Week 43 in review: Redmi Note 11 series debut, Xperia Pro-I is here with 1-inch type sensor

Another week to recap, let's begin. Xiaomi introduced three new phones in China - Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro+ and the more affordable vanilla Redmi Note 11. The two Pro devices are identical aside from one key difference - the Plus variant brings 120W fast charging, while the regular Pro has a bigger battery.

The Redmi Note 11 is going to be available in Gradient, Black, and Mint Blue colors and start from CNY1,199 ($187). The first flash sale will take place on Monday, November 1. Redmi Note 11 Pro will follow on November 5 in Black, Aurora Gradient, Violet, or Forest Green colors. Prices start from CNY1,699 ($265). The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ will be available on the same day as its non-Plus sibling, but it starts from CNY1,999 ($310) and skips on the gradient paint job.

Sony unveiled a phone we scarcely heard rumors for. The Xperia Pro-I (I for Imaging) brings the 1-inch type sensor from the company's popular RX100 VII pocket camera but optimized for a phone. What that means is that while in fact there is a 1"-type sensor in the phone, it's not being used in its entirety and it effectively behaves more like a 1/1.33"-type unit, essentially the same size you'd find in a Galaxy S21 Ultra, vivo X70 Pro+, or a Mi 11, and smaller than the one in the Mi 11 Ultra (1/1.12"-type). The Xperia Pro-I brings a Snapdragon 888 with 12GB of RAM, a 512GB expandable storage option and 4,500mAh battery for the price of €1,800/$1,800. The rest of its cameras are a 50mm and 16mm.

Qualcomm unveiled four new chipsets – well, two new chipsets and two Plus versions of current chips. The focus is mostly on 5G, though there is a new option for 4G-only needs. The 6nm Snapdragon 778G+ allows for higher clock speeds than its predecessor.

The Snapdragon 690 is a follow-up to the 690, but with mmWave 5G support. The Snapdragon 680 features a 4G LTE modem, so this will be used in basic mid-rangers. Finally, the Snapdragon 480+ is still an 8nm chip with 5G, relatively old Kryo 460 CPU cores and an Adreno 619 GPU. However, the prime CPU now runs at 2.2 GHz (up from 2.0 GHz), the GPU has been sped up as well.

Finally, we heard the Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22+ will have flat displays and rear panels. The Galaxy S22 Ultra will have a curved front, the brightest display yet with up to 1500 nits, and a green color option.

That's it for this week. See you next one!