Xiaomi introduced the Redmi Note 10 and Note 10 Pro models in India seven months ago without 5G support. It said that 5G rollout is still far away and it’s important to offer better hardware at the same price. Things are different with the Redmi Note 11T 5G — the first Note 11 series phone in India. It prioritises 5G over other stuff like an AMOLED panel and multiple sensors at the back. It still comes with a dual rear camera setup. But, two cameras on a sub-Rs 20,000 phone is such a 2019 thing to do.

Redmi has introduced the phone in three variants as of now. The 6GB RAM and 64GB storage variant is priced at Rs 16,999, the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 17,999 and the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant will cost you Rs 19,999. The internal storage on the phone can be expanded up to 1TB using a microSD card. Those who buy the phone using an ICICI bank card will also get a Rs 1,000 discount.

I have already reviewed the phone in detail and you can read it on India Today Tech’s website but, if you are running short on time and want a quick roundup of all things important, here are five things you should keep in mind before buying the Redmi Note 11T 5G.

Point 1 – There is nothing new in terms of design. The Redmi Note 11T 5G has the look and feel of a typical budget smartphone. The polycarbonate back has a shiny layer on top and the matte finish ensures that the phone doesn’t catch too many fingerprint smudges. The same smartphone maker was selling phones with glass back (Redmi Note 10 Pro) at the same price only a few months back. The Note 11T 5G is available in three colour options – Aquamarine Blue, Stardust White, and Matte Black colours.

The only major difference from the Note 10 series is a new camera module. The silver ring around the main lens on the Note 10 series devices has now been replaced with a more subtle glass outline. There are four smaller rings under the main lens – one for the ultra-wide-angle camera, one for the LED flash and the other two just to complete a symmetrical look. One of them just flaunts the AI tag. Could it have been skipped? Yes, easily.

Point 2 – The biggest selling point of the Redmi Note 11T 5G is its MediaTek Dimensity 810 SoC which brings 5G support with it. Honestly, if that’s your preference, you should definitely consider the Redmi Note 11T 5G. Both Redmi Note 10 Pro and Note 10 Pro Max, despite their great value, don’t offer 5G support. The Note 11T 5G supports multiple 5G bands – N1, N3, N5, N8, N28, N40, N78, N1, N3, N40, N78.

The performance is also quite satisfactory. I mostly used the phone to click images, reply to emails, watch videos and play games. The UI can be a bit laggy at times, but apart from that, the Note 11T emerged as a reliable daily driver. I also played a few games, like Battlegrounds Mobile India and PUBG: New State as well. They ran fine and there were no heating issues for 40-45 minutes of gaming sessions.

Point 3 – Redmi Note 11T 5G’s camera performance can be debatable. The phone comes with a 50-megapixel primary camera at the back with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera that supports 119 degrees of field of view. Performance-wise, both the sensors do a good job. The main camera is good and reliable. It captures sharp images with decent detail, especially in good light conditions. It does a great job with colours. The ultra-wide-angle camera also comes up with presentable results in most cases. The front has a 16-megapixel camera for selfie and video calling.

It’s the lack of options that is genuinely frustrating. There is hardly any phone in this segment that has launched with just two cameras in the last 12 to 18 months. The rear camera also lacks support for 4k videos. The maximum you can shoot at is 1080p at 60 frames per second. The front camera shoots at the same resolution but at 30 frames per second.

Point 4 – The Redmi Note 11T 5G comes with a pretty decent display. This is a 6.6-inch Full HD+ LCD panel with 2400 x 1080 resolution, up to 90Hz refresh rate, 240Hz touch sampling rate, DCI-P3 wide color gamut and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The display is big, bright and crisp. It is ideal for streaming content and works well with dual stereo speakers that are quite loud.

You can manually switch between 90Hz and 60Hz refresh rate options. Rest, the display is capable of automatically switch between different refresh rates to provide the best possible experience. The only thing I believe could have been better is the size of the hole punch cutout. The Note 10 series clearly had tinier cutouts. Not sure why Xiaomi moved away from that.

Point 5 – Lastly, you get a 5,000 mAh battery on the phone which is at par with other devices in this category and should be more than enough for most users. The phone supports 33W fast charging. The Dimensity 700 SoC on the Note 10T 5G actually restricts fast charging to just 18W. So, you can look at it as an upgrade.