Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Review: A Solid Mid-Ranger But a Minor Upgrade

After the launch of the Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G in Nepal.

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G price in Nepal is Rs. 36,999 (6/128GB) and Rs. 39,999 (8GB/128GB). It is available for purchase via authorized Xiaomi stores.

Note 11 Pro 5G is the first 5G phone from the Note series to launch in Nepal. Last year, the Redmi Note 10 5G was not available in Nepal.

So, can this 5G offering surpass the expectations? Let’s check it out in brief.

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Review

Design

• 164.19 x 76.1 x 8.12 mm
• 202 g

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G looks like Redmi Note 10 visually. The size is similar and the rear camera module is only slightly different. Like the Note 10 Pro, Note 11 Pro has a glass back with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The rear panel has a frosted matte finish which is not prone to fingerprints.

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G has a very good build quality for the price.

One of the noticeable changes on the Note 11 Pro 5G is a flat frame, this makes it easy to hold and has a premium look. However, it uses a less premium plastic frame. As good as it looks from the rear, it looks modern from the front too, the minimal hole punch and slim bezels keep it fresh.

On the right side, there are volume and power buttons, with an embedded fingerprint sensor in the latter. At the bottom, there’s a sim tray slot, USB-C port, a mic, and a speaker. Up top, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, another speaker, mic, and an IR blaster.

Overall, Note 11 Pro 5G feels modern, sleek, and durable at the same time. Plus, it also comes with an IP53 rating for dust and splash protection.

Display

• 6.6 inches TFT
• 120Hz
• 1080 x 2408 pixels

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G gets a 120Hz AMOLED display. The screen size is kept the same at 6.67 inches and it is an FHD+ panel. Furthermore, it is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 as well.

The 120Hz AMOLED panel is very good for the price.

The AMOLED panel has vivid and accurate colors in Vivid Color mode, the DCIP-3 color profile is also turned on in this mode. I did not have any issues using its display outdoors, the panel reaches up to 700 nits, and that is plenty bright. Moving on, it also has Widevine L1 support which enables FHD playback on Netflix.

Camera

• Rear Camera: 108 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.52″, 0.7µm, dual pixel PDAF
  • 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚ (ultrawide)
  • 2MP, f/2.4, macro

• Front Camera: 16MP, f/2.4

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G rocks a triple-camera setup including a 108MP main sensor, an 8MP ultrawide sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor.

NORMAL PHOTOS

The Note 11 Pro 5G captures good photos in daylight, the color looks warm and slightly boosted, especially the greens. It has a decent dynamic range but it seems to underexpose the shadows. Besides that, the photos look appealing with fine details.

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ULTRAWIDE PHOTOS

The ultrawide sensor is an 8MP sensor with 115-degree FOV, the narrow FOV can make you question if the ultrawide photos are indeed ultrawide. The photos tend to look soft and you can notice noise on the edges. Overall, it is just an average ultrawide sensor.

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LOW LIGHT PHOTOS

The Note 11 Pro 5G captures good details in low light. It doesn’t try to make the picture unnaturally brighter by ramping up the exposure. Turning on the Night mode helps to improve exposure and dynamic range, the highlights seem to improve marginally as well. Also, note that it doesn’t have Night mode on the ultrawide camera.

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MACRO PHOTOS

The macro sensor is nothing to boast about. The 2MP sensor captures soft photos with an unattractive cold color profile.

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FRONT CAMERA

On the front, there is a 16MP selfie camera. It captures photos with good color and nice details however it is a fixed focus selfie camera. Thus, some photos might not look as sharp as they should.

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VIDEOS

For videos, it can capture up to 1080p 30fps from the main camera. Unlike its predecessor Note 10 Pro, it cannot capture 4k videos due to the limitation of the chipset.

The 1080p video has okayish details with balanced sharpness and decent dynamic range. It does come with EIS which helps to compensate for light jitters. Obviously, it is nowhere near good as the OIS that we can find on the Samsung M33 5G.

Performance

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G (6nm)
• Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Kryo 660 Gold & 6×1.7 GHz Kryo 660 Silver)
• Adreno 619
• 128GB 6/8GB RAM

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G uses the new Snapdragon 695 5G chipset. It is then paired with 6/8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

Snapdragon 695 is a powerful chipset that features 2X Cortex A78 cores and 6X Cortex A55 cores. Exynos 1280 also uses the same CPU configuration.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy M33 5G Review: Good Budget Phone with Compromises

In benchmark tests, the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G is behind the Samsung M33 5G in Antutu, GeekBench, and 3D Mark Wild Life. Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G comes ahead only in GeekBench’s Multi-core test.

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G Benchmark Scores

Samsung M33 5G Benchmark Scores

In daily life usage, Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G is smooth and I did not have any issues. But, after a recent update, I started to notice that the animations were not smooth, and sometimes there would be mini stutters while opening or closing apps.

GAMING

For gaming, we tested COD Mobile and Genshin Impact on the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. COD Mobile can be played at ‘Max’ fps with a ‘High’ graphics setting. Likewise, you can play at ‘Very High’ Graphics at the ‘Very High’ fps setting.

At Max fps, COD Mobile runs smoothly with average fps of 59 without any issues. There were no frame drops and stutters as well.

For Genshin Impact, I tested it on default ‘Medium’ settings. Genshin Impact runs decently on the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. I was getting average fps of 28 with frequent frame drops and occasional stutters. It performs better than the Samsung M33 5G.

Battery

• Non-removable Li-Po 5000mAh battery
• 67W Fast Charging Support

The Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G has a good battery even with a 5000mAh battery. With moderate usage, I was getting around 7-8 hours of screen-on time.

You can expect the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G to last at least a day and a half with moderate usage. Likewise, it comes with a 67W charger that takes 45 mins for a full charge.

OS & Others

• Android 11
• MIUI 13
• Stereo Speaker

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G runs on Android 11 with MIUI 13 out of the box.

Unlike the Xiaomi 12 Pro, it comes loaded with bloatware and you will notice ads frequently. We get to see the same MIUI 13 that we saw on the Redmi Note 11. There are no massive visual changes in MIUI 13. However, MIUI still lags behind in optimization compared to the likes of Samsung and Realme.

Moving on to the speaker, it is a very good one for the price. It is loud enough and has a decent thump at the low end. The highs and mid-tones are also good, it’s a good speaker at this price range. Similarly, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is fast and responsive.

Should You Buy Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G?

Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G feels like a minor upgrade from the Note 10 Pro 4G. It does come out on top in some departments like display, 5G support, and design.

Even though it’s a new phone, the Note 11 Pro 5G’s camera and performance are similar to that of the Redmi Note 10 Pro 4G. Moreover, it is now expensive. So, it is a good phone but it is not a total upgrade nor a must-buy.

READ NEXT: Xiaomi 12 Pro Review: An Ultra Fast Flagship Phone

What do you think about the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G? If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!

Also, watch our review video of the vivo V23 5G in Nepali.