Redmi 11 Prime 5G hands-on review in PHOTOS: First look at design, specs, features, and more

1/8

Redmi 11 Prime 5G is Xiaomi’s latest budget Redmi phone in India. The phone is launching ahead of the country’s big festive season, its big-ticket feature being 5G support at affordable pricing. This phone also holds great relevance from a pure usability point of view as 5G services are right around the corner with telcos like Reliance Jio set to launch services around the time of Diwali. Phones like the Redmi 11 Prime 5G will bring 5G to the masses. Xiaomi is also launching a Redmi 11 Prime version with 4G for those not buying into the whole 5G hype-wagon just yet. We have the Redmi 11 Prime 5G in for review and here’s a quick hands-on and first impressions of the design, hardware, and everything else you need to know about it. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

2/8

Redmi 11 Prime 5G has a textured back panel with a smooth matte finish. The sides are flat. It isn’t the slimmest or lightest phone in its class but it’s built well and feels solid in the hands. Staple Xiaomi features like IR blaster and side-mounted fingerprint reader are available. You get a headphone jack which is capable of pulling Hi-Res Audio. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

3/8

You get a fairly tall 6.58-inch 1080p display in this phone with a waterdrop-style notch. The panel is LCD and supports a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

4/8

Under the hood, the Redmi 11 Prime 5G has a MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor. This is paired with up to 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. This is expandable. Performance has been nice and nippy in our testing so far; at least as far as basic day-to-day usage is concerned. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

5/8

Running the show is Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 software. This is based on Android 12. There’s a good amount of bloat in this phone, as largely expected, but you can delete or hide many of the apps you don’t use. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

6/8

For photography, you get a dual camera setup on the back which is a combination of 50MP main and 2MP depth sensor. Photos are serviceable, for a budget phone, especially when lots of light are available. While another ultrawide would be nice, it’s no deal breaker considering the price point. On the front, the phone has an 8MP camera for taking selfies. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

7/8

Powering the phone is a sizeable 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging. The Redmi 11 Prime will easily last a day, and some more, even on heavy use. Xiaomi is bundling a 22.5W charger in the box. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)

8/8

Redmi 11 Prime 5G with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage is priced at Rs 13,999. A version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will cost Rs 15,999. The pricing seems on point and is also a bit aggressive for what’s on offer here. The phone may not shock you with too-good-to-be-true specs, like the Redmi phones of yore, but that’s how most budget phones are in 2022 if you look closely. The Redmi 11 Prime 5G, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem to be missing out on anything major in order to cut cost and keep the pricing low. 5G is simply an icing on the cake. (Photo credit: Saurabh Singh/Financial Express)