We get little progress this yr, however the Redmi Word 11 makes a whole lot of sense in case you worth display high quality and battery life over a capability to play powerful video games like Fortnite nicely.

Introduction

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 is a primary Android cellphone with one stand-out function – a Full HD OLED display. That is nice for watching YouTube or Netflix in a darker room, letting the ultra-deep distinction of the tech shine.

Its stable stereo audio system are additionally useful for video. They’re pretty loud and clear, not too far off the efficiency of Xiaomi’s telephones from a degree up.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s battery life is nice too, outlasting nearly the entire best phones round. Nice display, stable audio system, low-maintenance battery: that may be a good combo.

Apart from this, the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 affords nothing too thrilling. It doesn’t have 5G, the digicam array will not be fairly as sturdy as that of the 4G model of the Samsung Galaxy A22. And the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 will not be an incredible performer.

It struggles to play video games like Fortnite, and there’s a slight however noticeable hit to the texture of Android usually. The Redmi Word 11 will not be a ache to make use of however is slower to reply than the step-up Note 11 Pro 5G. Its relative lack of efficiency nibbles, moderately than bites, however is one thing to remember when older 4G huge hitters just like the Poco X3 Professional are intermittently out there at an analogous value.

Design and Display

• Plain inoffensive plastic shell
• Mid-size cellphone, excellent in case you don’t need an enormous handset
• Stereo audio system

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 is an unassuming cellphone. As if to emphasize the purpose, Xiaomi despatched me probably the most innocuous end out there, Graphite Gray.

There’s no dazzling impact to the again. It’s only a barely rounded sheet of plastic with a matt high later. It feels clean, maybe somewhat low-cost: clearly plastic, not glass. This merely means there’s even much less of a motive to not use the bundled silicone case.

Xiaomi additionally makes Redmi Word 11s with flippantly sparkly blue and purple/inexperienced metallic finishes, ought to the gray right here appear simply too boring to your tastes.

It is a mid-size cellphone with a 6.43-inch display, making its enchantment quite a bit wider than that of Xiaomi’s chunkier 6.67-inch efficiency telephones from final yr. At 8.1mm it’s not notably thick, and the 179g weight is diligently average.

Like final yr’s Word 10, Xiaomi desires to reel you in with OK pricing, so the design’s job is to not put you off within the course of.

There are some extra notable elements to the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 {hardware}, although. It has an IR blaster, which you in all probability gained’t use however is neat nonetheless. This lets the cellphone act as a common distant with the assistance of the Mi Distant app.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s audio system are additionally above common. There’s a driver on the cellphone’s backside, one other that appears to throw sound out of the highest and a skinny band above the display.

In the perfect stereo arrays the 2 audio system sound roughly as highly effective as one another. You don’t get that right here. The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s backside speaker is considerably richer than the highest one, however the pair nonetheless will get you a correct stereo impact and output sturdy sufficient to punch by means of an excellent quantity of ambient sound.

Audio system are a Redmi Word sequence power. And whereas the Word 11 Professional’s are extra highly effective nonetheless, delivering extra bass, the Word 11’s don’t sit too far behind.

The fingerprint scanner lives within the energy button on the aspect. It’s the usual place for finger pads in cheaper telephones, however this one has stable ergonomics and is nippy.

You get two SIM slots and a separate microSD card slot within the SIM tray too, which ought to please the price range energy consumer crowd.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s display is very similar to final yr’s Redmi Word 10’s, a minimum of by way of core tech.

You get a mid-size 6.43-inch AMOLED show with a 90Hz refresh fee, though my cellphone was set to a 60Hz refresh out of the field. Xiaomi telephones from a step up supply much more fast 120Hz refresh charges. Nonetheless, 90Hz nonetheless seems to be smoother than 60Hz, and presumably should be much less of a battery drain.

90Hz: retro, however maybe smart?

Decision and distinction are the true highlights of the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 show. 5G telephones at this value sometimes have 720p screens much less sharp than this 2400 x 1080 pixel one. Samsung’s 4G A22 has a comparable show, however the cellphone prices 15% extra.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 has a robust display, one with huge gamut color and excellent OLED blacks. I discovered its color too sturdy to start with, as whereas the default Vivid color profile claims to change color dealing with to swimsuit what’s displayed on-screen, interface app icons nonetheless seem super-saturated.

Don’t prefer it? The “Commonplace” color mode brings all the pieces again all the way down to the extra measured tones you may see in, say, an iPhone 13.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 doesn’t seem to assist HDR video, which is a disgrace when the precise show panel is clearly far more HDR-capable than most TVs. However HDR on a cellphone? It’s finally no nice loss.

This does make you surprise precisely the place you’d see the claimed “1000 nit” peak brightness, if not in HDR video. In shiny daylight the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 switches to its excessive brightness mode, which tops out at round 700 nits.

The cellphone additionally performs with its mid-tones in direct daylight, lifting up the darker elements of the image to maximise visibility. It’s an incredible function to have in a cheap Android phone. Nonetheless, it doesn’t appear to have interaction within the digicam app, which is a disgrace. I’ve additionally discovered the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 display goes a bit too dim in sure indoor situations, however simply manually change the brightness degree and it’ll keep there.

Efficiency

• Stable MIUI interface
• Simply OK basic efficiency
• Poor gaming efficiency

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s software program seems to be identical to that of Xiaomi’s costlier telephones. It runs Android 11 and MIUI, the corporate’s customized software program layer.

MIUI doesn’t do something too daring. You possibly can have it with or with out an app drawer, and the visible design is just like earlier variations. Swipe down on the suitable aspect, you get the function toggles for Wi-Fi, the torch and so forth. You swipe from the left to see notifications. I’m not an enormous fan of this type, however it’s a bit much less cumbersome within the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 than a larger-screen Android as reaching the left aspect of the show is much less of a stretch to your thumb.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s interface seems to be very similar to that of the costlier Xiaomis however it doesn’t really feel fairly the identical. It runs at a slower tempo, with a noticeable drop in responsiveness in comparison with the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 Professional.

App masses are somewhat slower, there’s typically a quick pause earlier than the interface display populates. Whereas cellphone processors have developed quickly through the years, there stays a slight efficiency deficit once you attain entry-level efficiency telephones just like the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11.

I don’t discover this annoying as such. Whereas this cellphone is barely slower than step-up fashions, it’s persistently slower — there aren’t evident inconsistencies that make it appear as if it’s important to wade by means of the interface.

Do contemplate this in case you are upgrading from an previous flagship cellphone like, say, the OnePlus 6. This cellphone is extremely prone to appear a straight downgrade in efficiency.

It’s due to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 680, a processor a lot much less spectacular than what we’ve seen in different Xiaomi 4G telephones from the final 18 months. Trying into the processor’s capabilities, the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 really hits a number of of its ceilings.

The Snapdragon 680 solely helps shows of 1080p at as much as 90Hz, there’s no assist for a separate 5G modem, no Wi-Fi 6. It doesn’t assist HDR video playback — the doubtless motive a display that appears able to it on the floor doesn’t have HDR.

In the event you await considered one of Xiaomi’s common (and infrequently scorching) gross sales, you’ll be capable of choose up a extra highly effective cellphone for related cash. However that solely applies in case you plan on shopping for the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 outright, in fact.

Gaming is the place the bounds are felt probably the most keenly. Fortnite doesn’t run nicely on the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11. It can’t remotely maintain onto a stable 30fps on the default graphics settings, and has crashed on me a number of instances — usually hanging earlier than or throughout the dropship half in the beginning of a recreation.

The cellphone will not be formally supported by Fortnite writer Epic at current, and stability might enhance sooner or later, because the Snapdragon 680 processor is utilized in a number of notable telephones together with the Realme 9i and Samsung Galaxy A23. It nonetheless gained’t run notably nicely even after optimisations, although. The restricted 4GB RAM in my take a look at cellphone doubtless doesn’t assist.

ARK: Survival Advanced runs poorly when maxed out, and even at Medium graphics there are clear body fee drops as you run by means of the atmosphere.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 scores 444 factors in 3DMark’s Wild Life benchmark, a dismal rating and solely half that of the equally priced Oppo A54 5G. That cellphone has the Snapdragon 480 5G, a chipset that sounds much less highly effective than the Redmi’s Snapdragon 680, however will not be.

This cellphone can also be slower than its predecessor: Qualcomm’s naming conference strikes once more. The previous Redmi Word 10’s Snapdragon 678 is a bit more highly effective than this telephones’ Snapdragon 680, which you’d by no means guess.

In higher information, the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 by no means appears to get scorching — maybe not too shocking given the cellphone’s energy. That stated, 3D Mark’s Wild Life stress take a look at exhibits the cellphone goes right into a throttled mode after 10 minutes at full pelt, dipping to 50-60% of its peak efficiency.

Digicam

• Pretty weak HDR
• Poor low-light picture
• Barely, however not obviously, gradual to shoot

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 has 4 rear cameras. You get a 50-megapixel fundamental digicam, an 8MP ultra-wide, a 2MP macro and a 2MP depth digicam.

These final two are typical filler cameras. Shut-up macro photographs are fairly dangerous and crumble once you view them on a show bigger than the cellphone’s personal display.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s fundamental digicam makes use of a Samsung sensor that, in typical Samsung style, takes a at the moment fashionable decision (50MP) and brings it all the way down to earth by shoehorning it into pretty low-end {hardware}. It is a small 1/2.76-inch sensor, resulting in sensor pixels that measure simply 0.64 microns. These items are tiny.

Nonetheless, for probably the most half I’m moderately pleased with the outcomes. A number of the points I had with the step-up Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G digicam are right here too, however they stick out much less in a sub-£200 cellphone.

Shoot in good lighting and the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 sometimes places out images with a heat color skew — representing the late afternoon gentle nicely. Positive texture and element usually are not notably well-handled, however the basic impression of element is nice till you really dive into the pixels to see what’s there.

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 struggles when there’s much less for it to work with. Shoot in daytime scenes the place the sunshine degree is OK however flat and your images will usually look boring and lifeless.

In tough scenes the place there’s a whole lot of gentle distinction, the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s HDR processing usually doesn’t do sufficient to keep away from the foreground wanting boring. And, opposite to expectations, very often the lower-end ultra-wide digicam will do a greater job of making an even-looking publicity.

You’ll usually be higher off switching on the “AI” mode, one thing I normally keep away from, with a purpose to coax the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11’s processing into making an attempt somewhat more durable. That stated, I really had extra points with the pricier Redmi Word 11 Professional 5G, the place overexposure is usually a downside. It’s not right here, inside motive — we’re nonetheless speaking a couple of sensor that will sound spectacular however is entry-level {hardware}.

Boring-looking Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 may be improved with modifying apps in your PC/Mac or cellphone, however you usually tend to discard them as duds earlier than even making an attempt.

The ultra-wide digicam is completely stable as a secondary digicam in a sub-£200 cellphone. Purple fringing is probably the most important concern right here. Exterior the centre of the body, it is extremely apparent, making tree branches set in opposition to the sky look as if they’re glowing with a purple aura.

The expertise of taking pictures with the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 is lower than excellent too. There’s a little bit of shutter lag, so taking images doesn’t really feel super-responsive.

Video is pretty weak. You possibly can seize footage at as much as 1080p decision, 60 frames per second. That is really higher than the 1080/30 out there within the step-up Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 Professional 5G. There’s a slight crop once you shoot video, suggesting the cellphone makes use of some extent of software program stabilisation, however there’s no digital stabilisation (EIS) possibility in Settings.

Is there really any EIS right here? After reviewing some footage, the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 does seem to use stabilisation at 1080/30, however not at 1080/60. There’s additionally important aliasing at 1080/60, so I’d counsel sticking to 1080/30 on a regular basis. It has its personal issues, like dropped frames throughout pans, however it’s nonetheless the stronger of the 2 modes.

Night time pictures is fairly poor. Whereas the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 has a devoted Night time mode, it doesn’t appear to enhance the standard of your photographs a lot. And the selfie digicam? It has a 13-megapixel sensor that does a satisfactory job in direct daylight however fantastic particulars develop into mush in indoor lighting.

Battery life

• Battery life is without doubt one of the standout options right here
• Hefty 5000mAh cell
• 33w charging

The Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 will not be an ideal cellphone, however its battery life goes a great distance in the direction of making up for it. It has a 5000mAh battery, the identical capability as loads of Xiaomi Androids which might be thicker, bigger and heavier.

Keep on with the 60Hz refresh fee and it is a cellphone that ought to be capable of final a few of you two days — or a minimum of as much as bedtime on day two. On nearly all days I’ve a minimum of 45% cost left by 11:30pm on day one, which is about nearly as good as you will get from a cellphone not made particularly for ultra-long battery life.

Switching to 90Hz doesn’t destroy issues both. On one notably lengthy day once I received began at round 7am and went to mattress simply earlier than 1am, the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 nonetheless had 40-plus p.c left once I set the cellphone down at evening. It carried on to the second day, lastly giving up at 1pm.

These weren’t notably straightforward or gentle days, making this in all probability the longest-lasting cellphone I’ve utilized in 2022 up to now. For all of the complaints raised on this evaluate, it’s meant I’ve genuinely loved utilizing the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11.

The battery is spectacular, and can also be one of many sooner to cost on the value.

Its 33W charging commonplace is much from Xiaomi’s quickest. Telephones one rung up have 67W charging, some top-end ones 120W charging. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless far superior to 15W of the Samsung options, and shames the 10W charger of the Oppo A54 5G.

33W takes the Xiaomi Redmi Word 11 from flat to 50% cost in 26 minutes. It hits 90% at 51 minutes however, as ever, the ultimate few p.c are a lot slower to trickle in. A full cost took 69 minutes, somewhat over Xiaomi’s declare of 61 minutes, however that determine could also be achievable if the cellphone is stored switched off for the total charging time.

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