[REVIEW] Redmi Note 11S: The cheapest Redmi with a capable 108 MPx camera

We recently brought you a review of the most affordable smartphone from the new Redmi Note 11 series. It was a basic model, but it did not bring a very good camera, which the Redmi brand is trying to correct with an alternative model. Redmi Notes 11swhich got up to 108 MPx camera.

In addition to a direct comparison of cameras, you will find other interesting details about this novelty in the review. We will look at performance, endurance and overall we will compare these two models, which we have had the opportunity to try so far.

Where to buy Redmi Note 11s?

We purchased the Redmi Note 11S in the official global version from the European retailer Edwaybuy, who delivered our smartphone by express in 5 days. Sending is from German, and it is not missing either full 2-year warranty.

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Technical specifications

Traditional packaging with charger

We received the new Redmi Note 11s in the standard packaging that we all know very well. The smartphone was packed in a white box, which consists of a cardboard envelope, where we find a silicone cover and a needle to open the slot for SIM card, smartphone and charger with cable.

The included transparent case for the smartphone also has a cover for the USB-C port, which prevents the ingress of dirt, but on the other hand makes it difficult to connect the charger. The whole package was delivered to us by a courier in an envelope with a bubble reinforcement, and in addition, the smartphone itself was still wrapped in a transparent foil. You do not have to worry about possible damage during transport.

Design and processing

The Redmi Note 11s is a mid-range smartphone, so its construction is made of plastic. The back cover is also plastic, but it's not shiny, so you don't have to worry about a lot of fingerprints. Since we recently tested the basic Redmi Note 11 model, we had these smartphones in the newsroom at the same time. Our review for Redmi Note 11 you will find here.

At first glance, smartphones look the same. We even had both available in the same, dark gray color. There are also other color variants, namely white (Pearl White) and blue (Twilight Blue). The only design difference is on the back, where the camera in the Redmi Note 11s protrudes significantly higher than the level of the back cover.

We also had the opportunity to directly compare the novelty with its predecessor, last year's Redmi Note 10s model. There have been several design changes here, but the most interesting is the different design of the rear camera module. The 3.5 mm audio jack has been moved from bottom to top and the speaker grille design has also changed.

Layout of elements

The layout of the individual elements of the Redmi Note 11s adheres to the proven standard in the middle class. On the left side we find a slot for SIM card, which has a capacity of 2 SIM cards as well as a microSD memory card. The right side contains two buttons for volume control, under which there is a button for unlocking with an integrated fingerprint reader.

The bottom hides the microphone, USB-C charging port and speaker. At the top we find a second speaker, another microphone, an IR sensor and a 3.5 mm audio port for connecting external headphones. Speaker quality is good by default.

The dominant element on the back cover is the camera module, which protrudes significantly into the space, but the silicone case sufficiently protects it. The disadvantage is the more difficult use of the smartphone placed on the table, when the entire smartphone swings on the camera module when the left side of the display is gently pushed. However, this ailment is nothing special.

AMOLED display with 90 Hz refresh rate

This member of the eleventh series from the Redmi brand also has the same AMOLED display as the Redmi Note 11. It is a 6.43 ″ display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 px with a density of 409 ppi. It will please a higher refresh rate of 90 Hz, which must be selected in the settings. The factory default value is only 60 Hz.

The AMOLED used in this smartphone has a sampling frequency of only 180 Hz, a brightness of 700 nits (maximum peak 1000 nits) and a contrast ratio of 4: 500. It is a standard AMOLED display that you would expect on cheaper smartphones. It doesn't excel at anything, it doesn't burn, but it's not downright bad. It ranks among the ordinary average, but it will please at least a sufficiently high brightness, thanks to which it is easy to read even in the sun.

The processor is not from Qualcomm

One of the changes compared to the cheapest model Redmi Note 11 is the used processor. The Redmi Note 11s did not receive the same processor from Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 680, but the manufacturer reached for a competing processor from MediaTek, the Helio G96. This processor can also be found, for example, in the complete novelty POCO M4 Pro or Realme 8i.

Helio G96 is an 8-core processor manufactured with 12 nm technology. It consists of 2 Cortex-A76 cores with a clock frequency of 2050 MHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores with a frequency of 2000 MHz. The processor is assisted by an ARM Mali-G57 MC2 graphics chip and LPDDR4X RAM with UFS 2.2 storage

We tested the version with 6 + 128 GB, but other versions are also available, namely 6 + 64 GB or 8 + 128 GB. Nami the tested version represents a kind of golden mean, which is among the most popular variants in general. Thanks to the fast UFS 2.2 storage, the RAM memory is automatically expanded by another 2 GB from the internal memory. It scored 315 in AnTuTu.

Overall, the smartphone is very nimble and performance is a common standard in the middle class of affordable smartphones. Many will be discouraged by the MediaTek processor, but we have absolutely no problem with it. Although we have registered a few small slowdowns in use, this is not significant.

We felt the most slow reactions when taking photos, where it sometimes takes a while for the smartphone to process some photos when they are first displayed. Here you can see that the smartphone applies a certain post-process to each photo.

What is a 108 MPx camera?

Xiaomi has improved this model compared to the basic Redmi Note 11, especially in the field of photography. Here you will find the well-known 108 MPx sensor Samsung S5KHM2, which the Xiaomi brand has already used in several models, including the recently tested POCO X4 Pro 5G and also the highest model of the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G series.

Will this model correct the reputation of the weak output of basic Redmi Note 11? Below you can see a pair of photos taken by both smartphones using their main camera. The difference is striking at first glance and we can say that Redmi Note 11s takes photos a class better.

In the case of the reviewed model, the presentation of colors is completely different and above all more natural. Overall, the photo is more exposed and you can also see better colorsnamirange. You will notice this especially in the second series of photos, where the figures and objects in the shadows on the right photo from the Redmi Note 11 almost disappear, while they are clearly visible on the photo on the left. We don't even have to talk about a significant improvement in sharpness.

It is similar in the photos from the interior, where you can also see a huge difference.

Other cameras

The ultra-wide angle sensor, macro camera and depth-of-field sensor have the same resolution in this case as the Redmi Note 11. However, according to the available information, there is another 8 MPx ultra-wide angle sensor.

The Redmi Note 11 should have a 08/3 ″ GalaxyCore GC1A4 sensor with an f / 2.2 aperture, while the Redmi Note 11s probably used a 355 / 1 ″ Sony IMX2.8 with the same aperture number. However, we do not have this information officially confirmed by the manufacturer, so it should be taken with some caution.

How is the quality? Do they take pictures the same or not? We have to admit that the Redmi Note 11s is the clear winner of the comparison even with the wide-angle camera. The difference is again significant and the shots from the Redmi Note 11s have visibly better dynamicky range, you can see more details on them, they have better sharpness and the colors are closer to warmer tones.

Of course, since zoomed-in zooms are created by cropping from the main camera, the Redmi Note 2s is of course also better. However, the macro is quite weak in both cases.

However, we noticed one problem with this model in connection with photography. Sometimes it happened that the smartphone did not manage to process the photo if we wanted to see it immediately after taking the picture, and a few times it happened to us that it could not even process it, so half of the photo remained black.

Night mode

Night mode is a matter of course for all smartphones, so it is not missing on these, cheaper models. If we compare the photos from the Redmi Note 11 and Redmi Note 11s models, we again see the difference, although not so significant. In both cases without night mode activated, the photos are relatively blurred in both cases, but surprisingly, with Redmi Note 11s, some parts are too smooth, almost without detail.

The night mode illuminates the photos better in the case of the Redmi Note 11s and at the same time slightly sharpens them. Overall, the photos of Redmi Note 11s are more beautiful to look at with more natural colors.

Endurance and charging

Like the basic Redmi Note 11, the Note 11s has up to 5000 mAh battery. However, we have another processor that does not have the same power consumption. How is it reflected on endurance? The difference is almost invisible. Even the Redmi Note 11s can easily handle 1.5 - 2 days without charging during normal use.

During the testing, of course, we discharged him several times in one day, but these days we gave him a hard time. In terms of charging, we have 33 W charging without wireless charging support. The charging process looks something like this:

MIUI 13 and Android 11 are a matter of course

We received Redmi Note 11s with the latest version of the superstructure from Xiaomi, MIUI 13 with Android 11. There are a number of widgets, wallpapers and options to customize the environment to your requirements. Again, the system does not allow the always-on display to turn on continuously, which turns off every 10 seconds.

There are also special features such as the sidebar, floating windows, second space or simplified mode. The sidebar shows the selected applications in a small panel that is hidden, and you only need to swipe from left to right in the highlighted area to display it. The second space creates another profile, similar to having multiple users on your computer.

Overall, we were satisfied with the system and its operation, but several shortcomings can be found. Occasionally there are some slow reactions, but these are quite common for a smartphone in this category. Unfortunately, we didn't avoid the old familiar problem with the proximity sensor, so we accidentally turned off the microphone with our ear during some calls.

Redmi Note 11s: Final evaluation

The Redmi Note 11s is definitely a very interesting model from this year's series of smartphones from Redmi. Unlike the basic model, it got a processor from MediaTek, which is more powerful. The smartphone will especially please with the main 108 MPx camera, which is significantly better compared to the 50 MPx in the basic model Redmi Note 11.

The same camera can also be found in the top model of the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G series or in the recently introduced POCO X4 Pro 5G.

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The smartphone offers an excellent price-performance ratio and thus becomes one of the best smartphones in the middle class. For a price of around 250 € it offers very interesting parameters with a classic design and good ergonomics.