Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
In my wardrobe lies a graveyard of phones that I’ve used throughout my life. From my sliding Samsung phone to an original OnePlus running Ubuntu Mobile to a cheap Vodafone device I had to get me through my early uni days. In recent years I’ve upgraded to powerful gaming phones in the form of RedMagic’s 5S and more recently 6S Pro, before moving to the obscure and brilliant Surface Duo. I’ve been enamoured with the weird and interesting, the clunky but power, but it’s been a number of years since I’ve had a phone that just works as a phone. A phone for somebody not wanting to run the entirety of their Wii library from out of their pocket with a nice screen, a nice camera, and a nice battery. After some time using it, I think Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is that phone, even if I struggle to say its name in one breath.
Before going any further, let’s get the spec sheet out of the way:
- Screen: 6.67” 120hz AMOLED HDR10 compatible, 1080x2400p
- CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 920 5G (6 nm) - Octa-core (2x2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
- GPU: Mali-G68 MC4
- RAM: 6GB, 8GB
- Storage: 128GB, 256GB
- Rear Cameras: 108 MP wide, 8 MP 118˚ ultrawide, 2 MP macro lens
- Front Camera: 16 MP wide
- Android Version: MIUI 13, Android 11
- Sensors: Fingerprint scanner, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity sensor, Compass, IR Blaster
- Battery: 4500mAh
- Charger: up to 120W Fast
- Color: Graphite Gray, Polar White, Atlantic Blue
- Price: $369.99 (128GB/6GB), $399.99(128GB/8GB), $449.99 (256GB, 8GB)
On paper, you may notice something familiar. Quite a bit of something familiar, with a good chunk of that sheet being identical to the phone Tom recently reviewed, the Note 11 Pro+’s predecessor, the Note 11 Pro. If you’ve already checked out that review, you might be wondering exactly what’s changed in what seems to be a rather iterative update. There are only two major differences: the CPU and the charging capabilities. In place of the Snapdragon 695G we have the more powerful but equally midrange Dimensity 920. On top of that, this phone comes with a battery capable of 120W charging, with the trade off of it being 4500mAh battery, down from 5000mAh. You can also get this phone with 256GB internal storage, up from a maximum of 128GB in the basic Pro model.
We’ll cover the CPU and its performance later, but the battery is perhaps the most interesting change, with 120W charging being a first for the Redmi Note line. I am unfortunately unable to test these capabilities due to being sent a model with a US plug, but I have found the battery to be ample to last me comfortably for two days of regular use. The smaller overall capacity comes down to the Note 11 Pro+ using two smaller batteries 2250mAh batteries capable of charging at 60W apiece, likely in an attempt to limit the heat coming from this intense charge, with the lesser capacity required to fit them in the same shell as its predecessor. Without the kit to open this for myself, I can’t show you what this looks like though. When I have needed to charge it, my Surface Duo’s 18W charger has done a fine job, getting it up to capacity within a few hours. It’s a distance from the advertised potential of 120W charging though, apparently capable of a full charge in just 15 minutes. If I can track down a 120W charger, I’ll update this review with how it is, but at the time of writing the closest I have is a 65W charger from my 2019 Razer Blade laptop. Maybe the UK just isn’t ready for such swift charging?
The overall user experience has been a joy. Xiaomi’s MIUI Android skin is something I’ve really come to enjoy, taking a number of design principles from Apple’s iOS. It’s clean and it attempts to make Android more accessible and simpler to use. It succeeds, but mimicking Apple it also makes the phone a bit more difficult to use for the power users among us. Using the standard Settings app, I wasn’t able to disable certain system apps I didn’t want to use. On top of this, the downloads app wouldn’t let me download any large files over around 2GB over a mobile network. It’s entirely possible there are settings to get around these limitations, but despite my searching I certainly couldn’t find them. A couple of Xiaomi’s installed apps also come with adverts as standard. Even if you can disable these with a simple and admittedly easy to find option, they go a long way in cheapening the experience. It also feels somewhat exploitative of the folks who might not have thought to look for a way to disable them. I know my mum would struggle with that, even if it’s simple for me. And I feel people like my mum would be exactly the target demographic for this device. All things considered I am fond of MIUI though. There are a lot of small bits and pieces I could call out, but as a whole it’s a really responsive flavour of Android that has no major quirks. Coming from the RedMagic and Surface Duo, this is appreciated. I love them both but they are filled with their own quirks and trade-offs for the experience they offer.
Looking to performance you shouldn’t be expecting flagship numbers. Though it looks and feels great, this is still a midrange device, and it’s in the benchmarking it really shows. Looking at the numbers from Geekbench 5, we get a single-core score of 735 and a multi-core score of 2223. Though this is a marked improvement over its non-plus predecessor, coming in at 683 and 2014 respectively, it’s not a game-changing improvement. You’ll get on fine with the Pro+ if you’re wanting to do day to day activities and some non-taxing gaming like Disgaea 1 Complete+ or the mobile Danganronpa ports, just don’t go expecting perfect performance from apps like Dolphin or AetherSX2.
The camera, though identical to the phone Tom covered, does deserve a shoutout for just how nice it is on a non-flagship device. I’ve included a few snaps below. It’s incredibly responsive and capable of some really nice quality images, even if I’m not the best photographer.
A few areas of note worth a quick mention are the NFC and 5G capabilities. Coming from the original Surface Duo, it’s been great to have Google Pay as an option again. Having recently stayed at a hotel in an area with 5G, I also had a great opportunity to put the Pro+ through its paces as a hotspot, and I was pleasantly surprised with the phone’s temperature. Despite being hooked up to my laptop and downloading more than 700GB of Steam games over a few hours, the phone never got hot. It was warm sure, but it handled the fairly constant strain surprisingly well.
As a generalist device for people not likely to venture into the more demanding areas of Android potential, the Pro+ excels. You’re not going to be blown away by its performance, but between its vibrant screen, fantastic camera, and clean Android skin, it’s a great pick for anybody wanting a smartphone that’s just a smartphone. It’ll definitely be my daily driver for the foreseeable future.
Verdict
- Great AMOLED display
- Lush camera
- Really nice and easy to use Android skin
- Micro SD slot
- Headphone jack
- Included 120W charger is USA only
- Midrange performance for a midrange phone
