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

Recently, we brought you a review of the most affordable smartphone from the new Redmi Note 11 series: the Redmi Note 11 from the new Redmi Note 11 series. It was the base model, but it didn’t deliver a particularly great camera—so Redmi is trying to fix that with an alternative in the form of the Redmi Note 11s, which features a whopping 108 MP camera.

In the review, you’ll also find more interesting details about this new release, in addition to a direct camera comparison. We’ll take a look at performance and battery life, and we’ll compare these two models we’ve had the chance to try so far.

Where to buy the Redmi Note 11s?

We purchased the Redmi Note 11S in the official global version from the European seller Edwaybuy, and they delivered the smartphone in an express timeframe of 5 days. Shipping is handled from Germany, and there’s also a full 2-year warranty.

Current coupons for the Redmi Note 11S

Technical specifications

Traditional packaging with a charger

We received the new Redmi Note 11s in standard packaging—the kind everyone knows well. The smartphone came in a white box consisting of a cardboard sleeve, where you’ll find a silicone case, a pin for opening the SIM card slot, the smartphone itself, and the charger with a cable.

The included transparent cover for the smartphone also has a cap for the USB-C port to prevent dust and dirt from getting in, but on the other hand it makes it harder to connect the charger. The whole package was delivered to us by the courier in an envelope with bubble padding, and the smartphone itself was also wrapped in clear film. So you don’t really need to worry about damage during shipping.

Design and workmanship

Redmi Note 11s is a mid-range smartphone, so its frame is made of plastic. The rear cover is also plastic, but it isn’t glossy—so you don’t have to worry about a lot of fingerprints. Since we’ve recently tested the base model Redmi Note 11, our newsroom had these smartphones side by side at the same time. You can find our review of the Redmi Note 11 here.

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

We were also able to compare the new model directly with its predecessor—the last year’s Redmi Note 10s. From a design perspective, a few things have changed, but what stands out most again is the different design of the rear camera module. The 3.5 mm audio jack moved from the bottom to the top, and the speaker grille design has also changed.

Layout of the elements

The Redmi Note 11s follows the proven mid-range standard for the placement of its individual elements. On the left side, you’ll find the SIM card slot, which supports 2 SIM cards and also a MicroSD memory card. The right side has a dual-button setup for volume control, under which there’s a button for unlocking with an integrated fingerprint reader.

The bottom side houses the microphone, the charging USB-C port, and the speaker. At the top, you’ll find the second speaker, another microphone, the IR sensor, and a 3.5 mm audio port for connecting external headphones. The speaker quality is, by default, pretty good.

The dominant element on the back cover is the camera module, which protrudes significantly, but the silicone case protects it well. The downside is that it’s harder to use the phone placed on a table—when you apply even slight pressure toward the left side of the display, the entire smartphone wobbles on the camera module. Still, this isn’t anything truly exceptional.

AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate

This member of the Redmi’s 11th series also comes with the same AMOLED display as the Redmi Note 11. It’s a 6.43″ panel with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 px and a density of 409 ppi. You’ll appreciate the higher refresh rate of 90 Hz, but you need to select it in the settings. The factory default is only 60 Hz.

The AMOLED used in this smartphone has a sampling rate of just 180 Hz, brightness of 700 nits (max peak 1000 nits), and a contrast ratio of 4 500 000 : 1. It’s a standard AMOLED display like you’d expect in cheaper smartphones. Nothing particularly stands out—it doesn’t blow you away, but it’s not outright bad either. It falls into the usual average category, but at least the brightness is high enough to be comfortably readable even in sunlight.

The processor isn’t from Qualcomm

One of the changes compared to the cheapest Redmi Note 11 model is also the processor used. The Redmi Note 11s didn’t get the same Qualcomm processor, the Snapdragon 680—instead the manufacturer went with a competing processor from MediaTek, the Helio G96. You can find this processor, for example, in the brand-new POCO M4 Pro or the Realme 8i.

Helio G96 is an 8-core processor made using a 12 nm process. It consists of 2 Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2050 MHz and 6 Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2000 MHz. The processor is supported by an ARM Mali-G57 MC2 graphics chip and LPDDR4X RAM, with UFS 2.2 storage.

We tested the 6 + 128 GB version, but other variants are also available: 6 + 64 GB or 8 + 128 GB. The version we tested is a kind of sweet spot, and it’s among the most popular variants overall. Thanks to the fast UFS 2.2 storage, the RAM is automatically expanded by an additional 2 GB from the internal memory. In AnTuTu, it scored 315 914.

Overall, the smartphone is very snappy and performance-wise it represents the usual standard for affordable mid-range smartphones. Some people will probably be turned off by the MediaTek processor, but we have absolutely no problem with it. We did notice a few minor slowdowns during use, but nothing major.

The most noticeable slowdowns were when taking photos, where it sometimes takes a moment for the smartphone to process some images the first time you view them. You can clearly see that the smartphone applies a certain post-processing to every photo.

What’s the 108 MPx camera like?

Xiaomi has improved this model over the base Redmi Note 11 mainly in the area of photography. You’ll find the familiar 108 MPx Samsung S5KHM2 sensor here again—one that Xiaomi has already used in several models, including the recently tested POCO X4 Pro 5G and also the top model in the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G series.

Does this model fix the weak output reputation of the base Redmi Note 11? Below, you can take a look at a pair of photos taken by both smartphones using their main cameras. The difference is clearly noticeable at first glance, and we can say that the Redmi Note 11s takes photos about a class better.

Color rendering in the reviewed model is completely different—and mainly more natural. Overall, the photo is more brightly lit, and you can also see better dynamic range. You’ll notice it especially in the second set of photos, where the characters and objects in the shadows in the right photo from the Redmi Note 11 almost disappear, while in the left photo they’re clearly visible. And we don’t even need to talk about the significant sharpness improvement.

It’s similar with interior photos, where you can also see a huge difference.

Other cameras

In this case, the ultra-wide sensor, the macro camera, and the depth-of-field sensor have the same resolution as on the Redmi Note 11. However, based on available information, there’s a different 8 MPx ultra-wide sensor here.

The Redmi Note 11 should use the GalaxyCore GC08A3 sensor with a 1/4″ size and an f/2.2 aperture, while for the Redmi Note 11s, a Sony IMX355 sensor with a 1/2.8″ size was most likely used with the same aperture number. However, we don’t have official confirmation from the manufacturer, so you should take this information with a grain of salt.

How’s the quality? Does it shoot the same or not? We have to admit that even with shots from the wide camera, the clear winner of the comparison is the Redmi Note 11s. The difference is again very pronounced: photos from the Redmi Note 11s have a visibly better dynamic range, show more details, have better sharpness, and their colors are closer to warmer tones.

Since the zoomed-in shots with 2x zoom are created by cropping from the main camera, naturally the Redmi Note 11s does better here as well. However, macro is pretty weak in both cases.

When it comes to taking photos, though, we noticed one issue with this model. Occasionally, it happened that the smartphone couldn’t process the photo if we wanted to view it right after taking it, and a few times it even failed to process it, so half of the photo stayed black.

Night mode

Night mode is already a given on all smartphones, so it’s also included with these cheaper models. If we compare the photos from the Redmi Note 11 and Redmi Note 11s, we can see the difference again—though not quite as dramatic. In evening shots without night mode enabled, the photos are rather blurry in both cases, but surprisingly, on the Redmi Note 11s some parts look overly smoothed, with almost no detail.

Night mode brightens the photo better on the Redmi Note 11s and also slightly increases sharpness. Overall, photos from the Redmi Note 11s look nicer at first glance, with more natural colors.

Runtime and charging

Just like the base Redmi Note 11, the Note 11s also comes with a 5000 mAh battery. However, we have a different processor here, which may not have the same power consumption. How does that show up in battery life? The difference is almost impossible to notice. Even the Redmi Note 11s handles 1.5 – 2 days without charging with normal use without any issues.

During testing, we obviously drained it several times in a single day, but on those days we really put it through its paces. As for charging, it supports 33 W charging without wireless charging. The charging progress looks roughly like this:

MIUI 13 and Android 11 are a given

We received the Redmi Note 11s with Xiaomi’s latest software overlay—MIUI 13 with Android 11. There’s a lot of widgets, wallpapers, and customization options to match your own needs. The system again doesn’t allow always-on display to stay constantly on—it always turns off after 10 seconds.

You also get special features like the side panel, floating windows, a second space, or a simplified mode. The side panel shows selected apps in a small panel that’s hidden, and to display it you just swipe your finger from left to right in the marked area. The second space creates an additional profile, similar to having multiple users on a computer.

Overall, we were satisfied with the system and its performance, but a few drawbacks do show up. Occasionally, you get some laggy reactions, but that’s completely normal for a smartphone in this category. Unfortunately, we couldn’t avoid the old, well-known issue with the proximity sensor—so during some calls, we accidentally turned off the microphone with our ear.

Redmi Note 11s: Final evaluation

The Redmi Note 11s is definitely a very interesting model from this year’s Redmi smartphone series. Unlike the base model, it got a MediaTek processor, but it’s more powerful. The phone will especially please you with its main 108 MPx camera, which is significantly better compared to the 50 MPx camera on the base Redmi Note 11.

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

Current coupons for the Redmi Note 11S

The smartphone offers an excellent price-to-performance ratio, making it a contender for one of the best mid-range smartphones. For a price around €250, it delivers very interesting specs with a classic design and good ergonomics.