Gaming smartphones are already getting the momentums they deserve much like gaming PCs and this is where smartphone makers get to be very creative with their designs as well as maxing out all the features of the device to ensure it’s powerful enough and can handle whatever task that’s being thrown at it.

Two of the biggest gaming smartphones released this year so far includes the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 which comes with some crazy high-end features such as a super high refresh rates and two fan systems to help dissipate heats generated during gameplay.

But then there is another extreme smartphone which is absolutely polarizing and that is the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra with its massive camera bump right at the back of the device with a viewfinder. It definitely looked interesting and that’s a fact but the device also comes with its own interesting perks such as powerful screen, powerful batteries and the same Snapdragon 888 chipset found on high-end premium flagships in 2021.

In short, both of these smartphones despite designed to fit different purposes can literally be used as gaming smartphone thanks to their capacities which cannot be ruled out for real and that is why we’ll be comparing both smartphones together on this post.

Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 vs Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

Design

Both smartphones are weird in terms of their design aesthetics. First, the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 has this weird mid-placed camera bump because the device’s internal parts sits right at the center giving the device the horizontal handling.

Being a gaming smartphone, it came with some extra hardware such as the dual fan with the first taking in air while the second takes it out. The device also has two charging port to activate its massive 90watts super fast charging and did I mention the position of the pop-up font-facing camera of the device which is also oriented horizontally because that’s the position the device will most likely sit tin most cases when it’s being used for gaming.

Then there is the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra which comes with a massive camera mount on its back. This is actually the only extreme thing about the device’s design as everything other things looked normal from the front when you see it. It has a sturdier body, a curved screen with narrower bezels, and it is waterproof with the IP68 certification.

But in terms of the back, you get a triple camera system with a viewfinder – how amazing can that get. Well, Xiaomi is known for always pushing boundaries and that is what the company has done right here once again.

Display

Both the Legion Phone Duel 2 and the Mi 11 Ultra have massive screens because its 2021 and smartphones have gotten larger than they used to be.

The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 offers a display that is very helpful for gamers because it comes with an incredibly high touch sampling rate and a high 144 Hz refresh rate. Further, it has a very wide 6.92-inch panel. But if we exclude the dimensions, the refresh rate, and the touch sampling rate, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is superior in every aspect.

The Mi 11 Ultra comes with a Quad HD+ resolution made by Samsung. To give you a better glimpse of how better this one is, when compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s display, it ousted it in many respect and that’s how cool the screen of the Mi 11 Ultra is.

It’s also able to create a better color and support HDR10+ and Dolby Vision and don’t forget the rear screen which can also be used to display a couple of information such as time and notification icons as well as serving as a viewfinder for the rear cameras in case you want to use them for selfie.

Specs & Software

There is nothing much to be compared right here because both devices run on the latest Android 11 OS but on their respective skin such as the MiUI. The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 has an advanced cooling system right above its Snapdragon 888 chipset and comes with a 16GB of RAM and a massive 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage which makes file transfer blazing fast.

The same goes with the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra which also comes with the same high-end Snapdragon 888 chipset and some other interesting features such as 5G support and blazing fast charging.

Camera

The Mi 11 Ultra is a camera beast offering some amazing camera specifications that beats others on the market. For example, it comes with a triple 50MP primary sensor and then a 48 MP secondary cameras for optical zoom (periscopic) and ultrawide shots.

On the other hand, Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 boasts a superior front camera (with a 44 MP resolution) that can be used by streamers while playing in landscape mode since it is side-mounted and is well tucked away on the side of the device which is motorized.

Battery

This is another important aspect of the two devices and as expected, the Lenovo Phone Duel 2 has a slightly bigger battery because its a gaming smartphone. The battery system comprise of two individual batteries that charges at a parallel to enhance its charging speed.

The Mi 11 Ultra has a 67W fast charging support which is inferior to the 90W ultra-fast charging capacity of the Legion Phone Duel 2 but doesn’t support wireless charging because it obviously can’t while the Mi 11 Ultra does.

Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra: Price

With so many features listed, you’ll expect nothing but a big load of price-tag on the devices and that is true. The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 for example starts from €999/$1200 in the global market, while the starting listing price of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is €1200/$1440.

There is no doubt: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is a superior phone. But if you are a gamer/streamer and you are looking for the best gaming phone, then Lenovo Legion Duel 2 is a better option due to gaming triggers, a side-mounted selfie camera, an advanced cooling system, and more.

Either way, both smartphones are powerful and great in their respective fields which is why I would call this a tie. However, the Mi 11 Ultra would still come up in flying colors due to its durability compared to the Legion Phone Duel 2 which broke into three parts when it was bend-tested.