When Is a Price range Cellphone Professional?

Xiaomi has up to date its reasonably priced Redmi Observe vary with the brand new Observe 11 and Observe 11 Professional 5G. The previous is making its strategy to the UK, whereas the latter will discover its residence in different territories.

So, what makes one thing a Professional system within the finances a part of the market? Right here’s the total Tech Advisor evaluate.

Design & construct

Sq.-edged design
Aspect-mounted fingerprint sensor
IP53 score

It’s been some time since I’ve seen a cellphone within the reasonably priced bracket that had a really pleasing design. Most are completely serviceable variations on the slab of glass and plastic that we all know so effectively, however this time round Xiaomi has impressed with an aesthetic that defies the system’s price-tag.

Gone are the shiny surfaces, curved edges and jumbled digital camera bump of the Redmi Observe 10 Professional, changed as an alternative with a extra refined method.

The squared off edges and chassis encompass give the Observe 11 Professional 5G the same look to the present iPhone 13 vary, whereas the easy plastic again and extra organised digital camera array maintain the minimalist design intact.

The entrance is residence to a 6.67in AMOLED panel, with a central punch-hole opening for the selfie digital camera that additionally permits the face unlock function. On the best aspect you’ll discover the amount and energy buttons, of which the latter features a fingerprint sensor. All through my time with the Observe 11 Professional 5G I discovered the sensor was very dependable but when, like me, you’re left-handed then it may take some time to retrain your instincts and attain for the cellphone together with your non-dominant hand.

Twin audio system occupy areas on the highest and backside edges of the 11 Professional 5G, joined by a 3.5mm headphone socket and IR blaster on the highest edge. Charging is through the USB-C slot on the decrease edge the place you’ll additionally discover the hybrid SIM/microSD card slot that enables the storage to be expanded by as much as 1TB whereas utilizing a single SIM card, or you’ll be able to depend on the in-built storage if you wish to use two SIMs.

The 164.2 x 76.1 x 8.1mm dimensions, paired with the squared edges, make the Redmi Observe 11 Professional 5G a cushty system to carry. Okay, the 202g weight does make it a little bit heavy, but it surely’s a balanced handset so that you don’t discover all of it that a lot.

Xiaomi someway additionally contains an IP53 mud and splash safety score, which is spectacular at this value. There’s additionally a silicon case for added grip and safety, however in fact it does cheapen the look of this good-looking cellphone.

Show

6.67in AMOLED panel
120Hz refresh price
Full HD+ decision

To go with the elegant styling, Xiaomi bestows a 6.67in Full HD+ AMOLED show on the Observe 11 Professional 5G. The 2400×1080 decision and 20:9 facet ratio imply that it is a tall cellphone, so it’s undoubtedly one which requires two fingers to function comfortably, however that’s just about the norm now.

The panel may be very good, with loads of color and distinction, plus the choice to change the refresh price as much as a most of 120Hz implies that avid gamers will benefit from the fluid scrolling and actions of graphically busy titles, particularly with the 360Hz contact sampling price that’s included. In the event you’re not too bothered by such issues, then you’ll be able to go away the default 60Hz setting on and acquire a bit extra battery life as an alternative.

Brightness is okay, with the show reaching a most of simply over 400 nits in regular mode with auto-brightness disabled. The system does have a Excessive Brightness mode that appears to be triggered robotically by the software program, and Xiaomi claims this sometimes reaches 700 nits and tops out at a reasonably fierce 1200 nits. In any case, I didn’t encounter any issues utilizing the Observe 11 Professional once I was out and about.

Xiaomi additionally features a useful Studying Mode function in its software program, which you’ll be able to toggle on and off from the Settings menu. This cools the color temperature of the show, making it a little bit simpler on the eyes if you’re lengthy articles or studying an book.

Specs & efficiency

Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G
As much as 8GB RAM
128GB of storage (expandable by as much as 1TB)

Powering all of the options within the Observe 11 Professional is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G processor, which is an honest decrease mid-range chip that’s additionally used on the (very equally specced) Poco X4 Professional and Realme 9 Professional, and is predicted to seem within the OnePlus Nord N20.

That is assisted on my evaluate unit by 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.2 inner storage (which may be additional elevated by as much as 1TB through a microSD card). Different configurations additionally obtainable are 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB, with commensurate drops in value.

Basically use the efficiency is pleasingly environment friendly. Apps open and run rapidly, navigating the menus and numerous screens is snappy, and I by no means actually felt the lag that typically seems in additional reasonably priced gadgets.

Taking part in graphically heavy video games like Asphalt 9 didn’t current any issues and even after a thirty minute session the rear floor remained comfortably cool to the contact. To be trustworthy, it’s exhausting to discover a sluggish cellphone on this sector of the market as of late, which is sweet information for those who don’t wish to must shell out massive bucks simply to make use of social media, message associates, take heed to music and stream the occasional video. If these sound just like the form of belongings you need from a cellphone, then the Observe 11 Professional 5G has received you coated.

After all, it’s able to some heavy lifting too, as you’ll be able to see from the outcomes it returned in our customary battery of benchmark assessments:

Cameras

108Mp f/1.9 most important digital camera
8Mp f/2.2 ultrawide
2Mp f/2.four macro

A 3 digital camera array is neatly organized within the high left nook of the rear panel, with the principle 108Mp f/1.9 shooter taking pleasure of place. That is joined by an 8Mp f/2.2 ultrawide and 2Mp f/2.four macro to supply a good number of pictures choices for a tool on this value bracket.

Outcomes are one thing of a blended bag although. There’s little question that you may seize some actually beautiful photos on this cellphone, with loads of element, color and distinction. Utilizing the principle digital camera in brilliant circumstances delivered very acceptable panorama photographs that didn’t blow out the highs and managed to indicate the sky and clouds in all their glory. Faucet the 2x zoom possibility and all of the sudden there’s numerous noise within the body, which makes it one thing you’d solely use when there are not any different choices obtainable.

Low gentle may be effective when you have a gradual hand, however I did discover some hassle specializing in the picture within the foreground at occasions, which solely grew to become obvious on shut inspection of the ultimate picture. There’s a night time mode you should use, but it surely does are inclined to overexpose reasonably than produce balanced photos.

Macro is the same story. When the digital camera focuses on the right space of the body you may get some beautiful photos, reminiscent of an in depth up of a flower within the early morning sunshine. However, you’ll must be vigilant, because the digital camera doesn’t at all times select the best topic.

Video footage tops out at 1080p/30fps, which is a step down from the 4K capabilities of its predecessor the Redmi Observe 10 Professional. Footage is okay, however there doesn’t appear to be any notably efficient stabilisation, as strolling across the backyard produced a refined bump brought on by each footstep. The 16Mp f/2.four selfie digital camera returns sufficient outcomes and may match the entrance digital camera for video high quality, but it surely doesn’t actually shine.

You will get some wonderful photographs and movies with this cellphone, however you’ll have to work for them.

Battery life & charging

5000mAh battery
67W charger
50% cost in 15 minutes

A 5000mAh battery occupies many of the Observe 11 Professional’s innards, and does a effective job of supplying energy to the system. All through my time testing it, I recurrently went to mattress with loads of cost nonetheless left within the tank, even with heavy use. Switching to the 120Hz refresh price clearly has a detrimental impact to the longevity of the battery life, however even then it nonetheless made it to late night if I didn’t spend an excessive amount of time gaming.

Xiaomi features a 67W charger within the field (take that, Apple), which returns the unit to full energy in round 45 minutes, however if you would like a fast splash and sprint, then you may get to 50% from simply over 15 minutes of charging.

Sadly there’s no wi-fi charging obtainable, however that’s not shocking contemplating the value.

Software program

MIUI 13
Android 11
Loads of Customisation Options

Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 sits on high of Android 11 within the Observe 11 Professional. It’s a vibrant and cheery interface that for probably the most half is sweet to make use of. There are a variety of customisation choices that assist you to tailor the expertise extra to your tastes, reminiscent of a aspect bar (a la Samsung), floating home windows and a lightweight mode that simplifies every thing and makes use of bigger textual content and icons for many who may battle with a busy interface.

There’s the now customary darkish mode, the aforementioned studying mode, in addition to numerous changes you may make to the color scheme, textual content dimension and the fast settings menu.

I did encounter a couple of stumbles right here and there, with the fast settings menu specifically proving unwilling to let me swipe down and open up its prolonged choices on quite a few events.

There was additionally the truth that a couple of occasions I discovered myself on a cellphone name chatting with a buddy, solely to have them say they couldn’t hear me. Checking the system I noticed that the display had been on whereas I used to be holding it to my face, and my cheek had touched the Mute icon, chopping off my microphone. This could have a proximity sensor telling the cellphone to disregard any such happenstance, so I can solely assume the software program wasn’t selecting up the command.

Listening to podcasts and audiobooks was good because of the surprisingly respectable audio system, however a number of occasions the playback stopped by itself. I questioned if the cellphone was listening for a voice command and mistaking it from the audio that was enjoying, however regardless of the trigger it was annoying.

One main downside is that, as talked about, the Observe 11 Professional 5G ships with Android 11 – reasonably than the more moderen Android 12, which is already obtainable on different Xiaomi telephones. That is notably regarding as Redmi gadgets sometimes solely obtain two Android updates, that means this cellphone will in all probability be up to date to Android 13 – due later this yr – however will not obtain any additional software program help, aside from safety patches, past that.

Worth & availability

The Redmi Observe 11 Professional received’t be releasing in Europe or the USA, however you should buy it from Xiaomi in India for ₹24,999 (roughly £250/$329/€299).

Europeans can go for the much less highly effective Xiaomi Redmi Observe 11, which begins from $179. Keep in mind that Xiaomi isn’t at the moment releasing telephones instantly within the USA, so for those who stay in that territory then you definately’ll must import the system by means of one other vendor.

There are fairly a couple of respectable options to the Observe 11 Professional although, together with the good Poco X4 Professional 5G which prices €299 (round £250/$340) and has a lot the identical specs because the Redmi system.

Take a look at our rankings of one of the best Xiaomi telephones and one of the best finances telephones for extra reasonably priced choices.

Verdict

The Redmi Observe 11 Professional 5G is a stable mid-range performer that will get a number of issues proper.

Its design might be one of the best I’ve seen on this value bracket and the all spherical efficiency makes it simple to suggest. I did discover the digital camera stable reasonably than wonderful, and there have been a couple of glitches right here and there, however general it delivers just about every thing you need from a reasonable smartphone, together with 5G.

Specs
Xiaomi Redmi Observe 11 Professional 5G: Specs

6.67in AMOLED HD+ show with 2400 x 1080 decision, 60 or 120Hz refresh price, HDR10 and 20:9 facet ratio

Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G processor

As much as 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM
As much as 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage (expandable by 1TB through microSD)

108Mp f/1.9 Extensive

8Mp f/2.2 Ultrawide

2Mp f/2.four Macro

16Mp f/2.four Selfie

Twin-SIM/microSD

Stereo audio system

IR blaster

NFC