At the end of March, Xiaomi officially launched the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G to the global market. Unfortunately, the phone has yet to be officially launched in Brazil, unlike other models in the confusing Redmi Note 11 series.
Anyway, I already have the global unit for testing. Xiaomi’s most complete mid-range device stands out for its super fast charging and promises an excellent quality/price ratio.
But does it really stand out from the army of Redmi Note 11 series phones? Or is it better to bet on a competing alternative? In this review, I have presented the main pros and cons of the phone to make your purchase decision easier.
Design and Construction
Design is where the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G gets the most attention. The unit I got to test was Star Blue (or Star Blue, roughly translated) – I think it’s the prettiest of the three available options, it also includes matte blacks called Graphite Gray and Forest Green, it’s matte too.
But speaking specifically of the device I received, the back looks very sleek and shiny, with a sheen that gives the phone a “starry” hue – hence the name Star Blue.
Visuals aside, the construction of the phone is also worth mentioning. It has a metal finish on the sides and a glass finish on the back – common even among mid-range smartphones in China.
Its camera module projects so well that without a phone with a case, placing the phone on its back on a table would cause the phone to be “non-flat”. But that’s okay, that’s the case with almost every phone these days.
As far as weight and ergonomics are concerned, smartphones are very “ordinary”. It’s not considered light or heavy – it’s somewhere between 204 grams. Measuring 163.65 x 76.19 x 8.34mm, the construction helps keep the handle secure, but I recommend using the protective case included in the kit.
Another standard for Xiaomi’s mid-range phones is a fingerprint sensor on the side, as well as a power button. The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is no exception, and the company has decided to continue its tradition with the mid-range lineup.
Other finishes include IP53 water resistance certification for protection against just small splashes and Gorilla Glass 5 glass for a safer display.
Screen
The screen of the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G is a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a resolution of 1080×2400 pixels. In practice, it offers excellent resolution for watching movies and series on streaming platforms or just photos on social networks or in the gallery itself.
The default refresh rate is 60 Hz, which is enough for many tasks like accessing social media, reading texts and even watching videos. By the way, this setup is the most battery efficient setup.
However, if you want a smoother experience, you can lock the refresh rate to 120Hz, especially if you’re playing a lot of screen-heavy games. However, it is important to note that this frequency is not adaptive, i.e. it is always 120 Hz and will consume more power.
Displays with AMOLED technology balance images well and offer very vibrant colors. Another advantage is that the content is always clearly visible on the screen. Even in lots of sunlight, the brightness works and doesn’t degrade the quality – giving it a nice edge over LCD panels.
Configuration and Performance
The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 920 mobile platform. For those who are more used to Qualcomm chips, it is almost the same as the Snapdragon 778G, used in phones like Galaxy A73, Galaxy M52 5G or Motorola Edge 20.
In addition, the device is available in configurations of up to 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with a microSD card or RAM with virtual memory.
In practice, smartphones work very well and can perform almost any basic task. For gaming, I’ve tested it with some of the most popular games like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Call of Duty Mobile, and I had a good experience even with graphics and framerate set to the maximum allowed value.
Of course, in some cases, some crashes may occur. However, reducing the settings a bit or keeping the phone’s default settings should make for a very pleasant gaming experience.
With all that, it’s safe to expect it to handle other, simpler tasks without slowdowns or crashes. Gaming aside, if you’re looking for a phone to access social networks or streaming services, then it’s definitely for you.
By default, I also performed benchmarks in the 3DMark application. This helps to see how the device scores in the rankings and compare it to other equivalent models.
Usability
Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G is still loaded with MIUI 12.5 interface on Android 11 when it goes on sale. Interestingly, the manufacturer has not yet offered the latest version of Google’s system and its line of high-end interfaces, Android 12 and MIUI 13, respectively.
Regardless, the device isn’t that outdated compared to other Android devices, and it even received a February 2022 security patch. It’s not ideal, but it’s not too late.
In terms of usability, the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G has several of Xiaomi’s latest features – which can be seen in my review of the operating system itself – such as the control center, notifications and quick settings swiping down on the screen set it apart. the main screen.
The interface is also very personal, allowing the user to make some additional system modifications like changing the theme, changing the icons in the app drawer or desktop, or adding a background, not just for the home screen, like the app drawer or lower notification/control center area.
Finally, overall, MIUI 12.5 has a very intuitive interface and offers smooth navigation. There’s even an option to choose views using the app drawer, use a dedicated menu to unify all your apps, or keep them all on the home screen, similar to what happens on iOS.
Camera
The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G is equipped with three rear lenses, a 108 MP main lens, an 8 MP ultra wide angle and a 2 MP macro lens. Overall, it manages to capture great images, especially with the larger camera. See more information about each sensor below.
Main Camera (108 MP)
Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G has the largest sensor with 108 MP resolution and f/1.8 lens aperture. It will be the most used in everyday life and will provide good image quality and color balance.
By default, the HDR mode is set to Auto, which helps to better preserve the image.
In addition, artificial intelligence can be activated, for example, to apply post-processing to landscape photos. However, this feature affects the image quality a bit, so if you want a higher level of detail in your photos, I recommend not using it.
Another important point to note is that despite having a 108 MP sensor, the camera does not capture images at the standard maximum resolution. To do this, you need to enable the mode in the settings.
However, there’s not much difference between 108 MP and “Normal” mode, especially if you’re looking at photos on your phone’s screen or posting on social media. It’s only when you zoom in very close to the image after shooting that you can notice more of it.
Ultrawide (8 MP)
The ultrawide camera is more modest, with only 8 MP. Taking a picture with a wider field of view helps a lot. In practice, despite the much lower resolution, it still provides very sharp images with only a small loss of detail in, for example, photos of trees and plants.
Macro (2 MP)
Like many Xiaomi phones, the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G even has a dedicated macro camera for very close shots. Unlike the others, however, the resolution is only 2 MP.
This produces a very simple image. While close-up details are captured well, the photos lose a lot of overall quality and are a bit noisy.
night mode
The night mode of the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G even brightens the image well, but it greatly affects the quality of the photo, losing a lot of detail. Overall, the camera does a good job in low-light shots, but the results aren’t surprising.
portrait mode
Finally, the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G has a portrait mode feature that uses software to blur the background as it doesn’t have a dedicated depth lens. This happens front and back.
Both selfies and images captured with the main camera are good. The downside, however, is that the Xiaomi phone’s AI doesn’t cut through the background very well.
In selfies, the contours around the person are highlighted instead of the cutout close to the body. On the rear camera, when the crop is not similar to the front camera, some points are blurred, especially near the hair.
Sound system
The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G has a stereo audio setup with three sound outputs: two main ones – one on the top and one on the bottom – and a third on the speaker used during calls. This is a common setting on Xiaomi phones and the volume is too loud.
Another highlight is that the device has JBL audio signature. This means that, in practice, sound systems are tuned by renowned companies in the audio field.
Regarding the sound quality, the device itself has a very high maximum volume, but this setting can disturb the audio a little.
Enough to liven up the whole room, but not too clearly, as the high, mid, and low frequencies are kind of lost from each other. However, if you set it between 50% and 90%, you can already get a more pleasant sound at good volume.
It is important to note that the phone also has a dedicated 3.5mm jack. So you can connect wired headphones or speakers for a more advanced experience while listening to music.
Battery and Charging
Charging is the highlight of the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G. With 120W of power, the phone can be fully charged in about 20 minutes. In my tests, I charged the device from 15% to 100% in 15 minutes.
However, to achieve this speed, the fastest charging mode must be activated on the smartphone. This can be done by plugging into an outlet. Once connected, just go to the charging notification and activate 120W mode.
The battery is a little below average, as the phone has “only” 4,500 mAh. This is not bad, but if we take into account that many intermediaries reach 5,000 mAh, this can be considered a small disadvantage for Chinese phones.
Regardless, 4,500 mAh is enough to guarantee a day of use on a single charge. Of course, this is used sparingly. Here, using social networking apps, playing a bit of CoD: Mobile and switching between messengers like WhatsApp and Telegram, I managed to hit that average. All the time, just turned on Wi-Fi, no mobile network.
However, if you are a hard user, that is, you spend almost all day browsing social networks or messengers and playing games on your cell phone, you may have to charge more before the end of the day.
It’s worth noting that in our standard test, the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G only consumed 10% in a three-hour Netflix streaming session with brightness set to 50%. This is a good mark as many devices are in the 13% to 20% range.
A good intermediary with few flaws
The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G is a solid choice for anyone who likes Xiaomi’s mid-range lineup. It brings important advances to the series, such as its super fast 120W charging and good performance for games or heavier applications.
Its battery leaves something to be desired in this segment. While not necessarily bad, there are alternatives in the same price range that offer 5,000mAh capacity versus “only” 4,500mAh. Another downside is that it still ships with Android 11, while other Xiaomi models already run Android 12 with MIUI 13.
Its camera array is great too, with the 108 MP main lens recording excellent images. Like other cell phones of the brand, its night mode is not so exciting, and the macro lens is, in my opinion, an unnecessary “luxury” in the composition, since it only has 2 MP of resolution.
Its price range isn’t the most attractive either. Close to 3,000 reais, it is possible to find better alternatives, such as Samsung’s own Galaxy A73 or even the cheaper Motorola Edge 20.
