Some Xiaomi phones are getting a much-needed name change

Xiaomi Mi 11
(Image credit: Future)

While Xiaomi's highest-end series of smartphones is currently called the 'Mi' line, as in Xiaomi Mi 11, that's changing soon, as the company has confirmed it's dropping the 'Mi' name.

The company confirmed as much to XDA Developers, and apparently has already started this change beginning with the recent Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 - oh, the Xiaomi Mix 4 in that case! Due to that phone only launching in China, most of us missed the Mi title's absence.

This means future Mi handsets will likely see the same change - so Xiaomi 12 will be the 2021 flagship, not the Xiaomi Mi 12, and perhaps the imminent launch event will bring us the Xiaomi 11T, not the Mi 11T.

It's not clear when this change will begin - the company's old phones are still listed with the 'Mi' title - but it might only affect future handsets.

It's unlikely this change will affect the Pocophone or Redmi lines, as they didn't use the superfluous 'Mi', but due to the repetitive naming pattern of the Xiaomi Mi line (Xiaomi Mi 11), this makes total sense.


Analysis: going the right way

'As many words as possible' seems to be the current smartphone naming trend. Even this year we've seen the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Honor Magic 3 Pro Max, Motorola Edge 20 Pro, Oppo Find X3 Pro, Sony Xperia 1 III, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 - all of which have four or five words and can be rather head-scratching for people who aren't up on their phone news.

With that in mind, Xiaomi cleaning its names up is a welcome change. Though it's only a small tweak, seeing a 'Xiaomi 12' on store shelves will easily communicate to less tech-savvy buyers that this is the twelfth-gen version of the phone, after the 11 and preceding the 13. The 'Mi' in there could have thrown some people - is there a 'You' or 'We' version as well?

Sure, Xiaomi's names were already pretty clear, and the above examples could really do with cleaning up a lot more. But positive change is always positive change, regardless of if it was made by the company that needed it most.

The only true 'victims' here are tech journalists, who are going to keep forgetting to drop the 'Mi', and will therefore keep misnaming the phones. Anyway, time to edit this article...

Tom Bedford
Contributor

Tom Bedford joined TechRadar in early 2019 as a staff writer, and left the team as deputy phones editor in late 2022 to work for entertainment site (and TR sister-site) What To Watch. He continues to contribute on a freelance basis for several sections including phones, audio and fitness.

Read more
The Xiaomi 14 on a red background
Best Xiaomi phones 2025: top Mi, Poco, and Redmi devices ranked
The Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Honor Magic 7 Pro, side by side
Chinese flagship phones are great value for money, but they won't stay cheaper for much longer – here's why
A tease of Samsung's product roadmap
Samsung just solved the tri-fold naming problem, and I, for one, am relieved
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
If this Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera rumor is true, it could rival the Galaxy S25 Ultra
A Dell 14 Premium laptop on a table
Dell launches newly rebranded laptops at CES 2025 to replace storied XPS, Inspiron, and other product lines
Nothing Phone 2 review back angled table - white balanced
Does every phone maker need a flagship?
Latest in Xiaomi Phones
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
If this Xiaomi 15 Ultra camera rumor is true, it could rival the Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus against a houseplant
Xiaomi tipped to set impressive new phone battery benchmark in 2025 – and I hope Apple and Samsung are taking notes
The Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro on a window sill.
Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro review: one of the best-value cheap phones you can buy right now
Xiaomi Mix Flip review open and closed
Xiaomi Mix Flip review: great to use, hard to find
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
The world’s best camera phone is tipped to get even more powerful, thanks to this new 200MP zoom lens
The Xiaomi 14T in Titan Blue against a leafy background
Xiaomi 14T review: considered compromises
Latest in News
Jason Sudeikis' Ted Lasso pointing at someone in Ted Lasso season 2
Believe it, baby: Ted Lasso season 4 is officially in development for Apple TV+ – and Jason Sudeikis will reprise his role as the titular soccer coach
Rainbow Six Siege X promotional art.
The Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege X 6v6 mode might finally pull me away from Black Ops 6
A close up of the new web version of Apple Music Classical
Apple Music Classical is now available on the web, but its Mac app is still nowhere in sight
Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f will present players with 'a beautiful yet terrifying choice', and I can't wait to see what it is
Google Chromecast 2
Google is finally rolling out a fix for broken Chromecasts – just as new bugs appear on the Chromecast with Google TV
Garmin Instinct 3 in Neotropic Green
"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after months of making no progress