It could be worse. Phones at this level often do not have software stabilization at 4K, making the entire mode of limited value. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G at least stabilizes footage at 1080p. But having a frame rate cap of 30fps rather than 60fps feels like an insult. It’s not a super-cheap phone, and has “Pro” in its name. Such titles never meant much of anything removed from the context of their own ranges, but c’mon Xiaomi. The phone doesn't play Ark: Survival Evolved too well with everything maxed out. While there are not too many annoying dips, the frame rate is suboptimal — in the 20s with some descents into the teens. You’ll want to play it at medium graphics with the resolution slider diminished a bit for a smooth experience.

We don’t see this effect in the Xiaomi 11T Pro, which uses the same Samsung HM2 sensor. The ISP may be to blame. This is the image signal processor, which is part of the Snapdragon 695 chipset. Its Spectra 346T ISP is weaker than the MI 11T Pro’s and, more notably, the Spectra 350 of the Redmi Note 10 Pro — even though it has a triple ISP to the last-gen phone’s dual ISP. Xiaomi should really make the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G’s Night mode more accessible, as dim images shot using Auto can look rubbish at times. It sits in the additional modes section alongside less important things like time the time lapse video feature.You have three color modes to play around with. These are vivid, saturated, and standard. Xiaomi recommends “vivid,” which changes the color saturation based on the app you’re using. We chose “standard” because it removes the radioactive red effect from your app icons. Plenty of people will love that kind of saturation, though.

This camera’s secondary cameras are standard fodder. You get an 8MP ultra-wide and a poor 2MP macro. As is the case with all ultra-low-res macros, it takes bad pictures. Sure, you can focus up close, but the detail is rendered at such low fidelity you just don’t get the eye beguiling effect that makes macro photography worthwhile.

Good for data but less so for photography

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 695 clearly is not a perfect fit for this phone, even if its raw CPU and GPU power are perfectly okay. The power button on the side is also a fingerprint scanner. It has been fast and reliable in our testing: no complaints here. In typical fashion, the speaker above the screen is less bassy than the one on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G’s bottom, but there is not a huge volume disparity here. That can make the sound seem lopsided in other phones. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G has an impressive screen, even if it doesn’t set any new standards. A dynamically variable refresh rate is the missing feature, which saves battery. This phone will drop to 60Hz when an app doesn’t support 120Hz, but sits at the higher rate when sitting idle on the home screen. Redmis are relatively reserved. At their best, this can mean they look more like a legit top-end phone than the showy budget Androids.