advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Review: One Element Away From Greatness

We have remarked on a number of occasions over the past couple of years that the mid-range space is where it is at in terms of smartphones in South Africa. There are a number of players in the market offering up great value for money devices, so picking up a solidly specced one within budget is easier than ever.

One of the companies aiming for superiority in the space is Xiaomi, which has in recent years looked to change up its local strategy and build more of a presence, starting with launching great phones that are as good as the competition, but for far less.

A great example of this was the 11T Pro that we reviewed late last year as it had best in-class specs and performance, while being relatively affordably priced as far as flagship phones goes.

As for the mid-range space, Xiaomi’s first offering of 2022 is the Redmi Note 11 series, with the Redmi Note 11 Pro being the first device to land on our review desk.

Having spent the past two weeks with the phone, it certainly sticks to Xiaomi’s winning formula, but as we will explain over the course of this review, there may be a missing ingredient stopping it from standing out in an increasingly competitive and saturated space.

The 5G factor

That element is 5G. When Xiaomi officially launched the Redmi Note 11 series in SA, it was with devices that featured no 5G support. This is not out of the norm, but did strike us a a little odd, especially as Xiaomi phones that support 5G are available locally.

We noted at the time of the local announcement that 5G is not an essential technology for phones right now, given the protracted spectrum allocation and scarcity of connectivity at the moment.

On reflection though, and seeing how many mid-range devices from competitor devices sport 5G, it seems like the Redmi Note 11 Pro is outgunned in this area. Given how competitive this market is, these fine margins start to be the difference between reaching for the Redmi Note 11 Pro or a different device, such as the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

We have not reviewed that phone yet, so our comparison has to stop there, but if you are willing to pay a little extra, 5G support can be yours, along with the surety that the device is sorted from a connectivity perspective for a bit longer than the Note 11 Pro.

That said, this can all change if the Redmi Note 11 Pro is launched in the 5G flavour which we saw announced globally before the local event. If that lands in SA, it immediately becomes the better option among the Redmi Note 11 series.

For now though, we must focus on what is in front of us, and when it comes to performance, the Redmi Note11 Pro is more than able.

This is what we learned about the phone over the past two weeks.

Premium mid-range

The first is that the Note 11 Pro looks and feels like a premium flagship phone.

The 6.67″ AMOLED display is fantastic, with the 120Hz refresh rate keeping content smooth. Added to this are narrow bezels and a punch hole selfie camera housing to serve up plenty of screen real estate.

We are also big fans of MIUI 13, which is one of the cleaner user interfaces we have experienced on an Android device. There is also little in the terms of bloatware, which is something that not every phone from a Chinese firm can say, and is much appreciated here.

Switching back to the physical design elements and the Redmi Note 11 Pro punches well above the weight of a phone that retails for R6 499 (RRP). The matte finish on the cover for example is not common in this price bracket and the overall heft of the phone is welcome.

As for the performance, the in-hand aspects of the device are great, apps load speedily and switching between them is a breeze thanks to an octa-core MediaTek Helio G96 chipset and 6GB RAM.. As is navigating through the phone and no distinct lag was experienced in our time with the phone.

When we benchmarked the device, it also performed ably. This is not going to blow competition out of the water, but there is marginal improvement over the predecessor device, with a GeekBench single-core and multi-core score of 1 799 and 520 respectively.

If you place a lot of importance in benchmarking, those numbers may not seem impressive, but for us the actual real-world use is more important and on that front the Redmi Note 11 Pro was solid.

One area that was impressive was the camera. On the rear is a glut of options, with a massive 108MP lens paired with an 8MP wide-angle, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensing option. While the 8MP lens is ostensibly the primary shooter, you can select the far larger 108MP lens in the camera app.

This is a fairly common approach by manufacturers and results can prove varying. On the Redmi Note11 Pro that is thankfully not the case, with this mode proving just as rapid as the regular one and not delay is experienced between pressing the capture button and the taking of the picture.

The 108MP option also adds quite a bit more detail and nuance when taking images. As such, it is great for those who want to do some post-photo editing, but you should always be aware that these pictures take up far more storage space.

One other area the Redmi Note 11 Pro shines is battery life. This tanks to a huge 5 000mAh battery present that sips of juice and served up almost two full days of use in our experience. There’s also a 67W fast charging functionality, but we are on the fence regarding this technology in general, especially as it pertains to its impact on battery degradation.

Final verdict

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro is a great all-around mid-range phone. It ticks all the necessary boxes, with display quality, battery life and camera performance in particular shining. Add to this a R6 499 (RRP) price tag and starts to prove quite tempting.

Our only issue is what is potentially on the way from Xiaomi. As we noted this first batch of devices from the company do not support 5G, but when a batch that does support lands in SA, the addition of this feature turns the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G into an entirely different prospect.

While 5G is not a key consideration at the moment, the fact that a Note 11 Pro with 5G support could be around the corner, places a little spectre of doubt on what is otherwise a great option in the standard Note 11 Pro.

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

advertisement