Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S review

Alternative offers

Let's be honest - the Redmi Note 11 series did not turn out to be what many expected - the usual bang for the buck offers you just cannot miss. Hurt by the multiple ongoing global crises, the phone industry has to deal with increased prices of, well, everything and various production and logistics hurdles. And that is why the Redmi Note 11 phones are pricier than usual, and yet they offer few upgrades over their 2021 versions.

The Redmi Note 11S is a continuation of the Redmi Note 10S, and it brings a couple of new features like 90Hz display refresh rate, more RAM, and a higher-res 108MP primary camera. But the new Note 11S has weaker graphics performance, there is no 4K video capturing, and the proximity sensor has been replaced with a virtual one. And, oh, the Redmi Note 11S is more expensive.

And that has to be our first suggestion - the Redmi Note 10S. It's a smaller Redmi Note, yet more powerful than the current Note 11 alternatives. The 4/64 version of the Note 10S retails at €180, while the 6/64 model of the Note 11S is priced at €230 or €250 depending on current promotions or the lack of such.

Or you better get the Redmi Note 10 Pro, which costs about €250 and offers a better 120Hz AMOLED and faster GPU as part of its Snapdragon 732G chipset. The Note 10 Pro also comes with a nice 5MP telemacro camera for much better closeups, in addition to the 108MP primary and the 8MP ultrawide shooters.

And why even both with the Redmi, when you can buy the Poco F3 for €250 straight from the source. It's a way more powerful smartphone with a faster 120Hz AMOLED, a flagship Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, and a similar camera and battery experience.

The 128GB Galaxy A52s by Samsung costs about €280, and it has so much more to offer. The A52s is a fully water-resistant smartphone with a 120Hz AMOLED and much more powerful Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset. The Galaxy A52s offers a better camera setup on the back with a 64MP OIS primary and a 12MP ultrawide shooters, both capable of 4K video capturing. There is also a 5MP macro and a 32MP selfie camera.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10S • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro • Xiaomi Poco F3 • Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G

Our verdict

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S is a good smartphone with a solid splash-resistant build, an attractive design, excellent battery life, loud speakers, and a reliable camera experience. And it offers many fan-favorite extras like a standalone microSD slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, an IR port, and FM radio.

The 11S is surely worthy of the Redmi Note branding by having many attractive specs and a budget pricing. There is just one issue with the Note 11S - it is not a fast smartphone.

On the contrary, the Redmi Note 11S performance can be best described as entry-level, and we doubt many people will be happy with it - you can notice some lag and stutter, and the camera app can sometimes crash. None of these is occasional, but it happens.

The worse part is that there are much faster and better phones priced around the Redmi Note 11S. And to make things impossible for the buyer, Xiaomi has decided to release multiple Redmi Note 11 smartphones, and even our reviewers have a hard time telling them apart.

So, at the end of the day, the Redmi Note 11S is a good phone and will keep most people happy as long as they don't care about games. It's just a bit pricey and not very well positioned right now. And unless it gets a sensible price cut, or its competitors get discontinued, we just cannot recommend it.

Pros

• Solid build, IP53-rated.
• Bright 90Hz AMOLED screen.
• Excellent battery life, fast charging.
• Loud stereo speakers, good audio.
• Dependable photo camera.
• 3.5mm jack, IR port, microSD, FM radio.

Cons

• Subpar performance.
• No 4K video capturing.
• Doesn't have the latest Android 12.
• A bit pricey at launch.