Looking for an economical smartphone with fine longevity in the market, that too with 5G capabilities? Why not have a look at one of Xiaomi’s recent launches in the past couple of months- the Redmi 11 Prime 5G?
Although this phone, minus the 5G variant, had been flourishing in the market before, the regular Redmi 11 Prime, which was a slightly updated version of the Redmi 10 Prime from 2021, this particular launch focuses on its 5G technicalities because of the global demand that required this update. One can say Xiaomi does face stiff competition from its other contemporaries in the market, like Realme, Oppo, POCO, and ViVo, regarding mid-range smartphones. So, as a matter of fact, the question is: does the Redmi 11 Prime 5G actually stand out in the crowd? Read the full review to find out:
Design
Weighing around 200 g, the device is medium-heavy. The dimensions being 163.9 x 76 x 8.9 mm (Height x Width x Thickness), the phone is not particularly large as compared to others in the race, thus quite grip-friendly because of the curved edges provided. Being splash-proof also adds to its advantage, although it is only rated at level 2 on the IP rating chart, so one has to be cautious regarding usage near water. The Redmi 11 Prime 5G features a plastic unibody design. The back surface has a matte finish which is textured, reminiscent of the old Samsung Duos phones that were popular back in the day. One can opt for the handset in three different colors, namely, Meadow Green, Chrome Silver, and the all-time classic Thunder Black.
Display
With a 6.58-inch touchscreen full HD+ display offering a resolution of 2400×1080 pixels (FHD+) and a refresh rate of 90Hz, and a screen-to-body ratio of 83.6%, it does not provide a particularly outstanding viewing experience in the outdoors, which could have been possible with an AMOLED display, but one cannot complain regarding indoor usage. The peak brightness is at 400 nits and 401 PPI density. Thus, it can get difficult at times to read a document in broad daylight. Preferably, a 700 nits brightness could have resolved the issue. The phone is Gorilla Glass protected, thus providing ample protection against rough usage, with a water drop notch at the front top. The fingerprint sensor is on the right side of the device.
Camera
With two rear cameras and one in the front (50MP and 8MP), the photos taken under daylight are good enough considering the specifications of a budget phone. The 2MP depth sensor helps in adding dynamism (HDR) to the pictures. In low light, the camera quality declines and can be considered average. The photos garner a darker undertone while using minimal light. The 1080p videos can be recorded at 30fps. The images captured, kind of, have whitish tones added to them, somewhat shifting away from natural tones.
Technical
The device is powered by MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 chipset, which is actually quite well optimized, so it promises good performance. With the software of Xiaomi’s MIUI 13.0.4 based on Android 12 and Octa-core (2x 2.2 Ghz Cortex- A76 & 6x 2.0 GHz Cortex- A55) processor, the phone is supposed to deliver an impressive performance to users. A great advantage of bagging this phone at this time when the 5G services are being rolled out is that Redmi has added 7 5G bands, which indicates one can utilize the given band whenever the 5G connectivity is launched in their city. Supported with a single speaker only, no secondary noise-cancellation microphone is provided. Talking about advantages, it needs to be mentioned that the device is blessed with Carrier Aggregation support, which would definitely call for a smooth calling experience.
Battery And Connectivity
The Li-Polymer battery is irremovable and has a capacity of 5000mAh that ensures fast charging at 18W. The battery life is around 20 h 6m, and charging time being a little over 1hr and 30 mins seems just decent. The device is provided with a Type-C USB port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Now, let me say that at 18W charging speed, it will actually depend upon the usage of the phone, how long the battery life will serve the user. Without a load of games installed on the device, I guess the battery life would be fine.
Overall Review
Available at 4/6 GB RAM options and 64/128 GB internal storage, which is expandable up to 512 GB, one can easily zero it in as one of the best budget-friendly phones that have come up in the market in recent times, as it is priced at $172-$200. However, it is safe to say that one can also explore several other contemporaries available around similar price margins. At this decent price, the dual-SIM support of 5G (both) is something one would not want to miss. If one does not want to go for heavy gaming experiences but rather bask in the glory of daily social media scrolling or basic mailing activities, this is the phone you can go for.
See more: ‘Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’ Specifications And Review: Everything You Need To Know Before Buying
