Redmi Note 11 review: Setting the bar for entry-level phones

The Redmi Note 11 is one of four additions to the Xiaomi sub-brand’s lineup. It serves as an entry point to the Redmi Note 11 series and may represent the best value for some buyers, but don’t write it off as a low-end burner — this phone packs plenty of punch for a budget phone. Find out what makes it stand out in the Android Authority Redmi Note 11 review.

Update, April, 2022: We have updated this review with launch pricing in the UK and the rest of Europe and comparison with the POCO X4 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G.

What you need to know about the Redmi Note 11

• Redmi Note 11 (4GB/64GB): €199
• Redmi Note 11 (4GB/128GB): £199 / €229
• Redmi Note 11 (6GB/128GB): €269

It would be easy to write off the Redmi Note 11. Announced alongside the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, Note 11 Pro, and Note 11S, the lowly Note 11 is among the simplest offerings from Redmi. Even so, it shares plenty of DNA with its pricer kin, including a large battery, biometrics, a handful of RAM and storage configurations, and the latest MIUI software from Xiaomi. In fact, the Note 11S and Note 11 are practically identical, save for a few core specs. More to the point, it makes some worthwhile improvements over the older Note 10. For example, it boosts the refresh rate of the screen and improves the resolution of the main camera.

The Redmi Note 11 is, however, the only phone in the lot with a starting price of under $200. Sliding in under that number gives the phone a psychological advantage over its peer group and keeps it competitive with formidable fare such as the Samsung Galaxy A series.

Check out: The best Xiaomi phones you can buy

In addition to the three variants noted above, the Redmi Note 11 comes in three colors: Graphite Gray, Twilight Blue, and the multi-colored Star Blue. In other words, there are plenty of options to find the color and storage combination that best suits your tastes and budget.

The Redmi Note 11 will be available for sale in the UK and other selected regions across Europe. Despite only publicly pricing the phone in dollars (starting at $179), the Redmi Note 11 is not expected to launch in the US.

What’s good?

Redmi didn’t stray far from its traditional design language with the Note 11. That is to say, the phone is a conservative slab that does little to stand out from the pack. The two blue colorways give the phone more visual pop than the dark gray one. Vanilla looks aside, the hardware is solid for this class of device. The frame and rear panel are made from polycarbonate, though they could be mistaken for metal and frosted glass from a distance. Our Graphite Gray unit did pick up fingerprints rather easily. Redmi opted for Gorilla Glass 3 to protect the display, which has good scratch resistance. The phone also notches an IP53 rating, meaning it is protected from light splashing.

The Redmi Note 11 shares its 6.43-inch AMOLED screen with the Note 11S. Redmi claims the FHD+ display pushes out 700 nits of brightness with peaks reaching 1,000 nits, and it has DCI-P3 wide color gamut. It also boasts a 90Hz refresh rate and a 180Hz touch sampling rate. You really can’t ask for much more from a sub-£200 phone. It’s a clean, crisp display that’s bright enough for indoor and outdoor use. Colors pop and the scrolling action is smooth when navigating through apps and the user interface.

The 5,000mAh battery is one of the Note 11’s best features. This potent power source pushed the phone through more than a day and a half on a consistent basis during my testing, even with the display set to 90Hz. Dropping the refresh rate to 60Hz gives you nearly two full days of battery life. It powers up quickly, too. The Note 11 ships with a 33W charger in the box that charges the phone from 0% to 100% in just over an hour.

Performance is good for a device at this price. The phone packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor with Adreno 610 GPU. It relies on the older spec LDPPR4x RAM and UFS 2.2 storage, which are both slower than more modern components. Despite these technical limitations, the Redmi Note 11 did quite well in terms of everyday performance. The phone was light on its feet and never felt sluggish or slow in real-world use. It didn’t score very high on benchmarks, but it landed where it should given the chipset and the phone’s low price tag.

What’s not so good?

Redmi kept costs down by neutering the Note 11’s connectivity package. While the lack of 5G is acceptable for this price point, the number of LTE bands supported is rather thin. You’ll definitely need to check with your carrier of choice to be sure the phone has the correct bands for optimal performance. Redmi also kept the phone on Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 despite newer technologies being available. These older wireless specs mean the Redmi Note 11 will be outdated sooner rather than phones that pack the latest radios, though we typically see the latest tech only on higher-priced phones.

The Note 11’s stablemates all sport a 108MP main shooter, but Redmi cut the pixel count down to 50MP for the Note 11. This main camera is accompanied by an 8MP ultrawide camera, as well as a 2MP macro camera and 2MP depth camera. Using the camera app is straightforward and it is feature-rich enough that I won’t complain about it. The Note 11 takes clean shots during the day that show sharp focus and pleasing color, but almost no contrast at all. Photos taken in low or poor lighting conditions are softer, noisier, and less colorful. The ultrawide camera performed acceptably in bright lighting, but also loses a lot of luster once the sun goes down. The macro camera also isn’t good for much due to the low resolution and lack of detail. Selfies from the 13MP front camera are hit or miss. Additionally, the video capture from the rear shooter is limited to FHD (1080p) at 30fps.

More reading: The best budget camera phones you can buy

The Redmi Note 11 ships with Android 11 and Xiaomi’s MIUI 13. It’s a somewhat overbearing user interface skin, though it has improved steadily over the years. If you’re wondering about Android 12, Redmi has committed to getting the newest version of Android to the Redmi Note 11 family at some point during the third quarter of 2022, which isn’t the most timely schedule to say the least.

Beyond that, Redmi isn’t giving any real long-term assurances either, with a spokesperson only stating: “the Android updates and security patches cycles of Redmi devices are in accordance with Xiaomi’s agreements with Google,  and will roll out and comply with corresponding policies.”

For some idea of what to expect, the Redmi Note 10 is expected to be updated to Android 12 in a similar timeframe, while the Redmi Note 9 has been included in MIUI 13 test builds in China, but there’s no word on a global rollout yet or Android 12, specifically. We’ll have to wait and see what support is provided by Redmi for the Note 11, but in the meantime, the lack of any firm long-term promise is a slight knock against the phone.

Redmi Note 11 camera samples

Redmi Note 11 specs

Redmi Note 11 review: Should I buy it?

The Redmi Note 11 is more than the sum of its parts. This phone may be an entry-level model, but it has big aspirations and has the basics covered handsomely. The hardware is perhaps a touch sample and yet the phone is well made, offers a gorgeous display, and delivers killer battery life. The Note 11 easily keeps up with the pack thanks to its good performance.

The only real caveats are the limited update promise and the middling camera setup that is just average for the price. The latter in particular is where the phone could have made a real improvement over its predecessor, the Redmi Note 10. While the Note 11 includes significant updates to the display, the camera, performance, design, and most everything else is basically the same, meaning Redmi missed an opportunity to evolve its low-cost phone.

Nevertheless, for its super-low starting price of £199 in the UK and €199 throughout the rest of Europe (the latter for the 4GB RAM version), the Redmi Note 11 is still a bargain.

If you’re looking for a bigger screen and even faster speeds you can look at the Note 11 Pro 5G (£319), though the POCO X4 Pro (£259) is essentially the same phone but cheaper.

Prefer another make? The Samsung Galaxy A03s ($159) is a decent option with excellent long-term software support, a similar display and battery, but less storage, a weaker processor, and no IP rating. There’s also the Nokia G20 ($199), which has a similar-sized screen but at a lower resolution, as well as a weaker chipset and no ultrawide camera.

While it may not be the generation leap some may have hoped for, Redmi has brought a very solid competitor to the entry-level market in the Note 11, one that will deservedly give other budget phones a run for their money throughout the year.

Top Redmi Note 11 questions and answers