Infinix Note 11: Budget Artist Review?

Infinix launched its Note 11 series in India consisting of two smartphones, the Note 11 and the Note 11S. These two models cater to sub-Rs. 15,000 and have capable hardware. In this review, I’m going to focus on the Infinix Note 11, which is the more affordable model of the two. The Infinix Note 11 has a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, a MediaTek Helio G88 SoC and a 5,000mAh battery, but does it offer the best value for those on a budget? I put this phone to the test to find out.

Price of Infinix Note 11 in India

The Infinix Note 11 costs Rs. 11,999 in India and is only available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It is available in three color options: Celestial Snow, Glacier Green and Graphite Black.

The Infinix Note 11 has a plastic body and frame.

Infinix Note 11 Project

It looks like the Infinix Note 11 was designed using just a ruler, judging by its straight lines. However, this helps it stand out compared to other hefty smartphones in the budget segment. The corners are curved so they don’t sink into the palm of your hand when holding the Note 11. The front is dominated by the large screen, which has a dewdrop notch for the selfie camera. It has thin edges at the top and sides while the chin is thicker.

The plastic frame is flat on all sides. The power and volume buttons are on the right, while the left has only the SIM tray. The top of the frame is in white, while the bottom has the 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port, main microphone and speaker.

Like the frame, the back panel is also made of plastic. It has a matte finish that resists picking up fingerprints. The camera module houses three sensors, with the main camera designed to look much larger than the others. I had a Glacier Green unit for this review.

The Infinix Note 11 measures 7.90mm thick and weighs 184.5g. It was comfortable to hold and use. Infinix includes a clear case in the box, along with a 33W quick charger.

Infinix Note 11 Specifications

The Infinix Note 11 has a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with full-HD+ resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio, so it’s tall and narrow. There is Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection. The Infinix Note 11 is powered by the Mediatek Helio G88 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM. The phone has 64GB of eMCP storage, expandable thanks to the dedicated microSD card slot.

The Infinix Note 11 supports Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi and GPS. It also has stereo speakers. It runs Android 11 with XOS 10 on top. There are customizations in the user interface and you get several apps pre-installed on the device. I found some of the stock apps spammy, sending notifications throughout the day. I would recommend uninstalling the apps you won’t be using to free up space on this smartphone and disable spam notifications. Swiping right from the home screen takes you to Infinix’s Zero Screen, which shows you recently used apps and a feed of the latest news.

The Infinix Note 11 has dual speakers

You also get features like XClone, which lets you run two instances of compatible apps and a game mode. Infinix has developed several features for social media apps, which it calls Social Turbo. The ‘WhatsApp mode’ only allows the messaging app to access data while others are locked. A voice switching feature to change your voice during a video or audio call is also available. Whether you want to see messages that other people have deleted after sending them, or read messages without sending a read receipt, there’s a Peek mode that lets you do just that. The user interface also features a Smart Panel that lets you quickly launch your favorite applications and perform certain actions.

Infinix Note 11 Performance

The Infinix Note 11’s crisp AMOLED screen makes viewing video immersive. It has good viewing angles and is bright enough outdoors too. I couldn’t find a way to adjust the screen output, but there is an Eye Care toggle that puts the screen into reading mode. The Infinix Note 11 has an Always On display feature, but it is disabled by default. The stereo speaker setting is loud enough for a small room.

The Infinix Note 11 was quick to unlock with the side-mounted fingerprint scanner as well as facial recognition. I didn’t notice any slowdowns when using the phone. It can also perform multiple tasks easily across multiple apps. As for the synthetic benchmarks, the Note 11 managed to score 182,757 on the AnTuTu. It also scored 371 and 1,336 points, respectively, in the Geekbench 5’s single-core and multi-core tests. In the Car Chase and T-Rex scenes of the GFXBench graphics benchmark, the Infinix Note 11 managed 8.2fps and 40fps, respectively.

The Infinix Note 11 has a dewdrop notch at the top of the screen.

Battleground Mobile India (BGMI) standard for HD graphics and high frame rate settings, . The game was playable in these settings with no issues. After playing for about 20 minutes, I noticed that the top half of the phone got a little hot. The Note 11 recorded a 5% drop in battery level. I also noticed a similar battery drain after playing Clash Royale for 25 minutes.

Battery life is good, and the Infinix Note 11 can last for more than a day without needing to be plugged in. The phone also managed to keep idle battery consumption low during the review period. Our HD video loop test lasted 14 hours and 28 minutes. Infinix included a 33W fast charger, which boosted the battery level to 46% in 30 minutes and 86% in one hour. Charging speed slows down after this point, and the phone took another 20 minutes to fully charge.

Infinix Note 11 Cameras

We’ve seen manufacturers scrap smartphone camera sensors in this segment to keep prices in check, and the Note 11 is no exception. You get a triple camera setup on the Note 11, with a 50 megapixel main camera, a depth sensor, and an “AI sensor”. The main camera takes photos at 12.5 megapixels by default, but you can take photos at the full resolution of 50 megapixels after tapping in a quick toggle. For selfies, this phone features a 16 megapixel camera in the dewdrop notch, with a well-hidden LED flash on the top panel. The camera app is simple and easy to use, you can easily switch between different shooting modes.

The Note 11 has a triple camera configuration

Daylight photos taken with the Infinix Note 11 looked flat and lacking in detail. The colors looked washed out and objects in the distance were not easily recognizable. Photos taken at full resolution of 50 megapixels were 13MB in size, but suffered from the same problems as those taken at pixel resolution, so the lack of detail makes them unsuitable for cropping.

Infinix Note 11 daylight camera sample (tap to view full size)

For close-ups, the AI ​​was quick to detect what the phone was pointed at. However, the phone occasionally needed more time to lock into focus, resulting in blurry photos when I wasn’t patient. It got decent edge detection and added depth to the background, but it didn’t capture the best detail about the subject. The portraits got a little better, and the phone allowed me to set the blur level before taking a picture. He managed to separate the subject and the background well. Could have sharply done a little better, though.

Infinix Note 11 close-up sample (tap to view full size)

Infinix Note 11 portrait sample (tap to view full size)

The camera’s performance in low light was strictly average. Pictures taken at night looked hazy with obscure details. Night mode helps with a brighter image, but the longer shutter blurs moving objects.

Infinix Note 11 low light sample (tap to view full size)

Infinix Note 11 Night Mode Preview (Tap to View Full Size)

Selfies taken with the Infinix Note 11 were decent in daylight and the phone also managed to capture good portraits. Low light selfies were average, but front flash helped in darker environments.

Infinix Note 11 Low Light Selfie Portrait (tap to view full-size sample)

Video recording is up to 2K for main and selfie cameras. The footage is not stabilized and Ultra Steady mode only works up to 1080p. This results in unstable results when shooting in standard mode. There is an Ultra Steady option, but this caused a glow effect in the video clips.

Verdict

Making an affordable smartphone isn’t easy, and manufacturers often have to cut costs to get a competitive price. The Infinix Note 11’s camera performance isn’t as good as what you might expect from some competitors, and you may need more than one try sometimes to get the right shot.

However, if you’re willing to overlook below-average camera performance, the Infinix Note 11 offers a good value. The crisp AMOLED screen and dual speakers make video watching and gaming appealing. Infinix has also added some useful software features, but the phone also has some spammy stock apps. Those who are still looking for alternatives, can take a look at the Moto G31 (Review), which runs Android stock.