Xiaomi ‘s Redmi and Poco sub-brands remind us that top-class flag ship smart phones are not everything. We’ve seen it time and time again in the past, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is another example.
The Redmi Note11 has a great battery life, a nice screen, and is well built, and when you pickup and use the Redmi Note 11, you won’t necessarily feel like you paid a small fortune for it, and your flagship-owning friends may wonder why you paid so much for it. You may wonder why you paid so much for a flagship.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: Display
- 6.43″ AMOLED screen
- 1080 x 2400 pixel resolution
- Bright and vivid colors
Xiaomi demonstrated excellent performance with the 6.43-inch AMOLED screen on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11. With a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, peak brightness of 1000nits, and a refresh rate of 90 Hz, this screen is perfect for everything from web browsing to watching movies streamed from the web. HDR is not supported, but it will not be over looked.
The only distraction is the punch-hole camera at the top center of the screen, but this is hardly intrusive. As we said, the bezels are clean and slim, and the only real evidence that this is not a more expensive mid-range or even flagship smart phone screen is the lower chin.
Diving into the phone’s display options, there are several settings to play with. You can choose between light and dark modes, and the color scheme can be set to vivid (default), saturated (always mph a sizes colors), or standard (more natural looking). Color temperature can also be adjusted.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: Design
- Attractive appearance
- Thinness of 8.1 mm
- IP53 drip-proof
Looking at the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, you would never guess that it is such an inexpensive budget smart phone. It is light in the hand but solidly built, with a matte plastic back that feels good to the touch (more luxurious than expected), and the bumps on the rear camera are tastefully handled.
At only 8.1mm (0.32 inches) thick, it’s cleaner than many budget phones that have crossed Tech Radar’s review desk, and every curve and ridge on this phone is tastefully and thoughtfully positioned. The slightly thicker bezel below the display may speak to the phone’s affordable price tag.
Our review unit is a rather gorgeous-looking graphite gray, which is both eye-catching and subtle at the same time. If you prefer a bit more of a pop of color, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is also available in Pearl White and Star Blue, but it’s the gray that is most appealing to us.
With a 6.43-inch display, the overall size is 159.9 mm x 73.9 mm x 8.1 mm ( 6.3″x 2.9″x 0.32″ ) and weighs179 grams (0.39 lbs.) It is IP53-rated, dust and splash proof, but nothing more.
There is a 3.5 mm audio jack at the top of the device for wired head phones and a USB-C slot at the bottom for charging and data transfer to other devices. The volume and power buttons are located on the right side as you look at the phone, and the power button has a built- in service able finger print sensor.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: Camera
- Quad lens rear camera
- Struggles in dark areas
- Ultra-wide mode available
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 has a quad-lens rear camera consisting of a 50MP wide lens, 8MP ultra-wide lens, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP depth lens. There is one 13MP wide lens on the front, enough for selfies and video calls with the apps you want to use.
Features like focus and HDR are not as good as mid-range or flagship phones. As you can see in the camera sample below, certain areas can get muddy and colors a bit dull, especially when taking photos in the UK in mid-February.
Budget phones in this price range rarely produce great photos at night, and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 continues this tradition. If there is no or little light available, turning on night mode will probably not produce the photos you are looking for. If there is a little light and the subject is still, you may be able to get a usable photo.
As for the ultra-wide mode, it is useful for fitting more things in the frame, but it tends to shift the colors in the photos it takes and makes the images look a bit blurry up on closer inspection. It’s not for those who need a dependable camera.
Specs and performance
- Using Snapdragon 680
- Performance is almost flawless
- Powered by Android 11
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 has specs worthy of its price. Under the hood, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, 4GB or 6GB of RAM, and 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. Micro SDXC card slot is also available to expand app and file storage capacity.
These are fairly basic specs for a modern smart phone, but they are enough to get by, and I did not experience any major problems with glitches or lag when using it. Of course, switching screens and apps is not as smooth a son the iPhone 13 or the Samsung Galaxy S22, but the hardware is cheaper for that price, so it depends on what area of price versus performance is important to you.
In Geek bench 5, it was 377 (single-core), 1,625 (multi-core), and 442 (OpenGL).
The next generation of connectivity technology, 5G, is now a days available on most cell phones, and with 5G becoming more widely available (at least in urban areas), one might shy away from the Redmi Note 11. On the other hand, we could argue that we have been living well on 4G for the past few years.
On the software front, Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 software runs on top of Android 11, which is fine to a degree. There are some quirks we don’t particularly like, such as the fact that it works differently depending on whether you swipe down on the left or right side of the screen, or the extra screen that appears when installing apps, but overall it is refined and useful enough.
Battery life
- Battery life of more than 1 day
- 5,000mAh battery capacity
- No wireless charging
Even if the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11’s performance is not top-notch, its battery life is certainly one of the best of any smart phone these days. I could easily get through a full day of use with 30-40% battery life by bedtime.
We don’t know how long the battery will last since we’ve only been using it for about two weeks, but early indications are promising: the 5,000mAh battery capacity is relatively generous, and the only time you’ll be looking for a charger during the day is when you’re performing demanding tasks such as GPS navigation or gaming Only. I watched an hour of video streaming at low volume and maximum brightness and the battery only lost 5%.
As one would expect from such an affordable phone, the Redmi Note11 does not have wireless charging. However, 33W wired charging is not a problem, and the battery can be fully charged from zero to just over an hour. As for battery charging and battery life, there is nothing to worry about.
Verdict
I don’t want to spend too much money. Whatever else there is to say about the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, it is certainly cheap. For that amount of money, you get adequate specs and features.
To Get Xiaomi Redmi Note 11