Smartphones

Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G : test / review

Published on: 06-04-2022 / Modified: 11-12-2022
With all the Xiaomi phones I've tested over the past few years, I thought I'd tested every model, but with Xiaomi's creativity and productivity, they always end up launching a model I never tested. This time it's the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G which is a more muscular version of the Redmi Note 11 Pro and although these two phones look identical, there are some interesting differences. If you were unsatisfied with the power of the Redmi Note 11 Pro, this new model should better meet your needs, it is positioned at the same level as the Poco X4 Pro which also broadly covers the basics of the Redmi Note 11 Pro. Complicated all that? I admit that you really have to follow the news at Xiaomi to fully understand the differences between the phones. I will try to simplify this with this new test.

Manufacturer web site:

https://www.mi.com

Site where I have bought the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G:
https://s.click.alie...

Structure of my tests

I test the phones according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, this takes a long time. Some tests like network performance tests take several days and for photo tests I sometimes have to wait until the weather is suitable to take pictures in good conditions. I am therefore obliged to publish the tests step by step, so I invite you to come back if the test is not complete at the time of your visit.

Price Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G

The list below shows the prices for the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

The above links are affiliate links from companies such as Amazon, Gearbest, Aliexpress,... If you appreciate my work, I would be grateful if you could purchase these products through these links. It costs you absolutely nothing but I get a small commission that allows me to buy the material I test. Thank you very much!

Timeline

March 31, 2022: order of the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ on Aliexpress
April 05, 2022: I received my order, the test can therefore begin

Why this phone?

The Redmi range is a bit like Xiaomi's blockbuster range, they are entry-level and mid-range phones that are intended to generate large sales volumes. Price is a key element in this range but I find that element has weakened a bit with the increase in phone prices in late 2021 and early 2022. What is left for the Redmi range then? Well, simply the same as before with a good price/performance/features ratio. The prices of other phones have also increased, but Redmi's competitive advantage has remained.

The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ shares a lot of common elements with the Redmi Note 11 Pro and the Poco X4 Pro. They all have more or less the same dimensions, the same type of format, the same screen, the same camera, ... etc... This Redmi Note 11 Pro+ will add 120W charging (with a smaller battery) , more performance than the Poco X4 Pro, a better sensor for selfies, wifi 6 and faster wifi and dual band GPS (to be tested). This new model therefore brings a few new features and this test should allow you to assess whether these new features are worth the price difference.

Unpacking

Redmi boxes are fairly standardized and contain pretty much the same thing, the only novelty here is the 120W charger. The box therefore contains the phone, a manual, a transparent soft silicone protection, a needle for the sim drawer, a 120W charger and a USB cable.

First configuration

I was quite surprised to see that the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ had started its marketing with MIUI 12.5 where the other recent phones of the brand run on MIUI 13 but I imagine that I will get an update very soon. The configuration procedure is identical to what I have already tested on other phones running MIUI 12.5. Watch out for carousel wallpapers if you don't want to share your data with advertisers.

Finish

The Redmi 11 range has taken a leap forward in terms of finish, these new Redmi are more sober than previous generations but the level of finish is better. They adopt a larger and heavier iPhone type format but with this characteristic shape and flat edges. The back is made of plastic and glass with changing hues depending on the light. The back is very smooth and resists fingerprints better than the Poco X4 Pro which has a shinier back.

The Samsung 108 megapixel sensor is a sensor that takes up space, it sticks out quite strongly from the back of the phone, it's the same for all phones using this sensor. On the Pocos, this sensor is integrated into a horizontal block that occupies the entire width of the phone, which gives it a less massive appearance. The Redmi, on the other hand, integrate this sensor on a small island at the top left of the phone, this island is therefore very visible and breaks the balance of the phone when it is placed on its back.

The screen takes up 86% of the space on the front of the phone, it's a 6.67 inch amoled screen, so it's quite a massive screen. It's just interrupted by the selfie sensor at the top and a small border all around it.

Below is the sim drawer which can hold 2 sim cards in front/back mode or a sim card and a memory card. There is also one of the two speakers, a sound sensor and the USB-C port.

Above we find the audio output jack, the other external speaker, an infrared transmitter and another sound sensor.

On the side, we find the usual volume and ignition buttons, these buttons are very thin and very well integrated into the phone. The ignition button also incorporates a fingerprint sensor.

This new Redmi Note 11 Pro+ therefore looks very similar to the Redmi Note 11 Pro and the Poco X4 Pro, we could confuse them because the differences are minimal. This new model does not play the card of originality, the differences are inside the phone. This is not too serious in itself because the level of finish of this new Redmi 11 range is quite good.

Specifications

The information below comes from the Device Info HW application. The application provides detailed technical information about the tested phone. As I wrote above, the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ differs from the previous version in the hardware used. First there is the choice for a Mediatek architecture but I will come back to this point later in the test. I notice a few other differences, especially in terms of the camera. This is the same sensor as the Redmi Note 11 Pro but it is a different version.

I noticed some other differences in the accelerometer, the gyroscope, the fingerprint sensor, the audio chip, ... This model starts at 6Gb of memory where the 11 Pro starts at 4Gb. So there are many differences with the 11 Pro.

CPU / GPU Performance

This phone relies on a MediaTek Dimensity 920 CPU, I hadn't tested this CPU on another phone yet. It's a mid-range CPU that delivers comparable performance to the Poco X4 Pro but consumes less power.

For the graphics part it is based on an ARM Mali G68, I have not yet tested this GPU either and here too it is a mid-range GPU which does much better than the Poco X4 Pro and it's an amazing choice because Xiaomi had always bet everything on performance with the Poco range.

Even if this phone is significantly less powerful than a Black Shark or Realme GT, it still offers a good price/performance ratio. Is this a sign that the Redmi range is going to venture into Poco range territory?

Benchmark Antutu/3DMark

I obtained a score of 371278 points with Antutu and with a score of this level, this Redmi Note 11 Pro+ rises to the top of mid-range phones. The phones I scored higher on are all more expensive. This score will allow you to play any game with perhaps the need to reduce the level of graphics a little on the heaviest games, but this is not certain at all.

Gaming

To test the performance in game, I download the mobile PUBG game and evaluate the in-game experience, graphics level and depth of vision. This game is quite demanding and should help you evaluating the performance of a phone.

The Antutu score gives a good indication of in-game performance and it holds true once again with this phone. I was able to play PUBG Mobile with the detail level in UHD and with a frame rate above 40 FPS, so the experience is excellent. There are obviously more demanding games and for those, it may be necessary to reduce the level of graphics by one level, but this phone is clearly above the mid-range.

Network performance

The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ offers very wide frequency coverage with 20 4G frequencies and 14 5G frequencies. So you should be able to use this phone anywhere in Europe.

Signal 4G (from December 2020)

I decided to change the methodology for measuring the network because I noticed that the configuration of the mobile network changes over time. This makes it more difficult to compare phones because the conditions are no longer exactly the same.

To overcome this problem, I set up a device that captures 24 hours a day about ten parameters from the mobile network (ex: cell id, rssi, rsrq, snr, frequency,...). I then place the phone next to the device for 24 to 48 hours taking the same measurements so that I can compare them.

Overview of the phones tested with this methodology

To test the network sensitivity of this phone, I took 945 measurements (in 4G) and I compared these measurements with my probe which measures the network at the same time under the same conditions. I got an average signal of -93.54 dBm with the phone and -93.5 dBm with the probe. The difference is therefore minimal and it shows that this phone has good network sensitivity. The gaps between the phone and the probe are never very large as can be seen on the graph, the probe is slightly more stable.

Download/Upload speed

To test the download speed, I have identified some 4G cells offering good performance where I test all my devices several times to see what download and upload speed they can achieve.

Wifi performance

To test a phone's ability to receive the network properly, I take measurements near my router and then remotely (and always at the same place). This gives me an average in dBm where a value of -90 dBm indicates poorer performance than a value at -30 dBm.

Wifi signal

Near the router I measured an average signal of -17 dBm, it's a good score without being at the top of the table and at a distance I measured a signal of -58 dBm, there on the other hand it's a very good score.

Download/Upload speed

To test the speed in Wifi, I connect to my router in 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz (if available) and use the Ookla application to measure the speed.

GPS performance

To test the accuracy of the GPS signal, I use two positioning applications to evaluate the difference between the actual position and the position indicated by the phone. This test is done outdoors with nothing to obstruct the signal. An accuracy level of up to 3 meters can easily be corrected by an application (e.g. Google Maps).

The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ uses a Mediatek chip for GPS, this type of chip often offers a higher level of performance. I got a level of accuracy to 2 meters fairly quickly and the signal quality/accuracy is enhanced by using two frequencies. I detected L1 and L5 frequencies (GPS, Glonass), E1 and E5a frequencies (Galileo), B1 and B2a for Baidu.

Battery range

To test battery life I developed an application that measures the battery level minute by minute until the battery is empty. This application consumes about ten percent of the phone's resources and I do a test with 100 brightness. This test aims to reproduce a contemplative use of a phone (e.g. surfing the internet, reading articles, spending time on social networks). These results are not valid for intensive gaming/streaming use.

This phone is compatible with 120W fast charging like the Black Shark 4 Pro, it only takes about twenty minutes to be fully charged and the charge goes so fast that my application to measure the progress of the charge does not arrive not keeping pace. The charging is almost linear, it slows down a bit at the end but it doesn't show how fast the charging is.

I got a battery life of 525 minutes with the screen on at 100% and a battery life of 1211 minutes with the brightness at 50%. It's a completely average autonomy that should allow you to last 2 days in normal use and a little less than a day in intensive use.

Energy performance

I started this test a few weeks ago, so I don't have much historical data yet to be able to compare the performance of all the phones tested.

Test operation: I ramp CPU, GPU, FPU load to 100% sequentially for several minutes to measure the specific consumption of each item. The test takes about 8 minutes in total. I then measure the effect on the battery.

Average CPU consumption at 100%: 4.52W
Average GPU consumption at 100%: 2.4W
Average FPU consumption at 100%: 1.41W
Consumption at rest with brightness at 100% and with the screen at 120Hz: 0.8W
Consumption at rest with brightness at 100% and with the screen at 60Hz: 0.6W
Average battery temperature: 29.51°C
Using 120hz increases screen consumption by 33%.

I compared these results with the Redmi Note 11 Pro and the Poco X4 Pro since they are very similar devices and I find that Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus is by far the most efficient in terms of energy, it offers superior performance to the other two telephones with much better controlled energy consumption. The Dimensity architecture therefore seems to be more efficient.

Photo camera test

To test the quality of photos produced by a phone, I do a technical test (resolution, sharpness, chromatic aberration,...) in studio (identical conditions) to evaluate the technical part objectively. From the second half of 2020, I built my own laboratory to take completely objective technical measurements. I then take pictures in real conditions to see how the camera performs. I then evaluate these photos according to my criteria but I publish the photos so that you can evaluate the result according to your criteria.

Hardware

The main sensor in this phone is a 108MP Samsung S5KHM2 which is also found in the Poco X4 Pro, Redmi Note 10 Pro and Redmi Note 11 Pro. A priori there is no difference between these phones but this new model uses a sensor variant, it is the sd_ii version where the previous models used the "sunny" version. It may be just a wording but I will see in use if this new version brings something compared to previous models.

The secondary sensor is an ultra wide angle Sony IMX 355 which is also present in most recent phones from Xiaomi/Redmi/Poco.

The selfie camera is a Sony IMX 471 where previous models used an Omnivision sensor. The Sony sensor normally produces better results than the Omnivision sensor and is also a bit smaller which takes up less space on the screen.

Photo quality

Photo quality (indoor/studio)

The studio test is carried out under the same conditions so that the results can be compared on an equal basis. I calibrate my lighting for each test to obtain the same brightness and colour temperature. This test is a preliminary analysis of the technical qualities of a camera. Most phones fail this test, so you should also read the results of the other tests in the following paragraphs.

Samsung S5KHM2 / 108 million pixels

The automatic mode very rarely produces good results in the studio (see photos below), so I start this test with a photo which I shot in manual/pro mode to see what the camera is capable of. The result is quite good because by exposing the photo correctly I no longer have problems with underexposure and by choosing a very low ISO sensitivity, I avoid deterioration of the image. Sharpness is good and colors are well rendered.

In automatic mode, the phone makes the wrong choices and underexposes the photo, it's the same for pretty much all phones that go into the studio, the overabundance of false light their assessment of the light, this problem does not in principle arise in photos taken outdoors.

This photo was taken in automatic mode, so the exposure level is not optimal, but this does not affect the sharpness rating. The text at the bottom of the Canadian banknote is perfectly legible and this legibility is maintained at a good level up to the periphery even if, as with all cameras, this sharpness decreases a little. I find here the same characteristics as on the Poco X4 Pro and the Redmi Note 11 Pro, so I do not see any differences with this new model.

Sony IMX 355 / 8 million pixels

Sony's ultra wide-angle sensor is not able to deliver photo quality equivalent to the main sensor but in this category of sensor, it does a good job. The photo is a little underexposed but less than with the main sensor, the distortion of the angle is very visible but that's normal, the sharpness is much worse than the main sensor. I have already tested this camera many, many times and the conclusions are invariably the same.

The lack of sharpness can be seen even better in this photo where even the texts on the Canadian note are not super sharp and on the periphery the degradation is even more visible. These are common problems with ultra wide angle sensors, do not use this type of camera to take photos where the details are important.

Photo: technical test

I was inspired by industrial technical tests to create my own technical test to evaluate the technical quality of a camera. This test is an objective assessment of a camera's ability to render a scene correctly.

I test the following elements:
- centre sharpness, peripheral sharpness
- colour fidelity based on 24 reference colours
- level of chromatic aberration
- dynamic range (ability to capture dark and light areas without loss)
- distortion

The technical evaluation may differ from the subjective evaluation as the feeling of a photo will be influenced by the processing provided by each manufacturer.

Samsung S5KHM2 / 108 million pixels

Sony IMX 355 / 8 million pixels

I took advantage of a ray of sunshine to go and take these photos for the Redmi but I had taken the Poco X4 Pro with me to do a comparison as both of these phones use the same sensor but the Redmi seems to use a different version. So I was wondering if I was going to see a difference between the two phones, here's a pic of the same spot with the Poco:

I find the Poco pic is a bit more saturated but it's very light, apart from that, I don't really see any difference between these two photos. The sharpening processing is a little too strong but it is only visible when you zoom in. The color saturation could have been a little stronger, the brightness was stronger than the rendering of the photo. The dynamic range is good but the photo did not present a great difficulty. I therefore find here in broad outline what I have already written for the Redmi Note 11 Pro and the Poco X4 Pro, the photos are of good quality when the conditions are good but it is a typical quality of the mid-range. This is not a problem for a phone at 200-250 € but this Redmi is still much more expensive without gain in photo quality.

Secondary sensor: Sony IMX 355 / 8 million pixels

I have lost count of the number of times I have tested this sensor, it is present in almost every Xiaomi/Poco/Redmi phone for months and that's a good thing because among the ultra wide angle sensors it's one of the best. It cannot compete with the Samsung sensor because its sharpness is really less good but its colorimetry is one of the best and it can be seen at first glance in the photo, the colors are more realistic and less bland than with the Samsung .

Test photo / night

Not yet available / tested

Video quality

Stabilisation

With the level of performance of this phone I expected to have good video stabilization but unfortunately this is not the case. The shocks of walking are not sufficiently damped, the videos go a little in all directions with each step. The calculation of the sharpness is however very fast but in 4k the stabilization is not effective.

Video normale conditions

The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus is capable of shooting in 4k 30 fps while the Poco X4 Pro which uses the same sensor was limited to 1080p 30 fps. The video is generally of good quality, the focusing is fast, the colors are correctly saturated, the sharpness is good (even a little forced and the dynamic range is good (but the light was good so no difficulty). had disabled all assistance and I find that the rendering is quite natural. Using 4k instead of 1080p obviously brings a significant gain in quality when you watch the video on a large screen, the difference is much less obvious on a phone screen.

Video low light

Not yet available / tested

External audio quality

This test is intended to give you an overview of the volume and sound quality during calls and when listening to music through the external speakers.

External sound quality
The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus has two external speakers that deliver average sound both in terms of power than quality. The different types of sound can be distinguished fairly well, but this telephone does not achieve the finesse of the sound of the mid/high-end Samsungs. The bass lacks a bit of depth and the treble lacks a bit of finesse, the sound is good for mid-range but as for the photo, the price of this phone is higher than the mid-range at Redmi and in this range price there, we find other phones with better sound.

Sound quality in call
The volume of the sound in call is quite high, it rises easily above 55db and I get almost 75db with the speaker. The sound quality is good, the sound is softened and I don't have that typical high-pitched sound of some phones.

Audio quality (headphones)

To test the quality of the phone's audio output, I connect the device's audio output to a measuring tool, then play sounds on all frequencies and measure the differences between the original sound and the sound produced by the phone. In this way I measure the phone's ability to correctly reproduce all sounds.

This phone shares many components with the Redmi Note 11 Pro but sound is one of the differences. The sound produced by this phone is a bit more powerful than the average but this comes at the expense of audio quality. When the volume is at maximum, there is a noticeable distortion of the sound and it can be seen on the graph here where the curve of the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus goes into a slippage compared to the previous model. It is therefore necessary to lower the volume a little to recover a correct sound reproduction and produce a good quality sound. The sound quality with the lower volume is quite comparable to what we find in the mid-range, it's good but not at the level of what Samsung can do in the same price range.

Screen quality

To test the screen, I use a colorimetric probe that measures the color accuracy of a screen, as well as other parameters to see if a screen is able to correctly reproduce an image. I also test the brightness level to determine if the screen will be able to display an image in full sunlight.

Colorimetry

The Redmi Note 11 Pro+ uses a 6.67 inch AMOLED screen, it's exactly the same screen as in the Poco x4 Pro or Redmi Note 11 Pro and the good news is that it's a very good screen. To obtain a correct colorimetry, you must switch the color configuration to "standard" mode, this makes it possible to obtain a dE of 1.86 with just a larger difference on white but imperceptible to the naked eye. This screen therefore offers excellent colorimetry. I measured a temperature of 6521K on the white, where 6500K is the perfect temperature, so we can't complain about that.

Brightness / Contrast

I measured a brightness of 403 cd/m² with the sensor and in sun mode. I couldn't get any better while the Redmi Note 11 Pro which uses the same screen is noticeably brighter when flooded with light. It's a shame because it would have made it possible to use this phone in direct sunlight. I don't understand why this brightness doesn't go as high as on the other models because it's the same screen.

I measured an almost infinite contrast thanks to AMOLED technology, the blacks will therefore be really black and your images will therefore have more depth.

Biometry

The fingerprint sensor is located on the ignition button and works very well, it is very fast and the success rate is very high.

Operating system

This phone runs MIUI 12.5 but I guess it will upgrade to MIUI 13 pretty soon. Xiaomi operating systems are very rich in customization possibilities and the interface goes much further than a standard Android interface. The most common criticisms of this interface are: the presence of advertising, the presence of unrequested applications (bloatware) and the presence of an antivirus that scans each application. I personally have never had problems with advertising, I have each time refused personalized advertisements at startup and I must not interest Xiaomi because I have very rarely seen advertisements displayed.

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

Accessories Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G

Compare Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 5G with the others

Test / Review conclusion

The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus brings a little more confusion to the Redmi range which has many variations between Note 11 and Note 11 Pro with 4G versions and 5G versions. What should be remembered is that this version is the most powerful of the Note 11 range and that it is in principle equipped with the best components of this range of telephones. In theory, this phone should therefore outperform all other Redmi models, this is largely correct even if the differences are not always marked. The price on the other hand is much higher and if you are wondering if the price difference is justified, I would say that it depends on your priorities because on certain aspects this phone is indeed much better than the others but not on all the criteria tested.

The Dimensity architecture adds value to this phone as it is not only more powerful than other Note 11 Pros but it is also significantly more power efficient because when pushed fully, it consumes less battery than others. The battery charging speed is also a differentiator because with the 120W of fast charging, it takes less than 30 minutes to fully charge the phone. This architecture also uses another GPS chip which is capable of sensing two frequencies for better positioning. Raw performance, gps and charging speed are three strong things in favor of this phone.

For the photo part, I don't see any difference with the other models and even if the photo quality is in line with the mid-range positioning, I think Xiaomi has pulled a little too much on the rope because this phone arrives in a price zone where one is entitled to expect superior quality. We are entering a territory here where we find phones with a Sony sensor delivering better photo quality. Only access to 4k video differentiates it from the Poco X4 Pro, stabilization on the other hand is not good.

The screen is one of this phone's strengths, but since it's the same screen as the other models, that's not an advantage in its favour. I took advantage of this test to measure the consumption of the 120Hz mode and I get a 33% higher consumption of the screen and on the scale of the consumption of the screen, it is not much.

I have a regression in sound quality because when you turn up the volume, the loss of sound quality is audible whereas this was not the case on the other models.

This phone scores higher than the Redmi Note 11 Pro or Poco X4 Pro because it is better than both of these phones on some points and it scores the same on many other points . Its price is higher and its purchase will only be justified if the strengths of this phone are important to you.

Strengths

CPU/GPU performance
Energy efficiency
120W fast charge
Screen
Dual frequency GPS
Nice finish
Wifi speed
High volume for calls

Weaknesses

Sound quality at high volume
Price positioning
Impressive rear photo unit

Alternatives to this product

Not yet available / tested

LAURENT WILLEN
Head of myself on this blog

I share my passions on my blog in my free time since 2006, I prefer that to watching nonsense on TV or on social networks. I work alone, I am undoubtedly one of the last survivors of the world of blogs and personal sites.

My speciality? Digital in all its forms. I have spent the last 25 years working for multinationals where I managed digital teams and generated revenues of over €500 million per year. I have expertise in telecoms, media, aviation, travel and tourism.