of the budget-focused Mi 11 Lite model at the event, but this clearly didn’t happen.

Now, Xiaomi’s Lite phone has surfaced on the Bluetooth SIG website, confirming that the device is indeed still in the pipeline. The listing also reiterates the previously spotted M2101K9AG model number, with the “G” at the end pointing to a global/European device rather than a Chinese or Indian model.

Another detail gleaned from the Bluetooth SIG listing is Bluetooth 5.2 support, and this makes us question rumors that the device could pack a chipset based on the Snapdragon SM7150 platform (Snapdragon 730/730G/732G). This is because the aforementioned processors all lack Bluetooth 5.2 support, topping out at Bluetooth 5.1 for the Snapdragon 732G.

This suggests that if the Mi 11 Lite is indeed using a processor based on the SM7150 platform, then it’s likely an unannounced chipset in the family. Another possibility on paper is that the global variant and Indian variant differ in terms of chipset and/or cellular connectivity, with an SM7150 series processor for the Indian model. Last year’s Mi 10 Lite offered 5G and used the Snapdragon 765G chipset, so it stands to reason that any 5G-enabled Mi 11 Lite model would offer an upgraded chipset in this regard.

Either way, it seems like the Mi 11 Lite is close to a launch date. So presumably we’ll see the phone in the coming weeks.