latest example new Redmi Note 11S may be considered. This is a 4G smartphone which surprises us, because before this the company Redmi Note 11T 5G had launched. The biggest attraction of the Note 11S phone is its 108-megapixel rear camera. This is the same sensor that the company launched last year. Redmi Note 10 Pro Max was used in But this time the starting price of the phone has been kept low. However, soon the Redmi Note 11 Pro series will also be in the market. So where does the Redmi Note 11S fit in this series? And, does it make sense for you to buy this phone as your next smartphone? Decide with the help of this review.

How much Redmi Note 11S price and variants

Redmi Note 11S comes in three variants. Its 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant costs Rs 16,499. At the same time, its price becomes Rs 17,499 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The top end variant comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, which costs Rs 18,499.

How much Redmi Note 11

The design of the Redmi Note 11S is too simple for my liking. Its Blue and Polar White color variants still attract some attention, but I had a black unit for review, which felt quite boring. How much Redmi Note 11  will be  available The build quality  of its plastic frame and back panel is quite good and the phone was quite comfortable to hold. Weighing in at 179 grams, it doesn’t feel heavy and isn’t too thick either. The main camera of the phone protrudes slightly outward from the rest of the cameras. The phone does not feel stable when placed on a flat surface.

Xiaomi has given a 6.43-inch AMOLED display in the phone, which has a peak brightness of 1000 nits. The rest of the features of the display cannot be called extraordinary. It has a peak refresh rate of 90Hz and a basic touch sampling rate of 180Hz. Corning Gorilla Glass 3 has been given for screen protection. The FHD+ resolution of the display ensures sharp visuals and vibrant colors. By default the refresh rate is set at 60Hz, which you have to manually set to 90Hz.

The phone has dual nano sim support and a microSD card slot has been given. The card slot would be useful as the maximum built-in storage on the phone is only 128GB. The device has dual speakers, Type-C port, and IR emitter. Apart from this, headphone jack is also available. The phone comes with an IP53 rating for dust and water resistance, which is very rare in this price segment. A 33W fast charging adapter, USB Type-C cable, SIM ejector tool, and a case (cover) are also available in the box.

Redmi Note 11S specifications and software

This latest smartphone from Redmi is equipped with MediaTek Helio G96 which is powerful but its efficiency is less, because it is made on the old 12nm fabrication process. The Redmi Note 11S supports dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5, and all basic satellite navigation systems. It packs a 5,000mAh battery, which should last at least a day on a full charge.

The Redmi Note 11S phone runs MIUI 13, which is based on Android 11, not Android 12. If you have used any Xiaomi phone recently, then you will find this phone easy to use. Many apps come pre-installed on the phone. Apart from this, themes, shortcuts and gestures are also present. All third-party apps that come with the phone can be removed, but first party apps like Mi Pay etc. cannot be removed.

Redmi Note 11S performance and battery life

It handles basic games and apps with ease. Some of the apps that come with MIUI 13 like GetApps can be spammy. The power button houses a capacitive fingerprint sensor, which worked well in my use. Due to the AMOLED panel, you can take advantage of features like Always-On Display. This could have been more useful, but it’s only active for 10 seconds. That’s why it cannot be called ‘always on’ display in real sense.

The experience of watching videos on the display was decent, but the sound from the stereo speakers was not well balanced, as the bottom speaker was delivering clearer sound quality than the earpiece. Games ran smoothly, but some heavy games ran at low graphics settings. For example, the game Call of Duty: Mobile did not show the option of ‘High’ settings in graphics. The gaming experience was smooth, but not what it usually is.

Xiaomi says that it has a liquid cooling system, which keeps the phone cool during heavy usage. However, after playing Call of Duty for 30 minutes, both the back panel and the frame of the phone became very hot. In test scores, the phone performed as expected. Its benchmark scores were lower than the scores of Redmi Note 11T 5G with MediaTek Dimensity 810. The phone managed a score of 3,10,732 on AnTuTu and 51fps on GFXBench’s T-Rex test.

The battery life of the phone is quite good. With a capacity of 5,000mAh, it lasts a whole day. The phone has 33W fast charging support, with the help of which the battery gets charged very quickly.

Redmi Note 11S cameras

If you look at the camera specifications of Redmi Note 11S, it has a 108-megapixel Samsung HM2 sensor, which is the main camera of the phone. By default it captures 12-megapixel photos, but you can capture photos in 108-megapixel resolution as well. The details in the photo were good in bright sunlight, but the saturation of the colors became very high. After the Pro Color mode given in the camera, the intensity of the colors increased further, due to which the photos started looking artificial. The results were good with 108 megapixel resolution and the color balance was more visible. Things in the photo were seen in a natural tone to a large extent.

The phone struggled in terms of autofocus when taking close-up shots with the main camera. Correct focus was achieved only after several taps on the viewfinder. In low-light, the main sensor failed to capture good photos. Here there was no significant difference in photo quality even at 108 megapixel resolution. After that the use of night mode was left as the last option. After switching to it, the camera took several seconds to take a shot but the detail and exposure got better. One thing was surprising that you cannot use night mode with the ultrawide or selfie camera. It hurts a lot.

Talking about its 8 megapixel ultrawide camera, the colors in the photo taken during the day time are correct, which is a good thing. Photos became quite blurred in low-light and the colors were also disappointing. The phone has a basic macro camera of 2 megapixels. That’s why its results were also not good. Apart from this, a depth sensor of 2 megapixels has also been given.

The selfie camera is of 16 megapixels and the result was good in the photo during the day time. However, the sharpness appeared a bit high in the portrait. Selfies taken indoor with ambient light were much better, but the quality of the photo dropped a lot in the outdoor at night.

Verdict

It can be said about Redmi Note 11S that it can be an option till the arrival of Redmi Note 11 Pro series. And, if you have made up your mind for a Redmi phone then you came last year. Redmi Note 10 Pro Can see which proves to be a better option in this price. The 108-megapixel camera of Redmi Note 11S is its biggest attraction, otherwise if we look at the rest of the sensors, this phone will be called average. At this price, its processor is also not so powerful and also 5G connectivity is not provided in the phone.

I believe that you should wait for a few days before buying this phone, because soon better options are going to be launched in the market.