Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S

Design

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S features a fairly standard design for its class, measuring 159.9 mm in height, 73.9 mm in width, and 8.1 mm in depth. It weighs 179 grams, making it relatively lightweight. The phone is constructed with a 2.5D glass screen and includes Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for added scratch resistance. Available colors include Pearl White, Twilight Blue, and Graphite Gray. The fingerprint sensor is conveniently located on the side of the device.

Display

The device boasts a 6.43-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 409 ppi. The display supports a 90Hz refresh rate and has a peak brightness of 1000 nits (700 nits typical), ensuring good visibility even in bright conditions. The display utilizes a 20:9 aspect ratio and includes a hole-punch notch for the selfie camera. It also offers a 180Hz touch sampling rate, HDR support, and covers the DCI-P3 color gamut. TÜV Rheinland Eye Comfort Certification is also present for reduced eye strain.

Performance

The Redmi Note 11S is powered by the Mediatek MT6781 Helio G96 (12 nm) chipset. The CPU is an Octa-core configuration with 2 Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.05 GHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0 GHz. Graphics are handled by a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. The phone offers multiple RAM and storage configurations: 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB, and 8GB/128GB. The device also utilizes LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage. The Antutu benchmark v9 scores around 302877 points which puts it in the medium range for performance. The device also features a cooling system.

Camera

The Redmi Note 11S is equipped with a quad-camera setup on the rear. The main camera is a 108MP Samsung S5KHM2 ISOCELL sensor with an f/1.9 aperture, 0.70µm pixel size, and 1/1.52" sensor size. It uses 9-in-1 pixel binning. There is an 8MP ultrawide lens with a Sony IMX355 CMOS BSI sensor, f/2.2 aperture, 1.14µm pixel size and 1/2.8" sensor size. The other two cameras are a 2MP depth sensor with an Omnivision OV02B1B CMOS sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 1.75µm pixel size and 1/5" sensor size and a 2MP macro lens with a GalaxyCore GC02M1 CMOS sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 1.75µm pixel size and 1/5" sensor size. The front-facing camera is a 16MP Sony IMX471 Exmor RS sensor with an f/2.4 aperture, 1.00µm pixel size, 1/3.13" sensor size, and 4-in-1 pixel binning. Video recording on the rear camera is limited to 1080p at 30fps, with slow-motion video at 120fps. Additional camera features include digital zoom, autofocus, touch focus, geotagging, HDR, face detection, and night mode.

Battery Life

The device is powered by a 5000mAh Li-Polymer battery. It supports 33W fast charging, and it also has reverse charging capabilities. The battery is non-removable.

Software

The phone ships with Android 11.

Pricing

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S falls into the medium price range. Prices vary depending on the storage configuration and region. For instance, the 6GB/128GB version is priced between $144 and $160, while the 8GB/128GB version ranges from $140 to $186.

Overall Verdict

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S provides a good balance of features for its price. The AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate offers a vibrant viewing experience, and the 108MP main camera captures detailed images. While the performance of the Mediatek Helio G96 is adequate for everyday tasks, more demanding applications might reveal its limitations. Battery life is solid, thanks to the 5000mAh capacity. The software experience may vary depending on Xiaomi’s skin over Android 11.