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The Realme 11x 5G is Realme's latest budget-friendly 5G smartphone, designed to compete in a crowded market that includes offerings from almost every smartphone manufacturer. Starting at an attractive price of Rs 14,999 for the base model with 6GB of RAM and going up to Rs 15,999 for the 8GB RAM variant, both models feature 128GB of internal storage. At the back, it offers dual cameras with a 64MP main sensor. But is it as impressive on the inside as on the outside? We find out.
One of its standout features and sure to grab attention is its polycarbonate back panel, which catches the eye with its glossy, patterned finish of blue and purple hues. However, this design may not suit those looking for a more subtle appearance, but Realme has a solution, such people can opt for the darker ‘purple dawn’ variant. The glossy back panel sports a rather big circular camera unit with dual cameras and an LED flash. It is also prone to fingerprints. At the front, it has a punch-hole cutout which houses an 8MP sensor. The device's flat and boxy shape, devoid of curves, might not be the most comfortable for prolonged usage, but it does give the phone a unique identity. In terms of physical design, the Realme 11x 5G is slim, measuring just 7.89mm in thickness. However, like many modern smartphones, it's quite tall, making one-handed use a bit challenging. The placement of buttons and ports is well-considered, with tactile and clicky buttons on the sides, including a side-mounted fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button. The phone also includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, and a single mono speaker at the bottom. However, a dual speaker setup at this price range is fair to ask for. Additionally, it offers a dedicated slot for a micro SD card – a practical feature.
The Realme 11x features a 6.72-inch IPS LCD display with a Full HD+ resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, providing a smooth and pleasant experience for activities like scrolling, reading, and video viewing. However, the display's peak brightness varies between 518 to 550 nits, making it somewhat challenging to read under direct sunlight. Colour quality and contrast are good, though colours may appear slightly muted compared to some competitors. Viewing angles are satisfactory. The display supports multiple refresh rates, including 120Hz, 90Hz, 60Hz, and lower, although app optimization can result in lower refresh rates for some applications. Despite not having HDR certification, it offers Widevine L1 support for HD content streaming. Overall, while not an OLED panel and lacking some premium features, the Realme 11x's display is decent for its price range but may not be the best choice for content consumption in bright environments.
This brings us to one of the most important points about a smartphone. On paper, the Realme 11x 5G boasts an impressive camera setup with a 64MP primary camera and a 2MP portrait camera, offering a versatile range of photography modes, including Panorama, Film, Tilt-Shift, Dual-View Video, Time-Lapse, Slow-Mo, Street, Night, Portrait, and more. In well-lit conditions, this camera does a good job of capturing photos with a good dynamic range and details. The colours, although a bit enhanced, give a natural look. The 2x in-sensor zoom adds a telephoto-like capability, providing sharp and detailed zoomed shots. Indoor photography also fares well with good lighting. The same, however, can’t be said about night photography where you would find sub-par image quality with unnatural colours. In challenging lighting situations, the camera's performance struggles, resulting in slightly sharpened and fuzzy night shots. The night mode does little to improve low-light performance. The 8-megapixel front camera works similarly, taking decent shots in well-lit environments but exhibits noise in challenging conditions. The camera also supports Full HD video recording but lacks stabilisation for smoother video capture.
The Realme 11X 5G is a mid-range smartphone that offers a mix of impressive performance and some drawbacks. Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6100 Plus chipset, and paired with 8GB (or 6GB) of RAM, it ensures smooth multitasking and efficient app launching, but benchmark performance falls slightly behind competitors in some tests. Gaming performance is decent, providing smooth gameplay at medium graphics settings, although high settings may lead to thermal issues and the occasional lagging.
The device runs on Realme UI 4.0, based on Android 13. While the software offers a smooth user-friendly interface and customization options, it comes with a downside – pre-installed bloatware like the ‘Hot Apps’ and ‘Hot Games’ on the home screen, and app recommendations that seem to be everywhere from the Global Search, the app drawer, to Realme’s own apps like the phone manager. As expected, duplicate apps are also present and with all these, come numerous notifications. But, there are options to either uninstall or disable most of these apps.
In terms of battery life, the Realme 11x 5G boasts a 5,000mAh battery, which, combined with the efficient processor, can provide all-day usage. The phone supports 33W fast charging, capable of charging the device from 1% to 44% in just 29 minutes.
The Realme 11x 5G offers a compelling package in the budget 5G smartphone category. Its standout features include a unique design, long battery life, fast charging, a high refresh rate display, and a dedicated microSD slot. However, it is held back by a somewhat cluttered software experience with bloatware and app recommendations, as well as inconsistent camera performance in low-light conditions. Additionally, the absence of an AMOLED display might deter some potential buyers. Overall, it provides good value for those seeking an affordable 5G smartphone but may not be the best choice for everyone. Our recommendation: Buy according to your use case.
