The latest example of this can be considered the new Redmi Note 11S. It is a 4G smartphone that surprises us, since the company had previously launched the Redmi Note 11T 5G. The Note 11S phone’s biggest draw is its 108-megapixel rear camera. This is the same sensor that the company used in the Redmi Note 10 Pro Max released last year. But this time the starting price of the phone has been kept low. However, soon the Redmi Note 11 Pro series will also be on the market. So where does the Redmi Note 11S fit into this series? And does it make sense for you to buy this phone as your next smartphone? Decide with the help of this review.
Redmi Note 11S price and variants
Redmi Note 11S comes in three variants. Its 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant costs Rs 16,499. At the same time, its price becomes Rs 17,499 for 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The top-end variant comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which costs Rs 18,499.
redmi note 11s design
The design of the Redmi Note 11S is too simple for my taste. Its blue and polar white color variants still turn heads, but I did have a black unit to review, which felt pretty boring. The build quality of its plastic frame and back panel is quite good and the phone was quite comfortable to hold. Weighing in at 179 grams, it doesn’t feel heavy and it’s not too chunky either. The phone’s main camera protrudes slightly outward from the rest of the cameras. The phone does not feel stable when placed on a flat surface.
Xiaomi has packed a 6.43-inch AMOLED display in the phone, which has a maximum brightness of 1000 nits. The rest of the display characteristics cannot be called extraordinary. It has a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hz and a basic touch sampling rate of 180 Hz. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has been provided for screen protection. The screen’s FHD+ resolution ensures sharp images and vibrant colors. By default, the refresh rate is set to 60 Hz, which you must manually set to 90 Hz.
The phone has dual nano sim support and has been given a microSD card slot. The card slot would come in handy as the phone’s maximum built-in storage is only 128GB. The device has dual speakers, a Type-C port, and an IR blaster. Apart from this, the headphone jack is also available. The phone comes with an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance, which is very rare in this price segment. Also available in the box is a 33W fast charging adapter, USB Type-C cable, SIM eject tool, and case (cover).
Redmi Note 11S Specifications and Software
This latest smartphone from Redmi is equipped with MediaTek Helio G96, which is powerful but its efficiency is less, because it is made with the old 12nm manufacturing process. The Redmi Note 11S is compatible with dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5 and all basic satellite navigation systems. It has a 5000 mAh battery, which should last at least a day on a full charge.
The Redmi Note 11S phone runs MIUI 13, which is based on Android 11, not Android 12. If you have used any Xiaomi phones recently, you will find this phone easy to use. Many applications come pre-installed on the phone. Apart from this, themes, shortcuts and gestures are also present. All third-party apps that come with the phone can be removed, but first-party apps like Mi Pay, etc. they cannot be deleted.
Redmi Note 11S performance and battery life
Handle basic games and apps with ease. Some of the apps that come with MIUI 13 like GetApps might be spam. The power button houses a capacitive fingerprint sensor, which worked well in my use. Thanks to the AMOLED panel, you can take advantage of features like the always-on display. This could have been more useful, but it’s only active for 10 seconds. That’s why you can’t call it ‘always on’ display in the real sense.
The on-screen video viewing experience was decent, but the sound from the stereo speakers was not well balanced, with the bottom speaker providing clearer sound quality than the earpiece. Games ran smoothly, but some heavy games ran on low graphics settings. For example, the game Call of Duty: Mobile did not display the ‘High’ setting option on the graphics. The gaming experience was fluid, but not what it usually is.
Xiaomi says that it has a liquid cooling system, which keeps the phone cool during heavy use. However, after playing Call of Duty for 30 minutes, both the back panel and the frame of the phone became very hot. In the test scores, the phone performed as expected. Its benchmark scores were lower than the scores of Redmi Note 11T 5G with MediaTek Dimensity 810. The phone managed a score of 3,10,732 on AnTuTu and 51 fps on GFXBench’s T-Rex test.
The battery life of the phone is quite good. With a capacity of 5,000 mAh, it lasts a whole day. The phone has 33W fast charging support, with the help of which the battery charges very quickly.
Redmi Note 11S cameras
If we look at the camera specifications of the Redmi Note 11S, it features a 108-megapixel Samsung HM2 sensor, which is the main camera of the phone. By default, it captures 12-megapixel photos, but you can also capture photos in 108-megapixel resolution. The details of the photo were good in bright sunlight, but the saturation of the colors became too high. After the Pro Color mode provided in the camera, the intensity of the colors increased even more, so the photos began to look artificial. The results were good with a resolution of 108 megapixels and the color balance was more visible. The things in the photo were seen in a largely natural tone.
The phone struggled in terms of autofocus when taking close-ups with the main camera. The correct focus was achieved only after several taps on the viewfinder. In low light conditions, the main sensor was unable to capture good photos. There was no significant difference in photo quality here, even at 108-megapixel resolution. After that, the use of night mode was left as the last option. After switching to it, it took several seconds for the camera to take a photo, but detail and exposure improved. One thing was surprising: you can’t use night mode with the ultra-wide or selfie camera. It hurts much.
Speaking of its 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, the colors of the photo taken during the day are correct, which is good. Photos became quite blurry in low light, and colors were disappointing as well. The phone has a basic 2-megapixel macro camera. That is why their results were not good either. Other than this, it has also been given a 2-megapixel depth sensor.
The selfie camera is 16 megapixels and the result was good in the photo during the day. However, the sharpness appeared a bit high in the portrait. Selfies taken indoors with ambient light were much better, but photo quality dropped a lot outdoors at night.
The Redmi Note 11S can only record videos up to 1080p. Stabilization is found in the video. Video quality was average for the day. Low-light video quality was poor and disappointing for a phone in this segment.
Verdict
It can be said about the Redmi Note 11S that it may be an option until the arrival of the Redmi Note 11 Pro series. And, if you have settled on a Redmi phone, you can look at last year’s Redmi Note 10 Pro which proves to be an option. much better for the same price. The 108-megapixel camera of the Redmi Note 11S is its biggest attraction, otherwise if we look at the rest of the sensors, this phone will be called average. At this price, its processor is also not that powerful and 5G connectivity is not provided on the phone either.
I think you should wait for a few days before buying this phone because better options will be released in the market soon.