Initial review verdict: The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 brings an AMOLED display plus a fast refresh rate to new price lows in the Philippines, disrupting the lower mid-range market yet again.

Pros

• The fast refresh rate on an AMOLED display
• High-resolution primary cameras
• Fast charging

Cons

• The design might not be for everyone
• No 5G

Redmi Note 11 Review Philippines Specs

• Snapdragon 680 processor
• 4GB/6GB RAM
• 64GB/128GBGB storage
• 6.43-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display, 90hz refresh rate
• 50-megapixel f/1.8 main camera with PDAF, 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera, 2-megapixel f/2.4 depth sensor
• 13-megapixel f/2.2 selfie camera
• 4G
• WiFi, Bluetooth 5.1, side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• Stereo speakers, IP53 rating
• 5000mAh battery
• 33w wired charging
• Android 11, MIUI 13

A new year means a new batch of phones from our favorite manufacturers, and Xiaomi is releasing not one, but three new phones to the Philippine market in a few days. The most affordable of which is the Redmi Note 11, which brings fast scrolling, 90Hz AMOLED goodness to the budget segment. Check out our Redmi Note 11 quick review:

Design

The Redmi Note 11 uses a fairly straightforward design consisting of a slab-sided back and front with rounded corners. The phone’s chassis is made out of plastic (which usually is the case for phones in this price range) but doesn’t feel cheap when you’re holding it in your hands. Some folks might like the design, some may not, but personally, I have no issues with it at all.

While our review unit came in boring black, the phone comes in three other colors, which might be the direction you’d want to go with if you’re looking at picking up this phone.

The buttons and ports are where you’d expect them to be – the power button (which doubles as the fingerprint sensor) and volume rocker is located on the right side of the phone, while the top of the device holds the 3.5mm jack and speaker grille.

The bottom holds another speaker grille and a Type-C port.

I really like the look of the camera module, and while it’s a tad big, its design looks modern and fits right into the modern smartphone aesthetic that we’re all used to by now.

Display

One of the main improvements of the Redmi Note 11 over last year’s model is the inclusion of a large, AMOLED display that has a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone’s 6.43-inch display uses an AMOLED panel that has a refresh rate of 90Hz, which isn’t typically found on phones in its price range. The phone has a cutout for the 13-megapixel camera right near the top.

The addition of the AMOLED screen gives budget-minded users a display that’s bright and vibrant, with punchy colors along with a 90Hz refresh rate. While the phone’s refresh rate pales compared to other phones with AMOLED panels that have higher 120Hz refresh rates, unless you’re putting 90Hz and 120Hz equipped phones side-by-side, it’s hard to tell the difference.

The display isn’t completely perfect of course, and the bottom, side, and top bezels are a bit thick for my liking but that’s just me nitpicking – it’ll likely be completely fine for a large majority of the population. The display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 if you’re wondering.

Cameras

The phone has relatively high-resolution snappers on its rear, at least for its targeted price range: there’s a 50-megapixel f/1.8 main camera with PDAF, 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, and two additional filler cameras for both macro and depth, both of which are 2-megapixels.

We haven’t had a chance to take photos with the rear snappers as of yet, unfortunately, but odds are it’ll perform like typical lower mid-range phones – good performance when it’s bright and there’s plenty of light around, and will likely struggle a little bit once it gets darker. We’ll have to play around with the phones more to confirm.

Performance, software, battery

The Redmi Note 11 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, and depending on what variant you get, you’re getting either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, or 64GB or 128GB of storage. There’s no 5G support here, unfortunately, though that’s not much of a loss considering the price range that the phone will likely fall in.

We haven’t had time to complete our benchmarks of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 processor, from what we could see it’s a fairly decent processor that keeps the phone running smoothly. It’s not going to blow you away performance-wise, but it’s not going to leave you high and dry either.

As for software, the phone runs MIUI 13 over Android 11. We haven’t had major issues with Xiaomi’s latest builds for its MIUI overlay, and things look fairly clean with the UI so far. We’ll report back if we find any issues with it moving forward.

The phone’s battery is a 5000mAh cell, which is typical of most phones nowadays. What’s not typical is the 33W wired charging speed, which should speed up top-ups when you need to give the phone juice at the end of a workday.

Wrap-up and early conclusions

It’s really difficult to nitpick the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 in this quick review for the Philippines because whatever deficiencies the phone has, it’s very easily countered by its pretty awesome price. And yes, while I know Xiaomi Philippines hasn’t officially released its price as of yet, its converted price of Php 9.2K (from its global $179 SRP) gives me a good idea where this phone will land here price-wise. We’ll have to see how much the phone will be officially next week, but unless Xiaomi really makes a huge mistake in pricing, the phone looks to be a solid winner.