The Note series from Redmi is undoubtedly the most famous and most awaited series of phones in the mid-range market, with the increasing prices it has become a bit less appealing to people but it still commands a significant market share in this segment. The latest offering from Redmi in the Note 11 series happens to be the Redmi Note 11S.
The Redmi Note 11S is positioned somewhere in between the Redmi Note 11 and the Redmi Note 11 Pro.
It runs on Android 11 topped off with the MIUI 13. In this article we will be talking about the specifications combined with the prior experiences that we have with Redmi Note series of phones.
Redmi Note 11S Specifications
| Model | Redmi Note 11S |
| Dimension | 159.9 x 73.9 x 8.1 mm (6.30 x 2.91 x 0.32 in) |
| weight | 179 g (6.31 oz) |
| Rear Camera | 108 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.52″, 0.7µm, PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 118˚ (ultrawide) 2 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth) |
| Front Camera | 16 MP, f/2.4, (wide) |
| Display | 6.43 inches, 99.8 cm2 (~84.5% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Display Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~409 ppi density) |
| RAM & Internal storage | 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM |
| Processor | Mediatek Helio G96 (12 nm) |
| OS | Android 11, MIUI 13 |
| Price in India | 6+64GB – Rs 15,499. 6+128GB – Rs 16,499 8+128GB – Rs 17,499 |
| Battery | 5000 mAh |
| Charging speed | Fast charging 33W. |
Design and Ergonomics
The design of the Redmi Note 11S is quite subtle and elegant with a matte back, flatter sides and a camera bump at the rear that carries a total of 4 lenses. At the front it has punch hole display with small bezels that render a premium look.
The phone is quite compact and handy, the volume rockers and the lock button that doubles up as the fingerprint scanner are easy to use and well within reach making it ergonomically sorted.
At the bottom you get a speaker, the charging port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Redmi has done great work in terms of weight management because even after housing a relatively big battery, they have been successful in keeping the weight under 180g.
The build quality is average as you would expect from a mid-range smartphone, from the back panel to the sides, everything is plastic although that’s not something we can complain about.
Display and Performance
The Redmi Note 11S sports a 6.43” FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED display that has a peak brightness of about 1000 nits making it more usable in direct sunlight.
The higher refresh rate offers a more snappy performance and the AMOLED display ensures a great viewing experience with true to life colors and great viewing angles as well. This combined with the stereo speakers makes watching movies or consuming media a delightful experience.
The Note 11S comes powered by the Mediatek Helio G96 octa-core processor that’s based on a 12nm architecture and carries a combination of cortex A55 and cortex A76 cores. This is paired with 6/8GB of RAM and 64/128GB of UFS 2.2 storage.
Having a dedicated slot, you can expand the memory by adding in a memory card. All of this combined will be able to give you a decent performance, this processor will not disappoint you in the day to day usage as it has enough performance on offer, however, if you are someone who engages in gaming quite a lot, you might be left wanting for more.
Redmi has also introduced the first-in-segment liquid cooling in the Note 11S to counter heat and CPU throttling, the advantages of which, will be visible only in the long run though.
Cameras
The Note 11S comes equipped with 4 lenses at the back and one at the front. The main camera at the back is a 108MP shooter with f/1.9 aperture and 1/1.52” sensor size that can take crisp photos with great detail.
The photos, however, have a cool bluish tone making them seem a bit unnatural, we hope that Redmi fixes it via an OTA update. The secondary camera is an 8MP ultrawide shooter with an f/2.2 aperture, this lens also captures pretty decent photos, the details could have been a bit better but considering that it is just an 8MP one, we had to taper off our expectations.
The color accuracy from the ultrawide angle lens was actually better than the main camera itself. The other 2 cameras are a 2MP each macro and depth lens that hardly anybody cares about.
To the front is a 16MP lens with an f/2.4 aperture, the clarity is decent and the skin tones are produces decently well making it apt for taking selfies. The biggest caveat to this camera system is the fact that it can record videos only upto a meagre 1080P 30fps even with the 108MP lens which is hardly acceptable at this price point.
Battery and charger
The Redmi Note 11S carries a 5000mAh battery which should be good enough to last for an entire day, topping up the battery will also not be an issue because it comes with a 33W fast charger in the box.
It has been claimed by the company that they have worked on the charging system making it more efficient and less damaging to the battery.
Redmi Note 11S Antutu Benchmark score
The Redmi Note 11S with its Helio G96 processor scores 3,03,500 on Antutu which is just about average, to put things into perspective the Snapdragon 480+ from Qualcomm which comes in the Motorola moto G51 scores roughly about 3,10,000.
Pros
- The AMOLED display panel is extremely good and vibrant for media consumption.
- Stereo speakers that enhance the feel of media consumption.
- The 5000mAh battery offers a great battery life.
- Perfectly sorted out ergonomics and great design.
- Can click good pictures with great detail with its 108MP shooter.
- The faster UFS 2.2 storage will keep your phone from slowing down in the long run.
Cons
- The Helio G96 isn’t a very optimized processor especially the GPU so minor stutters are visible even in day to day usage.
- The potential of the 108MP lens is not unlocked in the video department as it can record only at 1080P 30fps.
- The 2MP macro and depth lenses are kind of useless, only adding to the numbers.
- The MIUI is still aggressive in terms of RAM management which is a bane.
Price In India
The Redmi Note 11S comes in 3 variants, the 6+64GB variant is priced at Rs 15,499, the 6+128GB is priced at 16,499 and the last one is the 8+128GB variant that is priced at 17,499. At this price point this is a very decent offering from Redmi.
Conclusion
If you are someone who watches video content quite a lot then we would definitely recommend this one over its rivals because of its great display quality, however if you are someone who is more into gaming or uses camera for video recording, then you might want to skip this and look towards the other phones in this category.
I hope this helps you in making your buying decision, if you have any other questions, feel free to drop them down in the comments below.
My requirement is good camera with ample storage with ram so that the phone should slow down or hangup due to high data or apps and battery life.