Infinix Note 11 Review: Is this the best phone under ₹12000?

Infinix might not be a household name but it is one that’s been putting out some good competitive phones lately. The newest release from the brand is its Note 11 series including two models and here, I have the vanilla variant of the duo. Well, right off the bat, everything from the finish of the packaging to the flat and squared-off design of the phone calls for attention. It also features a 50MP camera, an FHD+ AMOLED display, a 5000mAh battery with 33W charging, and an Helio G88 processor, among various other things. But with all these highlights, does the phone come with some baggage too? To find out, please follow the lines henceforth.

This will be the Smartprix review of the Infinix Note 11. Let’s begin by brushing up on the basics.

Navigate this article:

Unboxing | Price & Specs | Design | Audiovisual | Connectivity | Performance | Battery | Camera | Verdict | FAQ

Infinix Note 11 Unboxing

Infinix Note 11 packaging looks rad from the outside. The Note branding in particular stands out in that lustrous silvery color. You have some highlights of the phone stamped at the back. However inside, the in-box contents appear as if thrown in together. Anyways, here’s what you’d get:

• Phone with pre-applied screen protector
• Charger
• USB-C Cable
• Plastic Case
• SIM Card Tool
• Paperwork

Also Read:

• TCL C725 Review
• Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Alan Walker Special Edition Review
• Moto G31 Review: Can a nearly stock software secure its spot in the sub-15K segment?

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Infinix Note 11 Indian price & specs

Dimensions and Weight: 164.43×76.66×7.9mm; About 184g
Screen: 6.7-inch (2400 x 1080 pixels) FHD+ AMOLED screen with up to 750 nits peak brightness, 60Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate, 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, Gorilla Glass 3
CPU: MediaTek Helio G88
GPU: ARM Mali-G52
RAM: 4GB LPDDR4x
Storage: 64GB eMMC 5.1 (expandable up to 2TB via dedicated slot)
Rear cameras: 50MP main Samsung sensor + 2MP depth lens; 2K@30 FPS
Front camera: 16MP; 1080P 30FPS
Battery: 5000mAh with 33W fast charging
OS: Android 11 with XOS 10
Colors: Glacier Green, Celestial Snow, Graphite Black
Misc: Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, Stereo speakers, DTS Surround Sound, Side-mounted Fingerprint sensor
Infinix Note 11 India Price: ₹11,999

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Infinix adopts the latest iPhone-inspired squared-edge design. And although it isn’t flat as pancakes, the device is easy to handle and operate thanks to a 7.9mm thickness, and a not-so-hefty 184-gram build. Albeit the polycarbonate shell, the thing doesn’t feel tacky. It looks and feels fine in hand. Also, the bundled plastic case is noice too.

The front glass and the plastic back are tapered-off and joined by a plastic frame. Both the side and rear materials are of the same turquoise color, but the latter has a nice textured and shiny finish. Here, by the back, you have the camera island and the Infinix logo. The main camera ring is big and gawks at you. It is accompanied by another camera lens and a quad-flash lens.

The third camera of the phone lies on the front. It is situated within a waterdrop cutout. It can be used for face unlock. You can also rely on the side-mounted fingerprint scanner for getting into the device. This is part of the power button. You may feel difficulty in unlocking if tried in a dark environment and if your fingers are moist.

Anyways, above the power key resides the volume rocker. This one clicks very well. On the other side, there is a SIM card slot. The top side is barren, which means no dual-mic here. You have to make do with the microphone at the bottom which is btw flanked by a USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a speaker grille.

And with that, let’s get into the next segment.

Infinix Note 11 flaunts an FHD+ AMOLED screen that extends 6.8-inches diagonally. The surrounding bezels are fairly slim and the waterdrop notch also looks okay although, the company could’ve gone with a punch-hole instead. The display is legible enough outdoors. Being AMOLED, its colors and contrasts are palatable too.

No high-refresh speed though. This slower but standard 60Hz refresh per second should be favorable to the battery life. Also, within the settings, you get software options for speeding up the swipe and motion animations. You can also toggle Eye Care, Dark Theme, Adaptive brightness, etc here.

Beneath the display settings, there’s also theming and audio section. Within the so-called Sound & Vibration settings, you can choose the DTS profile and a loudness booster toggle. Now, the Note 11 rocks a stereo speaker setup. The bottom-ported speaker is aided by sound from the earpiece. And the output is alright in terms of volume and overall quality. You can always use the headphone jack and it should serve you well too in media consumption and for attending calls.

As for the wireless side of things, scroll down.

Calls sounded passable from the earpiece but the missing microphone is an impediment.

Besides this, the Note 11 also allows connection to the world through dual 4G SIMs with VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), and Bluetooth 5.0. WiFi and Bluetooth speeds were fine.

There’s also GPS (with A-GPS) and FM Radio in the mix, both of which works as required.

Now, let’s move to the heart of the phone.

Infinix has armed the Note 11 with a MediaTek Helio G88 chip. It is a 12nm chip that incorporates two Cortex A75 performance cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and six Cortex A55 efficiency cores running at 1.8GHz clock speed. It is more or less the same setup as Helio G85 but with some gains on multimedia, connectivity, and imaging front.

It is coupled with Mali-G52 GPU, 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM, and 64GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. You get to increase the storage via a microSD card up to 2TB. This is a dedicated slot by the way.

As for synthetic scores, here are the results:

These figures are comparable, if not always ahead of what we had got on the likes of Moto G31 and Narzo 50A.

Still in my time with the phone, it did feel slow in terms of app loading and closing back to the homescreen. Speaking of games, above you can see the maximum supported frame rates and graphics on popular titles like BGMI, PUBG New State, and COD Mobile.

Now, the software on top is the company’s proprietary XOS software that’s based on Android 11. This is one of those Android skins that take a left from the stock AOSP interface. It has got a unique launcher, one-handed mode, Game mode, Floating Window, screen recorder, Peek proof, Live Transcribe, WhatsApp mode, Voice Changer, Smart Panel, a quick access shelf with apps, widgets, and other settings’ shortcuts. Some of these are genuinely useful while others party tricks.

It also comes with clunky animations and convoluted menus, both of which I can get by. But the raft of bloat and accompanying ads are something I have a hard time accepting. Even the Chrome browser starts with a Infinix.servicewebly.com page instead of the default Google.com page. While saying so, I understand your take may differ. So, this is purely subjective.

But this nagware situation could have an impact on the power efficiency too, which brings us to —

Infinix Note 11 lives on a 5000mAh battery that is backed by a 33W charger. This is a combination of big and fast. In our PCMark test, the battery lasted for 11 hours 41 minutes. So, I think battery life should be dependable. And in this segment, most phones only come with up to 18W adapter. So, that’s also taken care of here.

Within the settings, you have options like Power Boost, Ultra Power Saving, Smart Scenes (optimize sleep mode and short video), and even a charging completion tone which I highly appreciate.

And finally…

The 50MP camera is all the frenzy right now and Infinix joins the bandwagon. Note 11’s primary shooter uses this sensor. It supports up to 2K@30FPS video recording from the rear camera. Rest, there is a 2MP depth-sensing module for portraits and QVGA AI Lens (whatever that means). For shoots in the dark settings, the phone has a quad-flash light as well.

In the camera app, you also get stuff like Super Night mode, Portrait mode, Beauty Mode, Short Video mode, full 50MP mode, HDR, Google Lens integration, QR Code scanner, etc.

As for the front, there is a 16MP selfie snapper that is capable of FHD recording too.

The photos come out decent under daylight or good lighting condition indoors. The 50MP mode results are sharper. The shutter and focus timings could have been faster.

The 2MP depth sensor does a passable job at edge detection and background blurring. The portrait shots from the front camera have imperfections though.

Nighttime clicks are more detailed and better exposed in the Super Night Mode. It is quick to process the shots too, which is super convenient.

So, what do I think in sum total?

For the asking price of ₹11,999, Infinix Note 11 is a pretty competing phone. It offers a chic design, one that is leaner and lighter than the phones of its ilk. Not only that, the combination of things like its delectable FHD+ AMOLED display, a good-sounding stereo speaker, a huge 5000mAh battery with a snappy 33W charger, and a fairly capable Helio G88 processor make this an exciting phone. But, before you sign the dotted line, you should be wary of its imperfections too. For instance, there are some hiccups and slow-ups in the general UI, which could be due to the proprietary XOS software. This, I think is a double edged sword. On one side, it is feature loaded but it is also obtrusively bloated and arguably tacky. Then there is the 50MP camera with 2K video recordability which comes off as the case of specs don’t necessarily equate to the real world expectations. It can get you good photos in favorable conditions, but can’t hold candle to the competition in challenging settings. The accompanying sensors don’t add any value either. So, there are some pros, some cons. But all in all, the pros overweigh the cons, making the phone a well-worthy consideration under the ₹12K tag.

Infinix Note 11 FAQ

Q. Does Infinix Note 11 has a dedicated microSD slot?

A. Yes, Infinix Note 11 has a dedicated expandable micro-SD card slot up to 2TB.

Q. What is the SAR value of Infinix Note 11?

A. Infinix Note 11 SAR values are 0.769 W/Kg (Head); 0.349 W/Kg (Body)

Q. Does Infinix Note 11 support dual-band WiFi?

A, Yes, Infinix Note 11 supports dual-band WiFi (2.4GHz + 5GHz).

Q. How many microphones are on the Infinix Note 11?

A. Infinix Note 11 comes with a single microphone.

Q. Is Infinix Note 11 water-resistant?

A. No, Infinix Note 11 isn’t rated for water resistance.

Q. Which is the Android update on Infinix Note 11?

A. Infinix Note 11 ships with September 05 2021 security patch and June 1 2021 Google Play System Update.

Q. Does Infinix Note 11 support GCam or Camera2API?

A. Infinix Note 11 comes with Full Camera2API support for GCam. Also, whether there is a modded GCam for the Helio G88 processor is a different thing.

Q. Does Infinix Note 11 support Netflix Full HD streaming?

A. Yes, Infinix Note 11 supports DRM L3 certification and so no full HD streaming on Netflix and the likes.

Q. Does Infinix Note 11 support Gorilla Glass protection?

A. Infinix Note 11 comes with a Gorilla Glass 3 shield.