Gadget Review: A Deep Look Into The Redmi Note 11S

Leading smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi has worked on and released a widerande of midrangers in the recent past, especially under its Redmi brand. We got our hands on one of the 5 different models of the Redmi Note 11.

This was the latest, the Redmi Note 11S and here are our honest thoughts on the midranger smartphone. The phone is a blend between the original Redmi Note 11 and the Note 11 Pro as its brings out a combination of the two smartphones. The Redmi Note 11S is a super version of the regular Note 11. It has been upgraded with the main camera and chip set of the larger and more expensive Note 11 Pro 4G.

Here’s a deep look into the smartphone.

In The Box

When you purchase the Redmi Note 11S, you will find the following in the box.

• a transparent TPU case
• a pre-applied screen protector
• an 33W fast charger
• and a type-A to Type-c cable
• sim ejector tool

Design

The 6.43-inch AMOLED panel occupies most of the front, quite expectedly and has a 1080p resolution which supports 90Hz refresh rate.

Above the screen, you can spot a thin grille that hides one of the speakers – the one that also acts as an earpiece. This speaker has two sound outlets – besides the one at the front, there is another one on the top of the phone. This speaker is not as loud as the bottom one, but thanks to the two outlets, it makes for a pleasant and balanced audio experience.

At the back there’s the two-step camera island  which looks a lot like the ones we’ve seen before with similar models. The 108MP primary camera is jutting out the most, while the 8MP ultrawide, the 2MP macro and the 2MP depth sensor, along with the LED flash, sit on the lower level. The 3.5mm jack, the IR port, a secondary microphone, and one of the speakers are together at the top of the Redmi Note 11S.

The bottom has the other speaker, the USB-C port, and the primary microphone. The tri-card slot that accepts two nano-SIM cards and a microSD one is on the left. The right side houses the volume and power/lock keys. The surface of the power button cans your fingerprints – the sensor is incredibly fast and reliable.

The Redmi Note 11S measures 159.9 x 73.9 x 8.1mm and weighs 179 grams. This makes it identical to the Redmi Note 10S and Redmi Note 11.

Generally, I like the Redmi Note 11S shape and design – it has a solid build and provides a secure enough grip. The design is stylish and no-nonsense, and the graphite gray color is particularly nice.

Display

The Redmi Note 11S uses the same screen as the Redmi Note 11, an upgraded version of the Redmi Note 10S panel. It is a 6.43-inch AMOLED of 1080p resolution and 90Hz refresh rate.

The exact resolution of the OLED panel is 1,080 x 2,400 px or 409ppi. A flat sheet of Gorilla Glass 3 handles the screen protection.

Performance

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S boots Android 11 with the most current MIUI 13 version. Most of the new MIUI features are under the hood, though they make for a smoother, smarter, and more secure experience.

This version of MIUI 13 is based on Android 11, and it does not include any of the Android 12 features like the revamped widgets and their new widget page in the app drawer.

Camera

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S has the same camera setup as the Redmi Note 11 Pro. It also packs the same trio of cameras we saw on the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G and Note 11 Pro+ 5G but adds an additional depth sensor.

So, the Redmi Note 11S offers a 108MP primary, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro camera, plus a 2MP depth sensor. There is also a single LED flash. The selfie is also the same 16MP camera we saw across the Redmi Note 11 series.

The main camera saves 12MP photos by default, and unlike on most of the Redmi Note 11 models I’ve encountered so far, these ones turned up excellent. They show a high amount of resolved detail, balanced sharpness and accurate white balance and color presentation.

The back camera takes good photos and also automatically adjusts as per the lighting. However, once you start zooming, you can see the quality of the photo reducing.

Battery & Charging

All Redmi Note 11 smartphones are powered by 5,000mAh batteries, and the Note 11S is no different. The Redmi Note 11S has the same battery and chipset as the Redmi Note 11 Pro, though its AMOLED screen is smaller in size, and we can expect more Screen-On-Time on some of the battery tests.

So, the Redmi Note 11S can have a battery life endurance rating of up to 133 hours based on my experience with it.

The Note 11S comes with a 33W Xiaomi fast charger. The original power adapter takes the battery from 0% to 59% in 30 minutes. This is even faster than the same battery and charger on the vanilla Redmi Note 11, and the only variable that could account for this noticeable difference is the chipset.