Redmi Note 11 is the cheapest variant of the three Redmi Note 11 series released by Xiaomi on the market. What's the performance like?
Along with Redmi Note 11, Xiaomi released the Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. Well, this Redmi Note 11 is the cheapest variant, (4GB/128GB) and (6GB/128GB).
Design
Redmi Note 11 comes with a (almost) new design. The camera module is still similar to the Redmi Note 10 series, but now comes with a slightly flat back body and only curved at the edges.
Meanwhile, the sides are also almost flat, with a slight bend at the edges. The body is made of plastic with a matte finish, which stays clean even when held with greasy fingers -- at least in the blue variant we tested.
Even though the material is plastic, the Redmi Note 11 doesn't look cheap. The body also feels solid, quite thin and light (179 grams) for a phone with a 5,000 mAh battery.
Problem buttons, relatively the same as the previous series. On the right there is a power button that is integrated with the fingerprint sensor and volume buttons. The fingerprint sensor is quite fast in recognizing fingerprints.
On the left there is a SIM and microSD card slot, there are two nano SIM slots and a separate microSD slot. So you don't have to choose to use two SIMs or one SIM with a microSD.
While at the top there is a 3.5mm audio port, speakers, microphone, and IR blaster. Then below there are holes for speakers, microphones, and a USB-C port. This speaker produces a fairly loud volume for a cellphone in its class.
Screen
Redmi Note 11 uses a 6.43-inch AMOLED FHD + screen that has a refresh rate of 90Hz, up from the Redmi Note 10 which is only 60Hz. Even though it's not 120Hz, the 90Hz refresh rate is quite different from 60Hz. That is smoother animation, but not as much power consumption as a 120Hz screen.
Like other AMOLED screens, the Redmi Note 11 screen can display a very dense black color. As a default (and recommended) setting, the color profile is Vivid. But for me, the colors displayed are too bright in this setting, and make me more comfortable in Standard mode.
Unfortunately, there is no HDR support on this screen. In fact, according to specifications, the screen is quite capable with an average brightness level of 700 nits, and a maximum of 1000 nits.
But luckily the Redmi Note 11 has Widevine L1 DRM certification, which allows it to play videos at full resolution from services like Netflix.
Battery
Apart from the screen, I think the advantage of the Redmi Note 11 is in its battery life. During testing, with the 60Hz setting the phone easily lasted two full days. While on the 90Hz screen, on the 2nd day the battery runs out in the late afternoon.
Charging from an empty battery to full with the 33W charger that is in the sales package takes about an hour. While filling from empty to 50% only takes about 20 minutes.
Performance
Unfortunately, Snapdragon 680 is in my opinion the weak side of this phone. The graphics performance is no better than the Snapdragon 678 used in the Redmi Note 10. Even though this Snapdragon 680 is a new chip (released Q4 2021) and uses the 6nm process from TSMC.
For daily use, social media applications, chatting, or consuming content from YouTube or Netflix are actually still fine. But when it is used to play games, it feels like the Snapdragon 680's graphics performance is mediocre.
This can also be seen from the benchmark using 3DMark Wild Life, whose score was only 443. Whereas last year's Redmi Note 10 score could reach 480s.
Behind its mediocre graphic performance, fortunately, the Redmi Note 11 has efficient power consumption and does not heat up when used, even when benchmarked. This performance is also helped from the lightweight MIUI 13.
There are four rear cameras on the Redmi Note 11, divided into a 50MP main camera (operating at 12.5MP resolution by default), an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a macro camera and a depth sensor of 2MP each. While the front camera is 13MP.
Like mobile phones in this price class, the resulting image quality is quite decent in bright conditions, and decreases quite dramatically in dark conditions. This is common in the classroom, does not disappoint.
Conclusion
Overall, the Redmi Note 11 is an almost complete phone. The features are quite complete, such as NFC and there is even a 3.5mm audio port, FM radio, and IR blaster. For everyday use, it feels very capable. The drawback is in the SoC used, namely Snapdragon 680, to be precise in the graphics sector.
Oh yes, the Redmi Note 11 doesn't even have a 5G connection. But it feels in the price class, it can be forgiven. So, in my opinion, for non-gaming daily use, the Redmi Note 11 is a capable phone.