Introduction
The device we are reviewing today is the recently-announced international Redmi Note 11. It brings a few notable improvements to its predecessor - the Redmi Note 10. Its Super AMOLED panel may be the same size and resolution but its refresh rate is not higher at 90Hz. There is also a new 50MP main camera.
Xiaomi's current Redmi Note lineup naming is a bit of a mess, and that's just us being polite about it. As things stand, you should not confuse the model we're reviewing with last year's Redmi Note 11 for China or the Redmi Note 11 4G even though the device we have on our hands today is very much 4G-only as well.
It should also be differentiated from the Redmi Note 11S - basically the same model but with a MediaTek chipset and a camera upgrade to a 108MP main snapper.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 specs at a glance:
- Body: 159.9x73.9x8.1mm, 179g; plastic body; IP53, dust and splash protection.
- Display: 6.43" AMOLED, 90Hz, 700 nits, 1000 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 409ppi.
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM6225 Snapdragon 680 4G (6 nm): Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver); Adreno 610.
- Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM, 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; UFS 2.2; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
- OS/Software: Android 11, MIUI 13.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 118-degree; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 13 MP, f/2.4, (wide).
- Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 33W, 100% in 60 min (advertised), Power Delivery 3.0, Quick Charge 3+.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Infrared port; 3.5mm jack; Virtual proximity Sensor.
This Redmi Note 11 starts at $180 for a 4/64GB unit (and this is if you missed the early bird deal) and goes up to $230 for a 6/128GB unit. That's a bit less than last year's vanilla Redmi Note 10, which is curious.
Perhaps the reason for that is that not all of the changes are strictly upgrades over the last year's model. The Snapdragon 680 4G chipset for this year is definitely newer than the Snapdragon 678 in the Redmi Note 10 and is hence made on a much smaller and more efficient 6nm manufacturing process (compared to 11nm).
Even though it's a newer chipset, the Adreno 610 GPU inside the Snapdragon 680 is a downgrade compared to the Adreno 612 inside last year's Snapdragon 678. The same goes for the camera DSP, which is limited to 1080p video capture. Yet another unfortunate case of a 2022 device dropping 4K recording due to the feature being dropped from the Snapdragon 680 and Snapdragon 695.
Unboxing
The Redmi Note 11 has what can only be considered a rich retail package. The box itself is nothing special, just your standard two-piece affair. It is still made from sturdy cardboard, with everything on the inside nice and protected.
And there is plenty on the inside indeed. Aside from the phone itself and the usual things like a Type-A to Type-C cable, SIM ejector and some leaflets, Xiaomi has also included a 33W charger. It saturates the advertised 33W charging support on the Redmi Note 11 and is a great inclusion in the retail package. The same goes for the transparent TPU case. It feels sturdy and should hold up well. Plus, you can slap it on straight away and not worry about any accidents. The same goes for the included soft plastic screen protector. Even though the Redmi Note 11 has Gorilla Glass 5 covering its display, we still see the value of having that extra protection.
Many sellers also seem to be offering a free pair of wired headphones with the Note 11 Pro.
Design
The Redmi Note 11 has a pretty recognizable look. Xiaomi has been doing a segmented and accented camera island design for many of its phones for some time now, and it's particular enough to be memorable. The Redmi Note 11 has that going for it as well. The same goes for the Redmi Note 11S, which basically has the same exterior and the Redmi Note 11 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, which are just a tad bigger but mostly identical in terms of design. The small accents and circular patterns on the camera island add up to a coherent and eye-catching design.
Left to right: Redmi Note 11, Redmi Note 11S, Redmi Note 11 Pro, Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
As much as we generally like the current Xiaomi design language, we have to admit that telling many of the company's recent phones apart has become nearly impossible at first glance. Not that that's going to be a common problem for end-users.
The Redmi Note 11 has a nifty combination of square and rounded design elements going for it - a seemingly current trend now that Samsung also did something similar for its Galaxy S22 lineup. That being said, we wouldn't go as far as to call the Redmi Note 11 look iPhone-like. Its sides and middle frame kind of give off that vibe with their nearly flat surface.
The plastic middle frame has a very premium-looking and feeling matte finish to it on our Graphite Gray unit. Matte seems to be the norm for the Pearl White and Star Blue colors as well. We definitely like the look, but it is a fingerprint magnet.
So, even though the middle frame is similarly flat, its finish is nothing like the glossy metal one on recent iPhone models. There are major differences in the design of the front and back of the Redmi Note 11 too. Its back panel is still quite curvy, though it doesn't seem so in many official renders and product images. It gently slopes off on all four sides. The Redmi Note 11 Pro models are much flatter by comparison.
The finish here is matte as well and prone to grease and fingerprint accumulation. This surface has a slightly soft and silky feeling, which is likely due to the AG glass material it is made from.
We have to say that the materials and finishes on the Redmi Note 11 both look and feel more premium than on earlier Redmi Note generations. The Redmi Note 11 punches above its price in the looks department.
The silky surface on the Redmi Note 11 really helps with the grip.
The front of the Redmi Note 11 is a bit more telling of its budget nature. We have come a long way in the past couple of years, and what is now considered slightly bigger display bezels would have easily been deemed premium not that long ago. These are reasonably thin, though noticeably asymmetric.
The earpiece is nicely tucked away in the small top frame, alongside a few other sensors. The selfie punch hole is reasonably-sized, though it does have an inner and an outer black ring with an accented silver on in between, which we think is a bit much.
The front glass surface is mostly flat, though it still tapers off at the far edges and goes down into the middle frame, instead of having it extend up for an even flatter look - another distinction from Apple's current design. Still, the surface is plenty flat in practical terms and enables easy glass screen protector adhesion if that is your thing.
Build quality and materials
Despite managing to pull off a premium look for tis budget price point, the Redmi Note 11 still has to moderate its use of certain materials, notably metals. For the most part, it is constructed from plastic, as evidenced by the lack of antenna lines, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We've praised plastic for some of its characteristics in the past and will continue to do so since it's a durable and relatively lightweight material that doesn't dent or shatter quite like metal or glass. Hence, we don't mind at all that the frame of the Redmi Note 11 is plastic. It looks and feels great and provides stellar structural integrity with practically no flex.
Interestingly enough, despite the tight budget, Xiaomi still managed to pull off what we would call a "glass sandwich" on the Redmi Note 11 with both the front and back covered with a glass finish. AG glass on the back, complete with a soft, silky finish and Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. While far from the latest and greatest Corning has to offer, Gorilla Glass 3 still has stellar scratch resistance, arguably even better than some newer solutions and decent enough shatter protection.
Speaking of protection, the Redmi Note 11 has an IP53 ingress rating, which is just your basic dust and splash affair but still great to see on a device of its class.
Overall, the Redmi Note 11 feels very well made. Its chassis is dense yet not overly heavy at 179 grams. It instills confidence. It deserves praise both in terms of design and construction.
Controls and connectivity
The Redmi Note 11 deserves plenty of praise for its above-average assortment of connectivity and I/O as well. Its overall control layout is standard for the most part and works great. The volume rocker and power button are on the right-hand side, high enough on the frame to be convenient for most users. Both buttons feel great, are "clicky", and offer plenty of tactile feedback. The big "oddity" here, of course, being that Xiaomi went for a traditional capacitive fingerprint sensor in the power button rather than an under-display unit, even though the AMOLED display would have allowed for one.
We can't say for sure whether this was a decision motivated by costs savings or not, but our educated guess is that the two sensors don't differ that much in price nowadays, so we are leaning more towards this being a deliberate design of functionality choice from Xiaomi. In any case, we personally like a side-mounted fingerprint reader. And while that point is purely subjective, the reader on the Redmi Note 11 is very fast and perfectly accurate in purely objective terms. We have literally no complaints about it.
The left side frame of the Redmi Note 11 is mostly empty, sans for the triple tray that houses two nano-SIM cards and a separate microSD card slot for memory expansion, so you don't have to pick and choose. Naturally, you get dual stand-by on the two cards in 4G mode.
The top of the Redmi Note 11 is actually quite busy. Beyond the usual secondary noise-canceling mic, it also houses a 3.5mm audio jack, an increasingly rare sight. And speaking of rare sights - Xiaomi is one of the last to still include an IR blaster on some of their phones. While most users will find this useless, it can still be a lifesaver as a remote-control replacement for any number of appliances in a pinch.
There is also an intriguing speaker grill on the top bezel, potentially deceitful. Xiaomi advertises the Redmi Note 11 as having "Dual stereo speakers", but we can't say whether there are actually two fully symmetrical speakers on the top and bottom with one doubling as an earpiece or Xiaomi is using an amplified earpiece as the second channel - a popular approach. Teardown videos online do suggest there is just one dedicated speaker, though.
The grill is there as an extra direction to output sound from and is not fully milled down to the same depth along its entire length. That casts a bit more doubt whether the top speaker is a full-sized one. Regardless, we think the dual grill setup is a nifty addition since it makes covering up or muffling the speaker nearly impossible.
The speaker at the bottom is the real deal for sure. Next to it is the primary microphone and a USB Type-C port. As expected, the latter is wired for USB 2.0 data transfer. It also supports USB Host functionality. It can accept up to 33W of charging and supports both USB Power Delivery and Qualcomm Quick Charge 3+.
In terms of sensors, the Redmi Note 11 has an accelerometer, gyro, compass and proximity. However, the latter is an "AI Virtual Proximity Sensor" courtesy of Elliptic labs and isn't as accurate as a traditional hardware sensor. It behaved decently when it came to turning off the display during calls in our testing, but your mileage may vary based on how you take your calls.
There is a light sensor hidden away near the right side of the earpiece too. There is no notification LED, which is kind of the norm nowadays, though.
In terms of connectivity, the Redmi Note 11 has dual-band Wi-Fi ac with Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5,0 with LE support, GPS (just L1), GLONASS, BDS and GALILEO for positioning. Also on board - an IR blaster, NFC in some markets and an FM radio. A solid loadout in our book.
A familiar 6.43-inch AMOLED display, now with 90Hz refresh rate
One of the clear upgrades the Redmi Note 11 offers over its predecessor - the Redmi Note 10 - is a new display panel. It retains the same 6.43-inch diagonal as last year and the FullHD+ (1080 x 2400 pixel) resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, and 409 ppi. What is new this year is the addition of 90Hz refresh rate.
However, before we get to that, Xiaomi's new advertised brightness numbers are worth investigating. The Redmi Note 11 is advertised as being able to put out 700 nits of typical brightness with a 1000 nit peak. That last number is technically lower than the Redmi Note 10's 1100 advertised peak. In our standardized testing, however, the Redmi Note 11 managed to outpace its predecessor with a max auto-brightness of 736 nits.
Maxing out the manual brightness slider on the Redmi Note 11 results in a slightly lower 465 nits of max brightness compared to its predecessor, but in practical terms, the difference is indiscernible.
The Redmi Note 11 has excellent brightness and contrast for a budget device. While it can't quite compete with modern flagship OLED panels, its display still gets bright enough to be perfectly usable outdoors.
| Display test | 100% brightness | ||
| Black, |
White, |
||
| 0 | 746 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 746 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 736 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 725 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 682 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 657 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 597 | ∞ | |
| 0.33 | 510 | 1545:1 | |
| 0.333 | 500 | 1502:1 | |
| 0.275 | 492 | 1789:1 | |
| 0.4 | 477 | 1193:1 | |
| 0 | 475 | ∞ | |
| 0.349 | 472 | 1352:1 | |
| 0 | 470 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 470 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 465 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 458 | ∞ | |
| 0 | 457 | ∞ | |
| 0.268 | 437 | 1631:1 | |
| 0.264 | 410 | 1553:1 | |
| 0.292 | 398 | 1363:1 | |
| 0 | 396 | 1494:1 | |
| 0 | 391 | ∞ | |
| 0.236 | 385 | 1631:1 | |
| 0.21 | 377 | 1795:1 | |
There is a new option within the brightness settings menu called Sunlight mode, which is only available while auto-brightness is disabled. Despite what its name and crude description suggest, it does not "unlock" some hidden extra brightness the display is capable of. Instead, it is meant to be used in conjunction with a manual brightness setting and still allow the display to boost brightness in bright light when needed.
Display settings - brightness and colors
The Redmi Note 11 has a total of three color modes - Vivid, Saturated and Standard. The first two aim for the DCI-P3 color space and don't bother too much with color accuracy, instead prioritizing "OLED pop". Both modes produce similar colors, with Saturated offering slightly higher max brightness and, like the name suggests, slightly more saturated colors. Both modes are tuned a bit cold out of the box but can be adjusted and warmed up through the included custom white point control.
Custom white point for warming up vivid and saturated modes
If color accuracy is what you are after and you don't mind living with a "duller" palette, then Standard mode is the way to go. It basically nails sRGB color accuracy with deltaE results low enough to be considered color-accurate.
While still on the topic of colors, the Redmi Note 11 does not advertise any HDR support. That is to say that its display is not deemed or certified to show HDR content for one reason or another. The phone and its Snapdragon 680 chipset still offer and report HDR 10 and HLG decoding support on a software level. That means you can technically play HDR, but the colors will be tone-mapped to "SDR" before being displayed.
HDR decoding • Widevine • Netflix playback capabilities
The Redmi Note 11 has the full Widevine L1 DRM certification, which is great to see. That means that it can stream at HD and higher resolutions from platforms like Netflix. The latter happily offers FullHD streams to fully saturate the native resolution of the phone's display.
High refresh rate handling
The Redmi Note 11 comes with two refresh rate modes - 90Hz and 60Hz and for the most part, these act like "strict toggles".
Enabling 90Hz basically makes the phone run at 90Hz nearly all of the time. There is still some automatic switching logic in place, but for the most part, the refresh rate is basically locked, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Going by past experience, the battery draw difference between 60Hz and 90Hz is pretty minuscule on a modern panel. Having things set up in this straightforward way avoids some annoying edge cases that frequently arise with complicated automatic refresh rate switching.
Refresh rate selector
As we said, there is still some automatic logic at play in 90Hz mode. For the most part, the main UI and most apps just run at 90Hz.
UI and apps running at 90Hz
However, if you leave a static image on screen for long enough, the Redmi Note 11 does, on occasion, briefly, drop down to 60Hz. The refresh rate naturally shoots back up to 90Hz once you touch the phone, but that's not the only thing that triggers the jump back with it happening on its own as well. In practice, the phone still spends the majority of its time refreshing at 90Hz.
Briefly dropping down to 60Hz while displaying a static image
Videos playback is probably the most important automatic refresh rate trigger that is implemented and works reasonably consistently on the Redmi Note 11. Once the OS detects that you are playing back a video, be it local or otherwise, it generally drops its refresh rate to 60Hz, as it should, to conserve power.
Most video playback riggers 60Hz mode
Some apps like YouTube tend to run at 60Hz altogether, which is fine in our books. But, the logic is not perfect since Netflix was stuck at 90Hz regardless of whether we were browsing the UI or actually playing content. Again, the practical difference to battery life shouldn't be major, so we won't complain too much about this particular irregularity.
What we would love to see addressed by Xiaomi is the fact that Google Chrome - the default pre-installed browser is always stuck at 60Hz. That's a bummer since browsing can generally benefit from the smoother 90Hz scrolling and animations. At least both Firefox and the Samsung Internet browser we tried off of the Google Play Store didn't have this issue and ran at 90Hz with 90fps rendering.
Browsers behave differently in 90Hz mode
While on the topic of third-party apps, we already mentioned that Netflix always runs at 90Hz. The same goes for Facebook and Instagram. Whereas TikTok is stuck at 60Hz.
Apps in 90Hz mode: TikTok • Instagram • Facebook
Gaming in 90Hz mode is a bit of a mixed bag on the Redmi Note 11. We tried a few games we know can run at higher than 60Hz and 60fps, and most did, in fact, make proper use of the refresh rate and even managed to render at over 60fps on the relatively modest GPU of the Redmi Note 11. Others like Dead Trigger 2 were stuck at 60Hz. But then again, that's not a bad thing in this particular case, since according to the nifty FPS counter within Xiaomi's GAMETURBO, the Redmi Note 11 doesn't have the horsepower to even render Dead Trigger at 60fps, let alone above that.
Gaming in 90Hz mode: Dead Trigger 2 • Alto's Adventure • Pac Man 256 • 1945 Air Force
All things considered, the Redmi Note 11 does a relatively good job of managing its 90Hz high refresh rate mode. There are still some kinks to iron out here and there, but nothing that is particularly "game-breaking", disappointing or battery wasteful is present at this time.
Battery life
The Redmi Note 11 comes with a big 5,000 mAh battery. The Snapdragon 680 4G might not be overly impressive in terms of performance, but at least it makes up some ground in terms of battery efficiency, likely thanks to its modern and efficient 6nm manufacturing process. Plus, the X11 LTE modem, while not particularly fast, doesn't waste too much power either.
The Redmi Note 11 has all-around great battery life, scoring 126 hours of total endurance rating. Its standby and call numbers are particularly impressive. The same goes for on-screen video playback. The Redmi Note 11 is an excellent multimedia consumption machine. Web testing numbers are still plenty impressive but also the least consistent of the bunch.
While we haven't tested another Snapdragon 680 device yet for comparison, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G and the Realme 9 Pro are both based on the similar-enough Snapdragon 695 5G chipset and manage similarly-impressive battery numbers.
Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating denotes how long the battery charge will last you if you use the device for an hour of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. More details can be found here.
Video test carried out in 60Hz refresh rate mode. Web browsing test done at the display's highest refresh rate whenever possible. Refer to the respective reviews for specifics. To adjust the endurance rating formula to match your own usage patterns check out our all-time battery test results chart where you can also find all phones we've tested.
Charging speed
The Redmi Note 11 ships with one of Xiaomi's 33W chargers. We've seen those being bundled before, but charging speed from them has admittedly been a bit inconsistent across devices. Xiaomi claims the Redmi Note 11 can charge up fully in an hour.
We found that to be a bit ambitious. In our testing, the Redmi Note 11 managed to get up from 0% to 51% in 30 minutes, with a full charge taking a total of 78 minutes. Not too shabby for a budget device, though to reiterate, a bit inconsistent as far as the 33W charger goes, since that is about on par or perhaps a bit better than the Redmi Note 10 Pro with the same charger, but notably worse than the Redmi Note 10 again with the Xiaomi 33W charger.
30min charging test (from 0%)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
78% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
74% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
65% - Realme 8
56% - Poco M4 Pro 5G
54% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
51% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
50% - Nokia G21 (65W PD)
37% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
34% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G
33% - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 (65W PD)
31% - Realme 8i
30% - Infinix Zero 5G
30% - Realme 8 5G
29% - Xiaomi Redmi 10
26% - Infinix Note 10 Pro
26% - Samsung Galaxy A32
25% - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
23% - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
23% - Samsung Galaxy A22
23% - Nokia G21
22% - Samsung Galaxy A03s
15%
Time to full charge (from 0%)
Lower is better
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
0:45h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
0:48h - Poco M4 Pro 5G
1:07h - Realme 8
1:09h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1:13h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
1:18h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
1:21h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 (65W PD)
1:42h - Infinix Zero 5G
1:55h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
1:59h - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G
2:00h - Infinix Note 10 Pro
2:05h - Nokia G21 (65W PD)
2:09h - Xiaomi Redmi 10
2:13h - Samsung Galaxy A32
2:19h - Realme 8 5G
2:20h - Samsung Galaxy A22
2:20h - Realme 8i
2:21h - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
2:24h - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
2:29h - Nokia G21
2:49h - Samsung Galaxy A03s
3:38h
Speaking of the Xiaomi 33W charger, it can output at 5V@3A, 9V@3A, 12V@2.25A and 20V@1.35A. This all sounds suspiciously like Power Delivery, but that can't be the case since the charger itself has a female USB Type-A connector. Plus, the charger also has an odd 11V@3A output, which does not strictly fall under the PD spec either and is actually how it does its max 33W output. Hence, Xiaomi is probably using something akin to Quick Charge for its charging.
That being said, the Redmi Note 11 also advertises support for both Qualcomm Quick Charge 3+ (an oddly old spec) and Power Delivery. We tried topping off the phone with a powerful 65W PD charger with PPS for the sake of thoroughness and got notably slower charging numbers. Plus, the phone never actually reported a full charge, but remained "trickling" at 100% for over half an hour until we unplugged it.
Speaker quality
The Redmi Note 11 has a "Dual Stereo Speakers" setup. At least, that's what Xiaomi advertises on its website. That's a bit ambiguous, though, since it kind of implies there are two symmetrical, full-sized speakers on board. All of the signs actually point towards a hybrid stereo speaker on the Redmi Note 10 and the Redmi Note 10s, though.
While we can't point to an official source for that, teardown videos of the phone back that theory up. The top speaker frill is also milled to different depths down its length, which could be an indicator that not all of its length is actually used.
Regardless of the actual hardware setup, though, we are pleased with how well the speakers perform. They are well balanced and get pretty loud, scoring a Very Good rating in our test, with a virtually identical score to the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. Audio quality appears to be improved over the Redmi Note 10 generation as well, with clearer and richer mids and better-defined lows.
There is an automatic Dolby Atmos enhancement across various media apps like Gallery, Mi Video, YouTube, and whatnot, so you can expect an even better sound experience within those.
Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.
MIUI 13 on top of Android 11
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, like the rest of the Redmi Note 11 quartet, boots Android 11 with the most current MIUI 13 version. Most of the new MIUI features are under the hood, though they should make for a smoother, smarter, and more secure experience. The Redmi Note 11 seems to have a few features missing here and there that are present on the Pro models, but we'll get to that.
This version of MIUI 13 is based on Android 11, and it does not include any of the Android 12 features like the revamped widgets and their new widget page in the app drawer. There is no advanced Privacy Dashboard either with options like a protected clipboard, approximate location, updated Face Unlock algorithm. The updated File Manager and Clock app with Bedtime mode are nowhere to be found either.
Other notable missing features on Android 11 + MIUI 13 combo are the improved one-handed mode (iOS-style) and the improved camera app with zero shutter lag and motion photos.
Finally, the advertised new live wallpapers showing microscopic stuff like how vitamin C and citric acid crystallize, as part of the Beauty of Science collaboration, are not available on the Redmi Note 11 series just yet.
Live wallpapers
Still, Xiaomi claims that MIUI has been reworked completely, even if you cannot tell that by the interface and its design alone - it looks and feels just like MIUI 12. But the new version reportedly focuses on better resource distribution and should handle processor, RAM and storage usage smarter.
For example, MIUI 13 is supposed to keep track of current processor and RAM usage and suspend any currently unnecessary tasks to free resources and offer more fluid performance. Xiaomi promises a background process efficiency increase of up to 40% compared to the previous version. Hopefully, that doesn't just mean aggressive background service killing since that has its own set of issues.
Xiaomi has a new under the hood feature called Liquid storage. The company claims that the storage performance on most phones is halved in 36 months due to inefficient storage management. And this is where MIUI 13 comes in - it offers 60% better defragmentation efficiency than MIUI 12 and other competitors. So, the storage performance drop in 36 months should be merely 5%. This sounds impressive, so here is hoping this feature lives up to the hype.
The new MIUI core also features reworked power management which promises a 10% drop in overall power consumption compared to MIUI 12.
Power manager
Let's kick the software tour off with the Always-on display. It is present on the Redmi Note 11, but it's not exactly always on. It can only appear for 10s after a tap. At least, there are a lot of AOD themes you can choose from. A few of those can also be customized.
Always-on display
There is a breathing Notification effect baked into the OS. It can work with or without Always-on Display. It's sort of a stand-in for a visual notification alert in place of the absent notification LED.
The lock screen clock style is quite customizable, and you can add some emergency contact info there.
Notification effect and lock screen settings
You unlock the screen via the side-mounted fingerprint scanner. The reader is easy to set up, blazing-fast, and the accuracy is superb. You can set the unlock method to Touch or Press - the Press will spare you accidental misreads of your palm (that eventually lead to PIN input) if you are using the phone without a case. A 2D Face Unlock is available, too, but it is far less secure than the fingerprint option.
Security options
There is nothing particularly new or different about the main UI in MIUI 13. Some home screens, as usual with shortcuts, folders and widgets. There is a Google Discover feed on the far left if you choose to enable it.
MIUI 13
Just like in MIUI 12, MIUI 13 offers an independent Notification shade and Control Center. You summon them like on the iPhones - pull down from the left part of the screen for the Notification Center, pull down from the right for the Control Center.
If you prefer the traditional combined UX Android typically offers, MIUI 13 does allow you to get that back with a flick of a setting.
Notifications and Control Center
MIUI 13 offers an app drawer. It has a nifty search box, and it automatically organizes your apps into categories. The first is All, meaning it contains all apps. Then follow Communication, Entertainment, Photography, Tools, New, and Business. You can edit these categories or even disable them altogether.
You can disable the app drawer entirely if that's not your thing.
App drawer
While the task switcher is a familiar Xiaomi affair overall, we did notice some omissions on the Redmi Note 11. Notably, holding down an all-in-the-two-column list does not bring up split-screen options. In fact, after searching high and low, we can only conclude that the Redmi Note 11 lacks a split-screen feature altogether. Perhaps Xiaomi deemed the experience not good enough on its weaker chipset? We can't say for sure.
You can still spawn a single Floating Window app at any time, though. There is an interface for that above the two recent apps columns. The app needs to support free form mode, too.
Task switcher and floating windows, but not split-screen
Themes have always been a huge part of MIUI, and they are available on MIUI 13, too. You can download new ones from the Themes store, and they can change wallpapers, ringtones, system icons, and even the always-on display style.
Themes
There are a few proprietary apps in MIUI. Some of these include Gallery, Music, Mi Video (with streaming options), FM radio. There is also an MIUI File Manager. And, of course, a Mi Remote app that uses the integrated IR blaster.
Gallery • Music • Video • FM Radio • File Manager • Mi Remote
The default image editor baked into the Gallery app has a nifty new Protective watermark feature. It can overlay a pro-looking custom watermark text for you.
Protective watermark
MIUI also offers a Security app. It is a nice centralized hub that can scan your phone for malware, manage your blacklist, manage or restrict your data usage, configure battery behavior, and free up some RAM. It can also manage the permissions of your installed apps, define the battery behavior of selected apps, and apply restrictions only to certain apps.
Security app
And speaking of memory, MIUI 13 offers Memory Extension option that's active by default (you can disable it if you like). Our Redmi Note 11 extends the 4GB of RAM with an additional 1GB of virtual RAM. The Redmi Note 11 Pro unit we recently reviewed had an extra 3GB of virtual memory.
Memory Extension
Another thing we were expecting to see on the Redmi Note 11 since it is present on the Redmi Note 11 Pro models is the Xiaomi Smart Sidebar. In a rather odd twist, it is not all there, yet not entirely missing either. There is no option called Smart Sidebar, but the Special features menu does still include a Video toolbox, which is one of the more interesting features housed within the Smart Sidebar. Enable that for your choice of "video apps", and you end up with a familiar little area on the left side that you can swipe from and get what is essentially the Smart Sidebar, just notably missing audio options. You can still use it to launch apps in pop-up windows, Screenshot, Record screen, Cast, and Play Video with the screen off. And, oh yes, the last one works on YouTube, no Premium subscription needed!
No Smart Sidebar, but screen off video playback is still present
Other interesting MIUI 13 improvements you may not notice at first include a better screenshot editor, a brand-new battery page.
When you take a screenshot, you will notice a modern-looking interface with brushes, erasers, text and selection tools, among others.
The battery page on the Redmi Note 11 has a new look and offers some extra info like battery temperature but lacks the new Performance mode found on the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G. Not that it is particularly useful, to begin with. You just have the default mode and two power-saver levels.
Another extra feature on the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G missing from the Redmi Note 11 is the toggle to enable video capture with the screen off within the camera app. Again, not a deal-breaking omission, but a noteworthy one.
Camera settings • Screenshot editor • Battery manager
Some MIUI ROMs include ads in the default apps. On our review units, the Redmi Note 11 Pro doesn't have any ads, but the Redmi Note 11, the Redmi Note 11S and the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G version did come with baked-in ad "recommendations".
Ads
You can disable those even if it's a bit tedious to do it because you have to do it for every system app that has them. For example, if you are annoyed by the app scanner's ads, just hit the settings gear, and disable recommendations. Ads in the File Manager - Settings->About should do it. Themes - go to Settings and disable Recommendations. It's not ideal, sure, but at least you can get rid of them all.
Disabling the Ads only happens from every app manually
MIUI 13 has a lot of under the hood improvements that promise a smoother and faster experience right now and for the next couple of years due to many optimizations. The interface is pretty much MIUI 12 with a couple of tweaks here and there. So, if you didn't expect a groundbreaking redesign, you will feel right at home with MIUI 13. We don't expect Android 12 to change that either.
Overall, MIUI 13 on the Redmi Note 11 runs decently smooth, despite all of the extra visual flair. There are no stutters, but the occasional slowdown does happen. The Snapdragon 680 seems to be straining quite a bit. While fine out of the box, we already see the potential for lagging after installing and running a few heavier apps. To that end, we hope that Xiaomi's MIUI 13 under the hood optimization really do deliver as promised.
Performance and benchmarks
The budget smartphone scene is constantly improving and has done so in leaps and bounds over the last few years, much to the user's benefit. The Redmi Note 11 is a sub-EUR 200 device, and it still delivers features such as a solid 90Hz AMOLED display, stereo speakers, a decent camera setup and a big 5,000 mAh battery that charges at a respectable 33W, just to name a few. Even so, as the saying goes, something has to give, and in this particular case, the Snapdragon 680 chipset is arguably one of the weakest parts of the Redmi Note 11.
On the surface, the Snapdragon 680 (SM6225) is a modern chip. It was released in Q4 2021 and is made on a current and efficient TSMC 6nm node. Once you start reading into some of its other specs in detail, though, some major compromises start to show through. For one, its four "big" Kryo 265 Gold cores are based on the ARM Cortex-A73 from all the way back in 2016, while the Cortex-A53 base for the "LITTLE" Kryo 265 Silver ones was unveiled in 2012. Both are several generations old and can't really keep up with more potent and recent CPU cores. The Snapdragon 680 has these set up in a 4x2.4 GHz Kryo 265 Gold & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo 265 Silver configuration.
Then there is the Adreno 610 GPU - another aging piece of kit that is almost operating at its maximum supported display resolution limit of 2520x1080 pixels on the Redmi Note 11, with its 1080 x 2400 resolution display. That should be indication enough for its performance. We are almost wondering how it is managing 90Hz or rather anywhere close to 90fps at all. The Spectra 346 camera ISP and Hexagon 686 DSP of the Snapdragon 680 are nothing to phone home about either and are the reason why the Redmi Note 11 is only limited to 1080p video capture. By the way, the Snapdragon 695 is even more of a disappointment than the Snapdragon 680 in this regard since it shares this limitation, while the older and "lower number" Snapdragon 690 doesn't. But, we are getting off-topic.
Continuing the list of less-than-impressive Snapdragon 680 features, we have the X11 LTE modem, which is rated at Cat. 13 speeds, capped at 390 Mbps down and 150 Mbps up. Quick Charge 3+ support is also a bit old, but still, plenty fast, plus the Redmi Note 11 supports Power Delivery 3.0, as well, so we have less of a quarrel with that, and we can't complain of the other abundant and fairly modern connectivity on the phone like Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, IR blaster, to name a few.
For the sake of thoroughness, we are running these benchmarks on a base Redmi Note 11 unit with 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of UFS 2.2 internal storage.
Let's kick things off with some pure CPU loads and GeekBench. The Snapdragon 680 holds up decently well here. You can expect comparable performance to a MediaTek G80 or G95. Not far from the Dimensity 700 or 720, depending on the loads you are looking at. Not too shabby.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
2832 - Infinix Zero 5G
2169 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
2063 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
1797 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
1780 - Poco X3 NFC
1777 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
1729 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
1719 - Realme 8
1690 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
1673 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
1662 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
1644 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1599 - Realme 9i
1581 - Samsung Galaxy A22
1372 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
1314 - Xiaomi Redmi 10
1294 - Samsung Galaxy A32
1277 - Nokia G21
1193 - Samsung Galaxy A12
1034
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
787 - Infinix Zero 5G
706 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
688 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
597 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
569 - Poco X3 NFC
568 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
560 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
534 - Realme 8
533 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
511 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
510 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
505 - Realme 9i
384 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
376 - Samsung Galaxy A22
376 - Xiaomi Redmi 10
361 - Samsung Galaxy A32
361 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
352 - Nokia G21
311 - Samsung Galaxy A12
169
On a side note, it is good to see that the Redmi Note 11 is scoring very similarly to the Redmi 9i, which has the same Snapdragon 680 chipset. Good in relative terms, of course, since consistency is appreciated.
That goes for the compound benchmark AnTuTu with its mix of various tests, including GPU runs and tests on memory and storage. A middle-of-the-pack result is not too bad, but if you are willing to go for slightly older or slightly more expensive devices, you can get much better overall performance.
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Infinix Zero 5G
419083 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
310342 - Realme 8
298328 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
296721 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
295442 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
288914 - Poco X3 NFC
283750 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
261309 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
242155 - Realme 9i
229368 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
228044 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
226561 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
218788 - Samsung Galaxy A22
185358 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
180195 - Samsung Galaxy A32
174332 - Samsung Galaxy A12
107189
AnTuTu 9
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
527663 - Infinix Zero 5G
487639 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
382902 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
365490 - Realme 8
357488 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
353663 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
319093 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
244526 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
223188 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
222125 - Nokia G21
171299 - Samsung Galaxy A22
165959 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
165779
There is no point beating about the bush, the Adreno 610 GPU is rather disappointing on a 2022 device. It gets beaten out by pretty much any other hardware in the price range, sans for the MediaTek Helio P35 inside the Samsung Galaxy A12 and the odd Unisoc T606 powering the Nokia G21.
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
19 - Infinix Zero 5G
14 - Realme 8
12 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
12 - Poco X3 NFC
11 - Samsung Galaxy A22
9.2 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
8.4 - Nokia G21
6 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
5.6 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
5.4 - Samsung Galaxy A32
5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
4.6 - Samsung Galaxy A12
4.6
GFX Aztek ES 3.1 High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
13 - Infinix Zero 5G
10 - Realme 8
7.7 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
7.7 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
5.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
3.7 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
3.4 - Samsung Galaxy A22
3.3 - Samsung Galaxy A32
3.3 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
3.1 - Nokia G21
1.9 - Samsung Galaxy A12
1.5
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
20 - Infinix Zero 5G
13 - Realme 8
11 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
11 - Poco X3 NFC
11 - Samsung Galaxy A22
9.4 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
7.8 - Nokia G21
5.6 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
5.3 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
4.8 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
4.7 - Samsung Galaxy A32
4.4 - Samsung Galaxy A12
3.8
GFX Aztek Vulkan High (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
14 - Infinix Zero 5G
9.5 - Realme 8
7.5 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
7.5 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
5.1 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
3.5 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
3.1 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
3.1 - Samsung Galaxy A22
2.9 - Samsung Galaxy A32
2.9 - Nokia G21
1.8 - Samsung Galaxy A12
1.2
Honestly, sitting through multiple runs on some of the more difficult tests was just excruciating. To be fair, though, chips like the Helio G80 or G85 aren't that much better in GPU terms. The Helio G96, and particularly the G95, though, as well as most of the Dimensity chips out there, will give you tangibly better performance.
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
28 - Infinix Zero 5G
19 - Realme 8
18 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
17 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
16 - Samsung Galaxy A22
16 - Poco X3 NFC
16 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
13 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
12 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
12 - Nokia G21
8.9 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
8.7 - Samsung Galaxy A32
8.1 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
7.9 - Realme 9i
7.3 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
6.8 - Samsung Galaxy A12
5
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
33 - Infinix Zero 5G
25 - Realme 8
20 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
20 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro
19 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
19 - Poco X3 NFC
19 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
16 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
14 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
14 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
9.6 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
9.3 - Samsung Galaxy A22
9.3 - Samsung Galaxy A32
9.3 - Realme 9i
8.2 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
8 - Nokia G21
5.2 - Samsung Galaxy A12
3.3
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
49 - Infinix Zero 5G
35 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
34 - Samsung Galaxy A22
30 - Realme 8
29 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
28 - Poco X3 NFC
27 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
23 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
22 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
21 - Nokia G21
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
15 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
14 - Realme 9i
14 - Samsung Galaxy A12
13 - Samsung Galaxy A32
13 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
12
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
56 - Infinix Zero 5G
43 - Realme 8
33 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
33 - Poco X3 NFC
33 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
30 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
26 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
24 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
24 - Realme 9i
23 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
17 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
16 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
15 - Samsung Galaxy A22
15 - Samsung Galaxy A32
15 - Nokia G21
8.5 - Samsung Galaxy A12
7.7
GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
68 - Infinix Zero 5G
57 - Realme 8
48 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
48 - Samsung Galaxy A22
42 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
41 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
37 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
34 - Poco X3 NFC
33 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
31 - Nokia G21
24 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
22 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
21 - Samsung Galaxy A32
21 - Realme 9i
20 - Samsung Galaxy A12
19 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
18
GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
78 - Infinix Zero 5G
64 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
54 - Realme 8
53 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
47 - Poco X3 NFC
44 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
40 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
37 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
32 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
25 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
24 - Samsung Galaxy A22
24 - Samsung Galaxy A32
24 - Realme 9i
23 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
21 - Nokia G21
14 - Samsung Galaxy A12
12
3D mark paints nearly the exact same grim picture.
3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
4979 - Infinix Zero 5G
3845 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
2748 - Poco X3 NFC
2689 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
2638 - Realme 8
2610 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
2391 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1471 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
1399 - Samsung Galaxy A22
1361 - Realme 9i
1339 - Samsung Galaxy A32
1323 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
1316 - Nokia G21
962 - Samsung Galaxy A12
365
3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
4608 - Infinix Zero 5G
3558 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
2854 - Realme 8
2639 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
2509 - Poco X3 NFC
2495 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
2257 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
1424 - Samsung Galaxy A22
1383 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
1372 - Samsung Galaxy A32
1371 - Realme 9i
1291 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
1267 - Nokia G21
930 - Samsung Galaxy A12
612
3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE
2477 - Infinix Zero 5G
2035 - Infinix Note 10 Pro
1506 - Realme 8
1486 - Poco M4 Pro 5G
1232 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
1204 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
1185 - Samsung Galaxy A22 5G
1104 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
1101 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021
722 - Samsung Galaxy A22
691 - Samsung Galaxy A32
686 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 10
482 - Realme 9i
452 - Xiaomi Redmi Note 11
439 - Nokia G21
403
At least we still get consistent scores from the Redmi Note 11 both compared to the Redmi 9i and across OpenGL and Vulkan renderers, and even while struggling to push frames, rendering remained stable and crash-free.
That's not much of a consolation, though, if you are after a good gaming experience. The Redmi Note 11 and its Snapdragon 680 just don't have the graphics power for anything more than the most casual games. To be clear, most titles out there will still run due to the extremely flexible and scalable nature of modern mobile game engines, but not nearly good enough to deliver an adequate experience. If gaming is a priority for you, look elsewhere.
On the plus side, thanks to its modern 6nm manufacturing process and its limited performance, the Snapdragon 680 and the Redmi Note 11 don't struggle with heat in any meaningful way. Thermal throttling tests show hardly show any performance losses along the way and the surface of the Redmi Note 11 never really heated up in any noticeable way.
Thermal throttling tests on the Redmi Note 11
And on another important positive note, despite some of its raw performance deficiencies, the Redmi Note 11 never had any issues actually running MIUI 13 smoothly at all. Slowdowns were few and far between, with practically no stutters while doing everyday tasks and running things like social networks and productivity apps.
We won't make any excuses for Xiaomi here; the Redmi Note 11 is not a powerful device by any means. In some aspects, it is not even as powerful as its predecessor - the Redmi Note 10. You can get much better numbers for your money elsewhere. Still, if you don't intend to game much on your phone, these performance deficiencies aren't nearly as prominent or a dealbreaker.
A familiar quad-camera setup
The Redmi Note 11 has a fairly standard budget camera setup at its disposal. One we have actually seen in some capacity or another, perhaps with slight alterations on other recent Xiaomi devices. It has a 50MP main snapper on the back with simple PDAF, alongside an 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth cameras. On the front - a 13MP selfie. All of these with fixed focus and no notable extra features.
As we already mentioned, one of the bigger disappointments in the camera department is the Redmi Note 11's video capture limit of 1080p, courtesy of the ISP on the Snapdragon 680 chipset. Unfortunately, a limit shared with many of its "Pro" sibling models, but one notably not present on last year's Redmi Note 10.
Let's quickly go through the camera hardware inside the Redmi Note 11 first.
The 50MP primary camera uses the Samsung S5KJN1 sensor (1/2.76" size and 0.64 µm individual pixels) - a fairly-popular unit we've seen in quite a few other devices like the Xiaomi Redmi 10, Poco M4 Pro 5G, Realme 8i, Realme 9i, Samsung Galaxy A23 and the Motorola Moto G21, G51 and G71, to name a few. It's a decent piece of hardware, but one that has never really managed to impress us with its real-world quality. It is a Quad-Bayer unit and outputs stills in 12.5MP by default. It just offers basic phase detection autofocus, no OIS, and the Redmi Note 11 has it is sitting behind a 26mm, f/1.8 lens. Nothing too fancy.
The 8MP ultrawide camera uses a GalaxyCore GC08A3 sensor (1/4" size and 1.12 µm individual pixels). It sits behind a 118-degree, f/2.2 lens and has fixed focus.
The 2MP macro camera uses a GalaxyCore GC02M1 sensor (1/5" size and 1.75 µm individual pixels) behind an f/2.4 lens. The 2MP depth sensor is an Omnivision OV02B1B (1/5" size and 1.75 µm individual pixels) with pretty much identical characteristics and also behind an f/2.4 lens.
The 13MP selfie camera is nothing to phone home about either. It is based on the Samsung S5K3L6 sensor (1/3.1" size and 1.12 µm individual pixels) and has a rather dark f/2.4 lens. No autofocus or anything fancy for it either.
Camera app
The camera app is a rather straightforward implementation, though it does have its quirks. First, basic operation for changing modes works with side swipes (on the black bezel!), and you can also tap on the modes you can see to switch to those directly. Up and down swipes don't work for switching between the front and rear cameras; only the toggle next to the shutter release does that.
You can add, remove, and rearrange modes in the main rolodex by going to the More tab and navigating to the edit button, and you can access that from the settings menu as well. The unused modes will still be in that More tab, but you can switch to a (less intuitive) pull-out pane that's summoned from a line next to the shutter release.
The hamburger menu at the far end is where you'll find additional options, including the Super Macro mode (why here and not a mode in the rolodex?), plus the icon to access the settings. Next to that hamburger menu, you have a flash mode switch, an HDR switch, an AI toggle, a shortcut to Google Lens, and a magic wand with beauty effects and filters.
On the near end, you have the camera zoom switch that operates in one of two fashions. The first is simply tapping on one of the three dots representing the ultra-wide, primary, and 2x digital options. Or you can tap on the active magnification and slide sideways to reveal even more zoom levels - 2x and 10x, plus a slider for intermediate magnifications.
Camera app and settings
There's a nicely capable Pro mode, where you can tweak the shooting parameters yourself. Unlike some of Xiaomi's other models, Pro mode is only available on the main and ultrawide cameras on the Redmi Note 11.
You get to pick one of 4 white balance presets or dial in the light temperature with a slider, there's a manual focusing slider (with peaking as an option), and shutter speed (1/4000s to 30s/15s/0.25s for main/ultrawide/macro) and ISO control with the range depending on which camera you're using. A tiny live histogram is available, and a toggle for zebras can be found in the hamburger menu.
Pro camera mode
As expected, there's a host of extra modes, including Long Exposure with its own set of different presets - moving crowd, neon trails, oil painting, light painting, starry sky, and star trails.
Night mode is only available for the main camera on the Redmi Note 11. And just like many previous Xiaomi models, there is no auto Night mode.
Photo quality
The main camera captures 12.5MP stills by default. These look decent, particularly for a budget device, but are nothing to phone home about. Colors look nice and true to life, and there is a good amount of detail in the shots. They are not overly soft either, even around the far corners of the frame. Contrast isn't bad either.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP main camera samples
On the flip side, these shots are a bit noisier than we would have liked. The sky and other uniform surfaces tend to look grainy. Dynamic range isn't stellar either, and the camera has a tendency to underexpose a bit and produce darker shots.
There is an Ai mode toggle on the Redmi Note 11, as is usually the case on recent Xiaomi phones. It does some automatic scene detection, which, going by the changing icons, is mostly accurate. Also, as usual, however, it tends to "improve" shots by saturating the colors and boosting contrast depending on the scenes - skies, greenery, buildings. We can't say we enjoy the effect ourselves. Then again, it can hide some of the noise, and it might be your cup of tea. In any case, we are glad Ai is disabled by default.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP main camera samples: Ai OFF • Ai ON
You can force the Redmi Note 11 to shoot in 50MP mode. Capturing these shots doesn't take too long either. We can't necessarily say we recommend using this mode, though, since you don't get much in the way of extra detail.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 50MP main camera samples
Pixel-peeling reveals a slight advantage in sharpness for the 50MP stills, but on finer detail, especially in the distance, said sharpness looks more like artificial sharpening than actual detail. We think it's not worth the hassle of dealing with big file sizes just for that. Other than that, these shots retain the same characteristics as regular ones from the main cam.
The main camera can pull-off a pretty decent portrait shot. Subject detection and separation are almost perfect. The artificial bokeh is pleasant too. Detail is plenty, and there is very little noise to speak of. Portrait mode also works just as well on non-human subjects.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP main camera portrait samples
Honestly, the main gripes we have with these portraits are actually gripes with the rather limited dynamic range of the main camera itself and its tendency to underexpose, which frequently crushes detail in the shadows.
Xiaomi has seemingly been putting in some extra work into its digital zoom shots lately and its shows. These photos are not just a simple crop and upscale back to 12.5MP. There is definitely some "smart" upscaling involved.
At 2x shots look surprisingly good, perhaps even slightly better than 1x shots from the main camera since there appears to be more noise reduction going on. Even so, the photos still manage to retain plenty of detail and don't look overly soft. Colors are nice and natural, just like in 1x shots.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP 2x zoom main camera samples
These shots are still a bit dark, and the dynamic range isn't stellar, but overall, for a budget device - we can't complain. You probably don't want to zoom beyond 2x, though, since things start to deteriorate quickly.
Before we move on from the main camera, here is how it stacks up against competitors in our vast photo compare database. We made sure to include both 12.5MP and 50MP shots. Pixel-peep away.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 against the Xiaomi Redmi 10 and the Nokia G21 in our Photo compare tool
50MP: Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 against the Xiaomi Redmi 10 and the Nokia G21 in our Photo compare tool
Shots from the 8MP ultrawide camera are a bit of a letdown, particularly since we've seen much better performance from 8MP ultrawides on recent Xiaomi devices. Even budget ones. While still mostly usable at a 1:1 zoom level, these stills are processed in an aggressive way. Most fine detail actually picked up and recognized by the algorithms is aggressively oversharpened and even distorted to the point of pixelization. That leaves behind a mess of smeary and blurry "blobs" for things like far away foliage and surfaces alongside pixelated "detail".
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 8MP ultrawide camera samples
At least the ultrawide seems to expose a bit better than the main camera, resulting in slightly brighter shots. Though the dynamic range is even more limited here, as expected, and that still frequently ends up being detrimental to detail in shadows.
Last and probably least, rounding out the rear cameras on the Redmi Note 11, we have the 2MP dedicated macro camera. Despite its diminutive size, low resolution, fixed focus and dim lens, it actually captures surprisingly detailed and usable shots. Colors look just fine. The fixed focus is quite forgiving.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 2MP macro camera samples
It is still preferable to take at least a few shots to ensure at least one works, but the results are surprisingly clean and usable. We still don't know why Xiaomi insists on having the Macro mode shortcut in the most awkward place, though.
Shots from the 13MP selfie camera are all-around solid. Detail is great. Colors look natural. Even though the focus is fixed, just like with the macro cam, the focal plane is nice and wide and forgiving.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 13MP selfie camera samples
There is some noise in the frame, but it's hardly bothersome. The only important detail to note here is that you pretty much always want HDR set to auto. Or rather never want to shoot with it disabled since the background just gets horribly overexposed and practically erased.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 13MP selfie camera samples, HDR Off
This unfortunate issue plagues the otherwise decent selfie portraits. These retain the excellent quality of regular selfies, with consistently good subject detection and separation, though still not perfect.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 13MP selfie camera portrait samples
The trouble is that HDR is not available for selfie portraits and hence is unable to mitigate whatever is causing the background to overexpose and clip so aggressively. Then again, it is arguably less of an issue since it is meant to be blurred anyway.
Low-light photo quality
The main camera captures what can best be described as usable but unimpressive shots. Good enough for a budget device, mostly thanks to the laid-back noise suppression, which leaves behind plenty of noise but also doesn't destroy detail in the process. Colors look decent and true to life as well.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP main camera low-light samples
Dynamic range is poor, and contrast isn't particularly great. This is where Night mode would typically step it, but, unfortunately, as with some of its previous budget devices, Xiaomi still hasn't made night mode worthwhile. It can slightly brighten up the occasional shot, but it does little to nothing for detail and noise.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP main camera night mode samples
In fact, on occasion, its stacking can lead to slightly softer areas of the shot. At least it doesn't take too long to capture a night mode shot. Even so, we can't recommend using it, particularly on 1x shots. There can be a bit more of a case to be made for night mode in 2x zoom shots.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP 2x zoom main camera night mode samples
These tend to be a bit brighter on average than regular 2x low-light shots. Again, the difference is hardly significant, and 2x zoom shots from the Redmi Note 11 at night are kind of a stretch as a whole.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 12.5MP 2x zoom main camera low-light samples
Low-light shots from the 8MP ultrawide camera are pretty disappointing. At least you can make out what is in the shot, but beyond that, these are quite soft and dark. At least the aggressive overprocessing and pixelization artifacts from daylight ultrawide shots appear to be absent in low-light. Either the algorithms are struggling to actually find something to oversharpen, or we just can't notice the damage in the final photo.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 11: 8MP ultrawide camera low-light samples
There is no night mode available for the ultrawide camera on the Redmi Note 11.
Video quality
The Redmi Note 11 is limited when it comes to video capture, mostly due to the capabilities or rather lack thereof of the ISP inside the Snapdragon 680. The Redmi Note 11 can capture video at either 1080p@30fps or 720p@30fps on both its main and ultrawide cameras, as well as the selfie, and that's it. No 4K, not even a 60fps mode. That's an unfortunate reality, particularly since the older Redmi Note 10 could shoot 4K.
You do at least get the choice between the standard h.264 encoding or the more efficient h.265 (HEVC) encoder. The former 1080p videos end up with a solid 20 Mbps AVC videos stream and a 48 kHz stereo audio stream inside an MP4 container-the usual.
As far as 1080p goes, both the main and ultrawide cameras actually manage decent video capture. The colors and exposure are noticeably different between the two, and the ultrawide understandably struggles with dynamic range a lot more, but detail is decent for FullHD, and there is very little noise.
There is no OIS present on any camera on the Redmi Note 11. There is also no EIS option available in the camera settings menu. However, there is definitely some amount of relatively mild electronic stabilization that is always enabled. It does well enough to smooth out camera shake and slow controlled pans on both the main cam and the ultrawide, but not much else.
Unfortunately, having the EIS always enabled and not transparent to the user makes perfectly framing a video practically impossible. We can't imagine many people will need to precisely frame a poster in their day-to-day lives, but you'll have to excuse our framing since whatever cropping and reframing the EIS is doing, it's not even visible in the camera preview viewfinder, making this an impossible task.
Still, here is how the Redmi Note 11 stacks up against competitors in our extensive video comparison database.
1080p: Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 against the Xiaomi Redmi 10 and the Nokia G21 in our Video compare tool
Finally, low-light videos from the Redmi Note 11 are also what we would call decent but entirely unimpressive. We give it a pass for a budget device. There is a reasonable amount of detail, considering the FullHD resolution and noise, while present is not over the top. Colors are decent too.
Beyond that, don't expect too much out of these since the Redmi Note 11 is clearly struggling with dynamic range and both crushing shadows and handling light sources poorly.
Competition
At the time of writing this review, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 will set you back about EUR 200 in Europe. An entry 4GB/64GB unit is currently going for INR 13,499 on Amazon India, which is a bit cheaper still. Not a bad price, but not necessarily the best deal either on today's highly-competitive budget market.
Left to right: Redmi Note 11, Redmi Note 11S, Redmi Note 11 Pro, Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G
Coming in hot with the first and probably most obvious choice is last year's Redmi Note 10 line. While the Redmi Note 10 Pro is admittedly a bit over-budget, the Redmi Note 10 hits the mark exactly. Granted, going for it instead of the Redmi Note 11, you will be giving up on the new OLED panel and its 90Hz refresh rate. Also, notably, the Redmi Note 10 doesn't do quite as well in the battery endurance department. It still has great battery life, just not as good as the Snapdragon 680 inside the Redmi Note 11. That being said, you do get 4K video capture with the Redmi Note 10 and, as a whole better all-around performance thanks to the Snapdragon 678 chip. Depending on your personal priorities, that can make it a better deal.
If you can live with an IPS display instead of an OLED, the Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G is arguably a much better-rounded device than the Redmi Note 11. Sure, you are still not getting 4K video capture, but the Dimensity 810 5G chipset is more potent and offers 5G. It has excellent battery life and fast charging to boot. You are not really sacrificing anything in terms of smaller extras going for the Poco, either. Things like stereo speakers, IR, FM Radio, NFC and a 3.5mm jack.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 • Xiaomi Poco M4 Pro 5G • Samsung Galaxy A22 • Realme 9 5G
Moving past Xiaomi, there are a few excellent options courtesy of Samsung. Budget devices like the Galaxy A12 deserve some attention, and the same goes for the Galaxy F23 which is not easy to come by on every market. The excellent Galaxy A series is pretty much universally available, though. Granted, you need to look at some slightly older models to fit the price bracket, and, even then, the original Galaxy A32 is a bit over-budget. The Galaxy A22, however, fits right in. With it, you get an excellent 90Hz Samsung AMOLED panel (an HD one, though), a big 5,000 mAh battery with great battery life, a solid MediaTek Helio G80 chipset and a versatile camera setup. However, unlike the Redmi Note 11, there are no stereo speakers or fast charging, to name just a couple of omissions.
It should come as no surprise that for every market segment Xiaomi decides to target, Realme is always close by. In fact, in this particular case, it seems that Realme was first with the Realme 9i - a near spec for spec alternative to the Redmi Note 11. It has, however, an IPS panel instead of an OLED, and it lacks an ultrawide camera. Plus, rocking the same Snapdragon 680 chipset, it is plagued by the same performance issues like the Redmi. The Realme 9 5G is a much better option if you can get your hands on one. That trendy 5G connectivity comes courtesy of a capable MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset. Of course, some cutbacks had to be made in other areas, and it also lacks an OLED panel, as well as stereo speakers. But, that all comes down to personal priorities.
Our verdict
On paper, the Redmi Note 11 looks like a decent budget device that even manages to offer a few small upgrades over its predecessor without breaking the back. Notably, its excellent 90Hz AMOLED display, as well as its improved battery efficiency. The latter is a particularly impressive side of the Redmi Note 11. While it deserves credit for delivering in both of these aspects, the Redmi Note 11 is unfortunately not a well-balanced device.
Digging a bit deeper quickly sees the Snapdragon 680 soil a big chunk of the overall experience. It is strapped for power, particularly in the GPU department. It often fails to keep up with the Snapdragon 678 inside the Redmi Note 10. The excellent MIUI 13 mostly compensates for this out of the box and runs just fine, though with some suspiciously missing performance-related features like split-screen. Xiaomi talks a big talk about storage and under the hood long-term performance improvements, but even so, we have to wonder how smooth the Redmi Note 11 is going to feel a few months in with a loadout of modern, demanding apps on board.
Things aren't looking too great in the camera department either. The Snapdragon 680 can only handle up to 1080p video capture, whereas the Redmi Note 10 happily does 4K. But even beyond that, the main camera performance is just adequate and not impressive. Some features like 50MP mode, night mode and HDR either have deficiencies in their performance, behavior or availability across cameras. The 8MP ultrawide is pretty disappointing as a whole.
Adding everything up, it just seems that the cons outweigh the pros. Or, more accurately put - we just don't feel like the cons are easy to live with. A shame, really, since the Redmi Note 11 still manages to impress in some major ways. Bottom line, though, in its current state, we can't outright recommend you get one. There are much better and more well-rounded smartphones out there to consider instead.
Pros
- Stylish dual-glass design with a matte finish and a premium look, IP53-rated.
- Excellent AMOLED screen, bright, 90Hz, great color accuracy.
- Great battery life with fast 33W charging.
- Loud stereo speakers, good audio.
- 3.5mm jack, FM Radio, NFC, IR blaster, microSD slot.
- Solid if unimpressive main camera performance. Great portraits and macro shots.
Cons
- MIUI 13 implementation is lean on new features and based on the old Android 11.
- The Snapdragon 680 is lacking in performance, particularly in the GPU department.
- Disappointing ultrawide camera.
- Underwhelming Night mode, and it's only available on the main cam.
- No 4K video capture with any camera.
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