Realme has added two new smartphones to its number series. After launching Realme 11 Pro and Realme 11 Pro+ in June, the company has added two new members Realme 11X and Realme 115G to the series. We are reviewing Realme 11 5G which has been launched within a Rs. 20,000 budget in India. The design of the smartphone makes it different from all its competitors as it comes with metal-like edges and a shimmery back that gives it a premium look.
Realme 11 5G comes with an FHD+ 120Hz display, 5000mAh battery, and MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset. However, the question arises if Realme 11 will be able to attract consumers in a segment where devices from iQOO, Samsung, and Redmi are already available. Let us try to find the answer to this question through the review of Realme 11 5G.
Realme 11 5G Review Snapshot
Editor’s rating: 3.5/5
Design
Display
Software
Performance
Camera
Battery
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Pros
- Attractive design
- 120Hz display
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- 5000mAh battery
Cons
- Absence of AMOLED display
- The secondary camera is underwhelming
- No HDR support
- Loads of bloatware
Realme 11 5G Price & Availability
- 8GB RAM+128GB Storage – ₹18,499
- 8GB RAM +256GB Storage – ₹19,499
Realme 11 5G Review: Design and Build
Realme 11 5G has a very attractive design and we received it in Glory Gold colorway. Apart from Gold, it is also available in Glory Black shade. As soon as you open the box and take the device out, its rear panel shines. It comes with a shimmery back and when light falls on it, the back reflects various hues like blue, green, and gold which makes it look gorgeous. It is a kind of shade that might be loved by some and not at all liked by some. In that case, you can go for black color.
The rear panel has a shimmery finish but it is made of polycarbonate. There is a circular camera module on top which has two camera cutouts for two lenses. We didn’t really like this camera module much. Camera bump is also noticeable but that can be tackled with the cover that comes inside the box. The rear panel is a smudge magnet but these smudges are not too visible because of the golden shade.
Realme has chosen a flat design for the smartphone. The edges are also flat with a metallic look that makes it look nice from the edges. There are no curves on the front and back but the device is comfortable to hold in hand. A curved edge would have made things easier for sure.
The left edge houses the SIM tray while the right edge has a power button and volume rockers. The power button has a fingerprint sensor as well which works fast. The bottom edge has a 3.5mm headphone jack, microphone, USB- Type-C port, and speaker grille. A secondary microphone can be seen on the top edge.
Realme 11 5G Review: Display
Realme 11 5G sports a 6.72-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display. The side bezels are slim but the bezels on the chin are noticeable. There is also a punch-hole cutout at the top for the selfie camera. The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate. However, if Realme would have chosen an AMOLED display it would have been better according to the budget as well. This is because smartphones like iqoo Z7 and Samsung M34 come with an AMOLED panel in this segment.
Although colors look balanced on the LCD display we would advise you to use it in Natural Mode with toggle shifted to warmer side. Using this mode colors look natural and don’t trouble your eyes. If you are a fan of bright colors, you can use Vivid mode. The display supports up to 518 nits brightness which makes it clearly visible in sunlight outdoors. There is no HDR support but Widevine L1 certification can be used with HD resolution.
The 120Hz refresh rate on the screen gives a smooth scrolling experience. In the auto-select mode, it is set at 120Hz while scrolling but it switches to 60Hz in most of the apps. If you set it to 120Hz, it oscillates between 90 and 120Hz and gives a seamless scrolling experience.
Although the colors are satisfactory, the dynamic range could have been better. The lack of AMOLED and HDR is also felt but considering the budget it is fine. However,0 if you are looking for a smartphone to stream content, then Realme 11 5G can’t be the best choice.
Realme 11 5G Review: Performance
The Realme 11 5G is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G SoC. This chipset is designed on a 6nm manufacturing process and has a maximum clock speed of 2.2GHz. It supports 8GB RAM along with Dynamic RAM which helps increase RAM by 4GB. The smartphone has up to 256GB UFS 2.2 onboard storage and also comes with a microSD card slot.
The chipset works well if you look at its performance in terms of everyday tasks. We use the smartphone for calling, switching between apps, web surfing, social media browsing, content streaming, and more. There were no issues at all. Benchmark testing scores were not very impressive but the real-world performance was decent.
In terms of heavy gaming, the smartphone lags a little behind. If you play light games like Homescapes or Candy Crush, they work fine but heavier games like Call of Duty experience frame drops after a while. If you set the frame rate and graphics to medium, the game runs smoothly. According to pricing, it was acceptable. Here are the results of the benchmarking tests.
Realme 11 5G Realme UI 4.0 based on Android 13 OS. The brand promises 2 years of software updates and 3 years of security patches. In the same budget, Samsung Galaxy M34 offers 4 years of software updates. The UI of Realme 11 5G is easy to use and is loaded with new features. The only downside is that there is bloatware that too in heavy amounts. Out of these pre-installed apps and games, some can be deleted while some can’t. For example, Glance can’t be deleted.
Realme 11 5G Review: Cameras
Realme 11 5G comes with a 108MP primary camera at the back which is a good one for this budget. There is a dual camera setup at the back that includes a 108MP ISOCELL HM6 sensor and a 2MP portrait lens. The primary sensor can click images with 3x lossless zoom.
The 108MP camera clicks photos with a good amount of detail in good daylight. In low light conditions, detailing gets lost. The primary sensor clicks 12MP shots with pixel binning technology which has accurate colors and details. On zooming in details seem a little soft.
The colors are good but the contrast needs improvement. It is unable to capture pictures with shadows accurately. The shot below shows all the trees having the same color whereas in actuality each tree was a different shade of green.
In low-light photography, some amount of detailing gets lost. Due to average contrast, darkness, low light, and extremely bright lights aren’t captured well. However, if you click photos of human objects, it does full justice to his/her skin tone. The skin looks natural as well. In 108MP mode as well, the sensor works well.
Realme 11 5g Review: Battery Life and Charging
Realme 11 5G packs a 5000mAh battery under the hood. Battery life is not top-notch but satisfactory. If you don’t watch too much content during the day and, don’t game much the battery will work easily the entire day. You won’t need to carry your charger throughout the day if you are a moderate user. However, if you are a heavy user, you will need to charge it in the evening.
Realme bundles a 67W charger inside the box along with a USB Type-C cable. The adapter takes about 50 minutes to charge the battery completely.
Review Verdict: Should you buy Realme 11 5G?
Realme 11 5G comes with the best design in the segment. The shimmery rear panel and metal-like flat edges attract at once but the specs weigh lower as compared to the design. There is a 120Hz display which is smooth and the chipset performs daily tasks well. The primary sensor also clicks good photos but low light performance is underwhelming. 5000mAh battery is there which gives a day’s backup but there are drawbacks as well. The AMOLED screen is absent and the secondary sensor is useless.
In a 20k budget, Realme 11 5G can prove to be a good smartphone for daily use. The display, performance, and battery of the device are decent but it is basically content streaming and gaming which proves to be lacking. If these two areas are your concern, then you should look for other options.
Reasons to buy
- Attractive design
- 120Hz display
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- 5000mAh battery
Reasons to not buy
- Absence of AMOLED display
- The secondary camera is underwhelming
- No HDR support
- Loads of bloatware
Great review 👌