Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Review: All Well And Good

If you are thinking of buying a new midrange phone this summer, I think the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G that I have with me is a fantastic option. It has just been released in Nepal—and I gotta say—it's priced quite well. Its 6/128GB variant starts at NPR 37,000 here and I believe this is the best phone at that price point. I have been testing this phone alongside the Note 11 Pro 4G for quite some time now. And, in this review, I will be sharing my experience of using the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. [Note: The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is an Indian variant that goes by the name Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G in Nepal. Also, the Poco X4 Pro is pretty much the same phone with a bit different design.]

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Specifications:

• Body: 164.19 x 76.1 x 8.12mm; 202 grams
• Display: 6.67” FHD+ AMOLED DotDisplay, 120Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling rate
• Chipset: Snapdragon 695 5G (6nm)
• CPU: Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×1.7 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU: Adreno 619
• Memory: 6/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB/128GB UFS 2.2 storage
• Software & UI: Android 11 with MIUI 13
• Rear Camera: Triple - 108MP primary - 8MP Ultrawide - 2MP macro
• Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.4
• Audio: Stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Security: Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• Connectivity: Hybrid SIM slot, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, IR Blaster
• Battery: 5,000mAh, 67W fast charging
• Color: Star Blue, Graphite Gray, Polar White
• Price in Nepal: 
  • NPR 36,999 37,999 (6/128GB)
  • NPR 39,999 40,999 (8/128GB)

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Review:

Design

• 164.19 x 76.1 x 8.12mm; 202 grams
• Glass front/back, Plastic frames
• IP53 certification against dust and water damage

First off, I think it has a very good design and build quality. If you look at the current sub-20K price segment (or sub-40K in Nepal), Samsung, Vivo, and Realme… almost all of the brands have settled for plastic material. But this one... well, this one has got a glass back and even IP53 dust-and-splash protection!

Moreover, this boxy design looks quite modern, in a way that mimics the more expensive Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge. At 205 grams, it also has just the right heft and I didn't find it that bulky or cheap-feeling and such. Likewise, the back of the phone looks drop-dead stunning in the Blue color that I have with me. It's a glossy back that catches fingerprints way too easily, but I didn't find it that noticeable—so yeah, I was able to use it without a case.

Display

• 6.67” FHD+ AMOLED DotDisplay
• 120Hz refresh rate, 360Hz touch sampling rate
• 1200 nits peak brightness

On the front, we are greeted with a superb AMOLED screen. I think this is the best display in this price segment—hands down. As of now, all the major brands—even Samsung—are going with an inferior LCD panel on their sub-20K devices. So, this AMOLED screen is just better than the competition in every possible way.

Compared to an LCD screen, it brings more vibrant and punchy colors whereas its contrast level is much superior when watching dark scenes as well. And if you are someone who goes on a hike or site visit—or just travels a lot outdoors—I’m happy to report that the 11 Pro’s brightness levels are up to the mark for visibility on a bright sunny day too. Complementing this display is a good set of stereo speakers too. It gets fairly loud, but more importantly, it sounds balanced. You can also enable Dolby Atmos for an even better listening experience in supported media apps.

Few caveats

Still, the Redmi Note 11 Pro’s display isn’t perfect by any imagination. It is not an HDR-certified screen, so you can’t enjoy any HDR videos here. And I also found that its auto-brightness doesn’t work properly at times, so I had to manually toggle the brightness levels.

Performance

• Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (6nm)
• 6/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB/128GB UFS 2.2 storage
• Android 11 with MIUI 13 on top

Now getting to the performance side of things, I think it's alright for the price. We get Snapdragon 695 5G chipset here, and that's pretty much the norm on the majority of phones at this price bracket right now. Here, the phone handles day-to-day tasks pretty well. And with a 120Hz refresh rate screen, you will also enjoy the fluidity of the UI whereas its 360Hz touch sampling rate means typing is going to feel quite a bit responsive as well. Xiaomi has also included a good vibration motor here, so its haptic feedback doesn't feel cheap or anything.

Gaming

However, let me tell you that the Snapdragon 695 is not a very powerful SoC and you will notice slight micro lags and stutters every once in a while, especially if there are too many apps running in the background. But it is less prominent than the Redmi Note 11 Pro 4G, which has an even inferior Helio G96 chipset. When it comes to gaming, PUBG mobile yields good stability under Balanced graphics and Ultra frame rates, and we didn't face any heating issues or sluggishness even after multiple gaming sessions. However, there’s still no 60 fps support with PUBG Mobile on the Redmi Note 11 Pro yet. Call Of Duty, on the other hand, runs smoothly at 60 fps at Medium Graphics and High Frame Rate, but if you try jumping to higher settings, you will notice some stutters and lags. The Snapdragon 695 also starts to show its limitation when playing more graphics-intense games like Genshin impact. Even in the lowest of settings with motion blur turned off, we didn't enjoy the gameplay since the game was littered with frame drops every now and then. Similarly, titles like Mech Arena which has a 120 fps mode couldn't achieve 120 fps here. So, if you are thinking of getting this phone for gaming, I’ll suggest you look elsewhere—like the Realme 9 Speed Edition that’s powered by a much-more capable Snapdragon 778G chip.

Cameras

• Triple camera setup at the back
• (108MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro)
• 16MP selfie camera (hole-punch cutout)

Let’s talk cameras now. And in this aspect, if you look at the sub-20K segment, you will not be able to find phones with a typically great set of cameras. I have tested the Moto G71, and the Vivo T1, and I’m currently testing a couple of Samsung’s latest mid-rangers: the Galaxy A23 and F23. All of them have their own pros and cons in this department. And the Redmi Note 11 Pro shares a similar story too.

Normal Images

During daylight, it can capture some very good shots with accurate colors and plenty of details. HDR processing is also nicely done, but this camera isn’t reliable all the time. For instance, you will get some overexposed results sometimes, while other times the images are a little contrast-heavy too.

Ultrawide Images

The ultra-wide-angle photos are also average, but that’s okay for a midrange device.

Portrait Images

Portraits, on the other hand, are very good. It produces a good skin tone, the exposure is balanced, and the background blur is also done quite nicely. I didn't see any oversharpening going on either, which is something you will see on phones like Redmi Note 11 Pro and even Xiaomi 11T Pro.

Selfie Images

I also like the photos coming from its selfie cameras. They have good focus and Redmi has definitely improved the color optimization to make selfies more appealing.

Nighttime Images

I also found nighttime shots to work well—with night mode in particular—bringing in better exposure and details.

Videos

However, because of the Snapdragon 695 chipset’s limitation, you can only click up to 1080P@30 fps videos here. And that's kinda embarrassing because even the 2-year-old Redmi Note 9 Pro can shoot at up to 4K@30 fps. Thankfully, the 1080P@30 fps videos here are EIS-stabled, although the overall video quality is just average for the price.

Battery

• 5000mAh battery with 67W fast charging

Okay, let’s finally get into another crucial aspect of a smartphone—the battery. Here, the Redmi Note 11 Pro ships with a big 5000mAh cell, and we were able to achieve a consistent 6 to 8 hours of screen-on time on a heavy usage pattern. So, the battery life is just very, very good here. Not as good as the iPhone 13 Pro Max or the S22 Ultra, but it's pretty close.

Plus, Xiaomi has included a 67 Watt fast charger inside the box itself, which gets the phone from 0 to 100% in just 50 minutes. Right off the top of my head, I can’t recall if any other brand provides such fast charging speeds on their midrange phones. Samsung has even skipped offering a charger inside the box of its recent mid-range devices like the Galaxy A33 and M33!

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Review: Conclusion

So yeah, as I said at the beginning of this review, I do think that the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G is the best value-oriented phone in the sub-20K category in India or sub-40K in Nepal for now. And I forgot to mention it earlier, this is also a 5G phone with over 13 5G bands, which makes it more future-proof too. The only couple of caveats with this phone as far as I can tell is that its cameras are just ordinary, it still runs on Android 11 and you will probably not receive more than 2 OS updates.

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Premium design
• Excellent display
• Stereo speakers
• Good battery life
• 67W fast charging
• Decent performance

Cons:

• No HDR support
• Android 11
• No 4K recording