Xiaomi Redmi lineup is its most affordable series and we have the Redmi Note 11 Pro series with us which includes the Redmi Note 11 Pro, Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G China version and the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G.
Before we begin, here’s what you get in the boxes.
For the Redmi Note 11 Pro, we get the phone with a pre-applied screen protector, documentation, sim ejector tool, a type-c cable, a 67W charger, and a protective case.
For Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, you’ll get the phone with a pre-applied screen protector, documentation, a sim ejector tool, a type-c cable, a 67W charger, and a protective case.
Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G, we get the phone with a pre-applied screen protector, documentation, a sim ejector tool, a type-c cable, a 120W charger, and a protective case. It’s worth noting that all of them lack earphones.
DESIGN
The Redmi Note 11 Pro lineup shares most features when it comes to design. They all have 6.67″ SuperAMOLED 1080P screens with 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 1200 nits. All of them have Gorilla Glass 5 protection at the front and glass backs.
The Note 11 Pro and Note 11 Pro Plus 5G have IP53 dust and splash resistance and have Hybrid dual SIM card slots.
Note 11 Pro Plus display has HDR10 support and L1 widevine certification while the Note 11 Pro 5G and regular Note 11 Pro have L3 certification.
Our Note 11 Pro unit comes in Graphite Gray (Stealth Black). Other colour versions include Polar White (Phantom White) and Star Blue. Our Note 11 Pro 5G comes in Forest Green and you can get it in Mysterious Black, Timeless Purple, and Milky Way Blue.
Our Note 11 Pro Plus 5G unit comes in Star Blue.
All of them have stereo speakers – at the bottom and the top with the Note 11 Pro 5G and 11 Pro Plus 5G using JBL speakers.
At the bottom, we have the type C charging port, primary microphone and Sim card slot. On the left side are the volume rockers and the side-mounted fingerprint reader embedded in the power button. There’s also face unlock for biometrics.
At the top, all of them have a headphone jack, secondary microphone and IR blaster which with the right app, you can use the phone as a remote to control your TV and more.
All of them have a 108MP camera setup at the back and a 16MP selfie camera at the front housed in the centre punch-hole cutout right below the earpiece in the top bezel. We’ll talk about the cameras later.
These are well-designed smartphones thanks to the bright screens and the stereo speakers that make them the perfect pick for consuming multimedia content such as streaming music or watching movies. The high refresh rate makes using the phone’s buttery smooth – from scrolling social media feeds to gaming and interacting with the user interface.
PERFORMANCE
All of the phones just got updated to Android 12 but with various versions of MIUI 13. Note 11 Pro 5G has the highest version with MIUI 13.0.6 with the Note 11 Pro running on MIUI 13.0.4 and the Note 11 Pro Plus 5G on MIUI 13.0.3 at the time of recording this video. It’s strange the China version has the highest MIUI version but anyway let’s get to the RAM/storage configuration.
The Note 11 Pro and 11 Pro 5G have 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. Note 11 Pro has 8GB RAM and with MIUI’s Dynamic RAM expansion feature, you add up to 3GB of virtual RAM to have a total of 11GB. Note 11 Pro 5G has 6GB RAM with the option to add up to 2GB of virtual RAM to have a total of 8GB.
The Note 11 Pro 5G isn’t powered by Google’s Android by default so you’ll have to download the Google Play Store from the Mi Store to access your regular Android apps.
Note 11 Pro Plus 5G has 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage and 8GB RAM and 3GB virtual RAM.
MediaTek chipsets power all the phones with the 11 Pro going with the Helio G96 while the Dimensity 920 5G for the Note 11 Pro 5G and Note 11 Pro Plus 5G.
Both hardware and software configuration is top notch and you’ll be getting dependable performance from each phone. Be it tasks like scrolling social media, browsing the web or gaming.
BATTERY
Note 11 Pro has a 5000mAh battery and the Note 11 Pro 5G has a 5160mAh battery. Both support 67W fast charging. Note 11 Pro Plus 5G has a 4500mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging. You’ll notice that the Note 11 Pro has a rather larger battery.
11 Pro takes 15 minutes to go from empty to 51% while the 11 Pro 5G takes 34 minutes to 100% and the 11 Pro Plus 5G takes 15 minutes to go from empty to 100%.
Light to moderate use can pull two days while heavy use can push the phones a full day before needing to plug them in.
CAMERAS
All of them ship with a 108MP main camera, 8MP ultrawide and 2MP macro. Only the regular 11 Pro has a 2MP depth camera. While it one-ups the other two with an extra camera – it is handicapped with the video recording resolution. The 11 Pro is capped at 1080p 30fps and 60fps for the main and 1080p 30fps for the selfie camera.
For the other two, video recording is capped at 4K 30fps, 1080p at 120fps, 60fps and 30fps and 720p at 960fps. The front cameras for both is capped at 1080p 60fps and 30fps. The two also have more modes to play around with including Vlog mode that adds new video editing functions with themes ranging from metro, Esperando, velocity and more.
This means that the Note 11 Pro 5G and the Note 11 Pro Plus 5G have more versatile cameras for video.
Apart from that, the phones take some pretty impressive photos both during the day and at night. The front-facing cameras take acceptable selfies and portraits. The shots come out with nice colour, details and sharpness, especially the 108MP mode. The natural background separation is a nice addition to these pictures. I enjoyed my time with these cameras.
Selfies and Portraits
Regular Photos
VERDICT
All three Redmi smartphones bring a ton of features to the table – beautiful designs, amazing screens, loud stereo speakers, incredible performance and cameras.
After checking out the three phones, you’ll notice the middle of the road note 11 Pro 5G has the best of both in terms of value and specs. A better processor and high video recording quality, a more updated MIUI 13 version, a relatively bigger battery and JBL stereo speakers.
Sadly, the Note 11 Pro 5G is region locked to China alone and the regular Note 11 Pro global version plays second fiddle in comparison. You’ll have to cough up more cash and get the Note 11 Pro Plus 5G which shares most of these sweet features and is available for the global market. Overall, the Note 11 phone that has the best value is the 11 Pro 5G. We wish the same features could trickle down to the more affordable Note 11 Pro meant for the global market or at least Xiaomi release it for the global market too.
PRICING
Note 11 Pro starts at Ksh 31,000 for the 6GB/128GB version and Ksh 33,500 for the 8GB/128GB version. Note 11 Pro 5G goes for Ksh 35,000 but you’ll have to import it first as it’s not readily available in the country while the Note 11 Pro Plus 5G goes for Ksh 39,000.
