The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Review: Is it Better?

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is in for review. And the most immediate question is does it have the ability to outperform its predecessors? Especially after the superb performance of the Redmi Note 9 in 2020, followed by the stunning performance of the Redmi Note 10 in the midrange sector last year. The Redmi Note 11 Review

Join me on this ride to determine if it has enough guts to carry the crown of the best midrange phone (under 250 USD) in 2022

This is a full Review

and will take an indepth look into

1. Design , Build Quality and display

2. Software , Performance and Batery life

3. Camera, Photos and Video Quality

4. Competiton, alternatives, and Verdict

Since 2020 Xiaomi has held the best budget phone under 250 USD on our lists. And this for basically the simple reasons. They have great processors, Substantial Battery life, Reasonable Pricing, and exceptional Camera, All accompanied by Xiaomi MIUI. Which has its own issues but is completely feature-rich.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnN6AQ_Jo4Yu0026t=8s

Redmi Note 11 Review

Build Quality, Design And Display – Redmi Note 11 Review

Design

The moment you get the Redmi Note 11 out of the box one thing is clear the phone is super light. Weighing 179 grams and 8.1mm thick, the Note 11 has an IP53 rating to protect from dust and light water sprays. On the front, the Redmi Note 11 follows the Redmi Note 10 impressive design with a punch-hole 13Mp camera which has a destructive silver-like ring around it making it more proportional. compared to its predecessors.

On the back is a matte plastic back which is a little bit of a fingerprint magnet. In terms of design, the Redmi Note 11 feels right in the hand. The camera has a slight bump which sits a 50Mp main lens which is a downgrade from last year’s 64MP, an 8MP ultra-wide, and obviously the gimmick 2Mp depth and Macro lenses. The Camera bump has a cool finish making it classy. except for lots of writing on the back.

The Redmi Note 11 easily scores a 7 out of 10 in terms of design especially considering it downgraded to gorilla glass 3 on the front from gorilla glass 5 in the Redmi Note 9 Pro and plus it has a plastic back compared to the Redmi Note 9 gorilla glass 5 back. The frame is plastic which is not a surprise but really looks cheap and might easily scratch just like in the note 10 and 9 series.

on the top side, is a 3.5 mm jack pretty hard to find these days on certain phones. Though it’s worth noting that Xiaomi doesn’t include earphones in the box. next is the top stereo speaker and eventually IR sensor. The bottom part has a USB type C port which supports 33W fast charging and stereo speakers.

Redmi Note 11 Review

Display Redmi Note 11 Review

Redmi Note 11 Review

The Redmi Note 11 really isn’t messing about when it comes to display. The use of AMOLED at this price point is not always a given – helping ensure punchy colors and rich blacks – while the 90Hz panel delivers a decent refresh rate at this end of the market. At 6.43-inch display size, the note 11 has a chunkier bottom bezel, and only offers a 60Hz or 90Hz refresh rate not variable. But all this is to be expected. the Redmi Note 11 comes close to the Motorola moto G31 visually. The display is obviously top tier for this price range.

SOFTWARE, PERFORMANCE, AND BATTERY LIFE – Redmi Note 11 Review

Software

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, like the rest of the Redmi Note 11 quartet, comes with Android 11 and on top sits the most current MIUI 13 version. Most of the new MIUI features are under the hood and should make for a smoother, smarter, and more secure experience.

This version of MIUI 13 is based on Android 11, and it does not include any of the Android 12 features like the revamped widgets and their new widget page in the app drawer. There is no advanced Privacy Dashboard either with options like a protected clipboard, approximate location, updated Face Unlock algorithm. The updated File Manager and Clock app with Bedtime mode is nowhere to be found either.

in other words, the Redmi Note 11 runs on the same software as the 2-year-old Redmi Note 9 Pro.

Still, Xiaomi claims that MIUI has been reworked completely, even if you cannot tell that by the interface and its design alone – it looks and feels just like MIUI 12. But the new version reportedly focuses on much better resource distribution and should handle processor, RAM, and storage usage better and smarter.

Performance

The Redmi Note 11 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 680 4G chip, a relatively new mid-range System on Chip (SoC), backed by either 4- or 6GB of RAM.

It’s a solid performer for this end of the market, with average Geekbench 5 multi-core scores that are similar to the Poco X3 NFC and way ahead of the Moto G31.

Its GPU isn’t quite as impressive, with GFXBench results that fall far short of the aforementioned Poco X3 NFC and the Realme 8, and are roughly equivalent to the Moto G31.

After having the phone as a daily driver for a month now I kinda got a few hiccups that are worth noting

Quite often when letting an app go idle, the screen automatically switches off so the phone can reserve battery life (perfectly normal), it can be an issue to get the Note 11 to reactivate as you’d expect (not so normal)

Multiple fingerprint strokes especially with sweaty fingers

Inconsistency in performance some games run soo smoothly other demanding games like call of duty literally get overheating issues and high battery consumption

The wallpaper carousel that has xiaomi slected images at times display very unpleasant images some even embarassing. we suggest turning this off.

Anyway, if you don’t press the Redmi Note 11 with too much to do – avoiding heaps of multiple browser tabs, multiple apps being open, and so forth – it’s more amicable. 

Battery Life

With a 5000MaH Battery, the Redmi Note 11 Supports 33W fast charging, No wireless charging though it comes with an adapter and a USB C cable. So you don’t have to worry about getting it from third parties. In my experience, a long 14 hour day of intensive usage that involved 6 hours and 50 minutes of screen on time left me with around 40%. That’s an excellent result and means that the phone is good for two full days of ‘normal’ usage.

In our regular PCMark Work 3.0 battery benchmark the Redmi Note 11 managed a decent 11 hours and 35 minutes. This places it above the Moto G31 and the Realme 8 on 10 hours and 36 minutes, but below the Poxo X3 NFC at 15 hours and 48 minutes.

Redmi note 11 review – CAMERAs

Redmi Note 11 Review

Main Cameras

When it comes to cameras we’re not surprised to see four lenses on the rear of the Redmi Note 11, as it’s the go-to number for most manufacturers who want to oversell their system as a “quad-camera”. Here you can ignore the macro and depth sensors, which are a waste of space, and think of it as a dual-camera setup instead. check out my video on Gimmicks mid-range phones should stop.

The main camera is a 50Mp wide sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, which is backed by an 8Mp ultra-wide. and while the wide-angle isn’t anywhere near as good quality, it’s still really useful to have that extra-wide view at your fingertips. There’s also a 2x digital zoom that’s adept enough to be of use. So this core two-camera unit certainly has enough to shout about.

The main camera doesn’t handle high dynamic range (HDR) all that well, though, its images are somewhat grainy, too, and you can see sharpening from processing being pushed rather strongly. But at least there’s some grain in there, giving it a sense of filmic reality, rather than total overly smoothed processing. Interestingly, even low-light shooting is perfectly plausible thanks to a decent wide-open aperture – and that despite no optical stabilization here.

If you were to put this camera side-by-side against the Moto G31. Then it’s really quite similar in terms of the overall offering. Although the Redmi is slower for the app to load, we feel. There also aren’t higher-end features such as optical stabilization (OIS), but you do get phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) for easy tap-to-focus, plus the app will bring up an exposure slider on screen for quick and easy adjustments if you want to make any.

front camera

The 13Mp selfie camera is adequate, but it did smooth my skin out to a slightly distracting degree. Meanwhile, the portrait selfie mode created that disconcerting forcefield effect around my outline. most of the time it’s a hit or miss for selfie photos

All in all, the Redmi Note 11 camera achieves a comfortable par for a $250 phone. But it’s not a stand-out phone by any means.

Redmi note 11 review – VERDICT

In 2021 if someone asked me which phone under $250 should they buy a Redmi note would never miss on the first 3 phones I would suggest. But this sort of changing and after spending a month with this phone. I am left perplexed as Its specifications are super for its anticipated affordable price point, which sets it off on a strong start.

However, in use, the experience doesn’t match the expectation. Sure, having a decent AMOLED screen is nice, as is the decent battery life. But when running into occasional lagging, and overheating then that’s something to really consider.

I want to believe a software update might be of importance but with limited updates promised. the middling camera setup that is just average for the price is the only caveat on this budget phone.

Still, at its price point, it’s almost impossible to resist it.

Redmi note 11 review – COMPETITION

It’s an attractive price, but there’s a lot of competition around this mark including Xiaomi’s own devices mentioned earlier. And the likes of Realme and Motorola. If 5G is a must then look to phones such as the Oppo A54 5G.

Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G

Samsung Galaxy A22