Honor 50 vs Xiaomi 11T: Detailed Comparison of 2021 flagships – What to choose in 2026?

Introduction: Two mid-budget flagships in sight

Choosing between the Honor 50 and Xiaomi 11T in 2026 isn’t just a technical comparison, it’s a balancing act between branded chips, firmware relevance, and real user needs. Both models came out in 2021 as a response to market demand for powerful yet affordable smartphones with top-end cameras and fast charging. But in three years, a lot has changed: Honor has split from Huawei and started its own expansion, and Xiaomi has strengthened its position in the “flagship killers” segment.

Today, these devices can be bought at a price of 2-2.5 times lower than the original — from 15 to 25 thousand rubles depending on the condition. But is the game worth the candle? We analyzed 12 key aspects that affect the experience of use in 2026: from 5G support to the stability of work with modern games.

In this comparison, you will find not only dry numbers, but also:

• 🔍 Results of real-life tests of cameras in low light conditions (with examples of photos)
• 🎮 Benchmarks of performance in 2026: how Snapdragon chips 778G Dimensity 1200 to be released with Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile
• 🔋 Analysis of battery wear after 3 years of operation (data from service centers)
• 📱 Comparison of ecosystems: MIUI vs Magic UI — What is more convenient for Russian users

1. Design and ergonomics: glass vs plastic with premium shine

At first glance, the Honor 50 and Xiaomi 11T are different design schools. Honor has bet on an ultra-thin (7.8 mm) body with curved faces and double glass (Gorilla Glass 5 front and rear), which gives the model a premium look. However, this decision has the opposite side: the smartphone is slippery, and when the fall the risk of cracks is higher than plastic counterparts. Xiaomi 11T, on the contrary, uses matte plastic with a texture under glass – less stamps and more resistant to scratches.

The Honor 50 is the ergonomics leader thanks to:

• 👆 Compact: width 73.8 mm vs 76.9 mm y 11T (more comfortable with one hand)
• ⚖️ Weight: 175 g vs 196 g in a competitor (the difference is noticeable with prolonged use)
• 🎨 Color solutions: Honor has a unique Frost Crystal variant with overflows, while Xiaomi offers standard black/white/blue

But the Xiaomi 11T has a trump card — symmetrical bezels around the screen (2.95 mm above and below) versus 3.5 mm in Honor. This makes the front panel more visually balanced, and Xiaomi’s fingerprint scanner is located on the side button (more convenient), while the Honor’s is subscreen (optical, less reliable in bright sun).

2.Screens: 120Hz vs 120Hz, but with a catch

Both models are equipped AMOLED-screen-support 120 Hz, but the approach to implementation is different. 50 uses a panel BOE permittingly 2340×1080 peak-brightness 1000 The main feature is the automatic refresh rate (1–120 Hz, which saves charge, but the DisplayMate test revealed a drawback: the brightness is lower than the brightness. 30% A greenish tint appears on a gray background (noticeably in the dark).

Xiaomi 11T went a different way: the screen from Samsung E4 with a resolution of 2400×1080, the brightness of 800 nits (up to 1000 nits in HDR) and a fixed frequency of 120 Hz.

• 🌈 More accurate color reproduction (ΔE ~0.38 vs 0.45 for Honor)
• ☀️ Best readability in the sun thanks to anti-reflective coating
• 🎬 Dolby Vision Support: Honor only HDR10+)

But there's a caveat: the Xiaomi 11T doesn't have automatic frequency control, which affects autonomy. In a web scrolling test at 120Hz, the battery was 18% faster than the Honor with adaptive mode.

💡

To reduce eye strain in the Xiaomi 11T, turn on Read mode in the screen settings (Settings → Display → Read mode). It filters blue light more than the standard night mode.

3.Performance: Snapdragon 778G vs Dimensity 1200

On paper, Xiaomi 11T with MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chip looks preferable: 1 Cortex-A78 core at 3.0 GHz vs. 1 Cortex-A78 core at 2.4 GHz at Snapdragon 778G in Honor 50.

In AnTuTu 10 (2026), the results are as follows:

Xiaomi 11T: 680,000 points (including trottling after 15 minutes of load)

Honor 50: 620,000 points, but with more stable performance in long sessions

Key observations:

• 🎮 In Genshin Impact (maximum settings), both smartphones give 55-58 FPS, But the Honor 50 is less warm (42)°C vs 47°Xiaomi's C. And Xiaomi's. 11T Better handles Call of Duty Mobile with MediaTek optimization for high frame rate games.
• 📱 Everyday tasks: Snapdragon 778G shows better energy efficiency when working with social networks and instant messengers (it keeps the charge for 12% longer at the same load).
• 🔄 Multitasking: Xiaomi 11T Switches between apps faster thanks to 8GB LPDDR4X (Honor 6GB or 8GB, depending on version).

The important thing is that in 2026, both chipsets are obsolete for demanding tasks, such as neural networks like Stable Diffusion or games with Racing (Resident Evil Village via cloud service) will slow down, but for most users the difference is not critical.

💡

If you play online shooters (PUBG, CODM) a lot, go for the Xiaomi 11T, which is better optimized for high FPS. The Honor 50 is good for social media and photography.

4.Camera: 108 MP vs Quadrocamera with a watering pot

Here, Xiaomi 11T claims a 108-megapixel main module (Samsung HM2), while the Honor 50 offers a 100-megapixel sensor (RYYB from Sony IMX700) with hardware stabilization. In practice, the difference in resolution is insignificant - both smartphones default to take pictures of 12.5 MP (pixel binning).

Honor 50:

• 🌙 Night photography: Better handles noise thanks to Multi-Frame Fusion technology (4 frames merge into one). Example: photos at 5 lux have 20% less noise than Xiaomi.
• 🎨 Color rendering: More saturated, but sometimes piled up colors (especially green shades).
• 📸 Frontal: 32 MP with autofocus (Xiaomi 16 MP without) AF) — Better for selfies and video calls.

Xiaomi 11T:

• 🌄 Dynamic range: 1.2 feet wider (better work shadows in landscapes).
• 🔍 Ultrashirek: 120° 110° Honor - noticeable when shooting architecture.
• 🎥 Video: Support 8K@30fps (Honor's best 4K@30fps). However, without video stabilization in the 8K practically unusable.

DXOMARK test results (2021): Honor 50 – 126 points, Xiaomi 11T – 116 points. the gap is due to better autofocus and night mode Honor. But in 2026, both smartphones lose to modern models in detail and processing HDR.

Install GCam (version 8.7 for Dimensity 1200/8.4 for Snapdragon 778G)

- Turn it off. AI-Improvements in the standard camera app

Use Manual Mode (Pro) when shooting in difficult conditions

- Clean the lenses of dust (especially ultra-wide)-->

5. Battery and charging: who will live to see the evening?

On paper, the Xiaomi 11T will benefit from a 5,000mAh battery versus the Honor 50's 4,300mAh, but the real-world tests show a different picture:

• 🔋 Autonomy: Honor 50: 14 hours of active use (social networks, instant messengers, 2 hours of video) 11T: 12.5 hours (due to fixed 120Hz and less optimized chipset)
• ⚡ Fast charging: - Honor: 66W (0-100% in 42 minutes) - Xiaomi: 67W (0-100% in 38 minutes, but only with the original RAM)
• 🔄 Battery wear: According to service centers, after 3 years of operation capacity Xiaomi 11T Decline 20-25% (due to more cycles), Honor 50 – 15-18%.

Critical point: Xiaomi 11T does not support wireless charging, while Honor 50 can be charged according to the Qi standard at 50 watts (although such ROM will have to be purchased separately).

⚠️ Note: If you are buying a used Xiaomi 11T, Check the battery status through the engineering menu (#4636## → "Battery information. A capacity below 4,000 mAh indicates a need for replacement.

6.Software: Magic UI vs MIUI in 2026

In 2026, support for updates was a key factor. Honor 50 runs on Magic UI 7.1 (based on Android 13) and will no longer receive major updates (the last security update came in March 2026). Xiaomi 11T upgraded to MIUI 14 (Android 13), but also left without prospects - Xiaomi officially ended support for the model.

Interface comparison:

• 🧹 Clean OS: Magic UI less load background processes (8% less RAM consumption in the idle).
• 🛠️ Setting up: MIUI Offers more customization options (themes, icons, gestures).
• 🔒 Security: B MIUI Game Turbo for games and Second Space for splitting profiles (Honor has no analogues).
• 🇷🇺 Localization: Both firmware are completely Russified, but in MIUI Yandex and VK services work better.

The main problem is the lack of updates, and in 2026 that means:

• 🚫 Security vulnerabilities (e.g., Dirty Pipe vulnerability in the Linux kernel patched in Android 14)
• 🚫 Incompatible with newer versions of apps (e.g. WhatsApp requires Android 12)+)
• 🚫 Lack of support for new standards (e.g. Bluetooth) LE Audio)

💡

If you are critically interested in the relevance of the software, consider alternatives: for example, Xiaomi 13T (4 years of updates) or Honor 90 (3 years).

7. Additional chips: what do we choose?

Both models have unique features that can be crucial:

Important nuances:

• 🎵 Sound: Honor 50 has 15% louder speakers (85 dB vs 82 dB for Xiaomi), but Xiaomi has a better performance. 11T Higher frequency is better balanced.
• 📶 Network: Both smartphones support 5G, Xiaomi 11T has more ranges (n78, n79) for Russian operators.
• 🔧 Repairability: spare parts for Honor 50 cheaper by 20-30% (for example, the screen – 6 thousand rubles. vs 8 thousand rubles. from Xiaomi).

⚠️ Note: If you use Mir Pay, consider that Xiaomi 11T It only works through third-party apps (e.g. World Wallet), whereas Honor 50 is natively supported.

FAQ: Answers to popular questions