Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G: two-minute review

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G is a budget to mid-range phone that offers a very impressive set of specs. A 200MP main camera, a huge 6,580mAh battery, a 6.83-inch AMOLED display, and a lightweight feel all sound great — especially when you consider the device’s modest starting price of £349 / AU$699 (about $470).

And luckily, the Note 15 Pro offers more than a nice-looking specs sheet. It’s a very capable phone, which impressed me in a number of ways. But it’s not without its flaws.

First of all, it has a great display for the price. Its 2772 x 1280 resolution, punchy colors, and support for formats like HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision is a real treat, and even though it doesn’t supply the highest peak brightness compared to the best phones out there, it’s perfectly capable of working in bright outdoor environments.

Similarly, the performance of this device is really solid. The MediaTek Dimensity 7400-Ultra provided a smooth experience whether I was scrolling the net, gaming, or streaming video content, and delays were very rare during my time with the phone. I could also continue to enjoy whatever I was doing without needing to constantly check the remaining battery life. The high-capacity battery paired with admirable 45W wired charging keeps the device going all day long.

There are even more positives to note, especially in terms of the phone’s cameras. Sure, the lack of a telephoto lens means that you’re not getting the most effective zoom around, and the main camera is barely going to produce flagship quality. But in this price bracket, it gives very good results. I was impressed with the main camera’s attention to detail, its ability to naturally replicate rich colors, and the selfie camera was talented at picking up finer intricacies like hair strands and facial details too.

But there are some drawbacks worth noting. The main thing is the phone’s software, which, frankly, is pretty bad. Where to begin? Built-in apps are flooded with ads, the device is overflowing with bloatware, and the OS is insistent on spamming you with worthless notifications about apps you never asked for. You do get four years of OS updates and six years of security patches, which is commendable, but everything else about the software experience is poor.

I’m also not a big lover of the Note 15 Pro’s design. Its central camera module is bulky and slightly unsightly, its unappealing color options aren’t amazing, and it also looks a little bit cheap to boot. The IP68 dust and waterproof rating is very nice to see though, and buttons are well placed.

All in all, then, the Redmi Note 15 Pro leaves me feeling pretty conflicted. Despite its impressive display and performance, the poor software and middling design mean that it’s not quite a top-tier option. My top recommendation in this price-range would be the Nothing Phone (4a), but you can read more about my favored alternatives in the ‘Also consider’ section.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: price and availability

• 8GB + 256GB for £349 / AU$699 (about $470)
• 12GB + 512GB is £399 (about $540)
• Not sold directly in the US, but could conceivably be imported

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G launched in January 2026, just over a year after the global launch of its predecessor.

It’s available with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage space for £349 in the UK and AU$699 in Australia. However, some markets, including the UK, can instead choose a model with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which comes in at £399 (about $540 / AU$740). That represents a price increase over the previous model, which was available from £299 (about $400 / AU$560).

Although this phone isn’t directly sold in the United States, it could conceivably be imported, and I did spot a few online listings when producing this review.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: specs

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: design

• Well built, but central camera module not my favorite
• Three color options — and they’re not the prettiest
• IP68 dust and waterproof rating

To be honest, the Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G isn’t exactly the prettiest phone I’ve seen. It's fairly slim, and the screen is well-sized, but the central camera module on the reverse side lacks style — it almost reminds me of my kitchen stove at home. The metallic finish also has a slightly cheap look to it — I usually prefer budget phones to have more of a glossy, understated finish.

Of course, my dislike of the design is subjective, and some may appreciate aspects like the central camera module. But something else I personally wasn’t a huge fan of was the phone’s color options. There’s a basic Black, but also the Glacier Blue I reviewed here and a slightly murky looking Titanium alternative. All in all, I much prefer the design of Samsung’s recent budget releases, or rivals like the Nothing Phone (4a).

Still, there are some positives worth noting, such as the Note 15 Pro’s excellent IP68 rating. This means that the device is fully dustproof, and can survive being dunked under a meter and a half of water for as long as 30 minutes. As a result, you’ll never have to worry about a spot of rain or accidentally dropping it in the sink — it’s a durable lil’ thing.

Otherwise, the basics are done well. All of the buttons are well-made and responsive, and positioning them all on the same side means you’re less likely to press something accidentally while gaming or viewing a movie.

• Design score: 3/5

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: display

• 6.83-inch AMOLED display
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Respectable 3,200 nits peak brightness

Although I wasn’t bowled over by the Note 15 Pro’s design, its display actually exceeded my expectations.

You get a 6.83-inch AMOLED display, which is plenty large enough to enjoy all sorts of content on the go — be that movies, mobile games, or social media video.

The 2772 x 1280 resolution also means that you’ll be able to view HD content, and when watching videos on YouTube and streaming apps like Netflix, I was highly satisfied with the quality. Colors are punchy and vivid, faces and buildings maintain plenty of detail, and support for both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision only enhances the sharpness of movies and shows.

This model has a peak brightness of 3,200 nits, which is a slight bump over its predecessor. Although this figure isn’t quite class-leading, you’re still getting enough brightness to enjoy online articles or games in outdoor environments, even on brighter days.

Like a lot of modern handsets, the display has a 120Hz refresh rate, which means that keen mobile gamers will be able to play select titles at 120fps. More generally, things like scrolling on the web or social media feel silky smooth too.

Sure, you’re not going to get the phenomenal sharpness that top-class phones like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, but for the price, I have very few complaints about this model’s display.

• Display score: 4/5

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: software

• Runs Xiaomi HyperOS 2 (based on Android 15) out of the box
• Four years of OS updates, six years of security patches
• Horrific bloatware and spam-like notifications

Out of the box, the Note 15 Pro runs Xiaomi HyperOS 2, which is based on Android 15. However, the phone will get four years of OS updates, alongside six years of security patches. For a budget device, that is very solid indeed, and gives the handset a respectable level of longevity.

However, that’s just about the only positive I have to say on the software side of things, as the Note 15 Pro provided one of the least user-friendly experiences I’ve had with a phone. A lot of the frustrations are the same ones we had with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus 5G — which we rated very poorly in the software department.

The device’s UI is laid out simply enough, and any Android users will have no issue with navigation I’m sure. But there are some pretty frustrating quirks thrown in the mix. First of all, when swiping up, I was met with a bunch of tabloid and AI-generated articles and ads. This command is all too easy to accidentally trigger, and I can’t see why anyone would want to read 90% of the content pushed here.

In addition, many of the system’s baked-in apps are loaded with ads. I tried using the Mi Browser, and was instantly hit with an ad for Temu. I was subsequently bombarded with similar pop-ups on other apps, including the File Manager. This isn’t something you’ll have to deal with from a lot of budget competitors’ first-party applications, and it put me off using any of them.

We also have to mention the bloatware on this phone, which is nothing short of nightmarish. As soon as I set the Note 15 Pro up, I could see a ton of apps I never asked for, including the aforementioned (and dreaded) Temu, low-quality mobile games, AliExpress, and some kind of AI chatbot.

I can understand pre-downloading some first-party software and perhaps a few Google tools and the like, but there’s far too much bloat installed from the get-go, and you’ll likely have to take a decent chunk out of your day uninstalling it.

Pair this with frequent and unwanted notifications from ‘GetApps’, which surfaces constant reminders about software like Temu and Amazon Music — which are already loaded in by default — and the Note 15 Pro’s software score isn’t looking too pretty.

• Software score: 2/5

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: cameras

• 200MP main camera performs pretty well
• Neat 20MP selfie camera is also decent
• No telephoto lens, so zoom has its limitations

I was actually quite impressed with the quality of the Note 15 Pro’s main 200MP camera, which captured photos with admirable levels of detail and surprisingly true-to-life color.

Some budget phones use AI processing that creates artificial looking images with unnatural looking details and oversaturated colors, but this model takes a more simple approach. When snapping a picture of a local church shrouded in trees, I was satisfied with the rich greens of trees and foliage, as well as the deep blue sky.

Of course, you’re not going to get the true-to-life colors and exceptional attention to detail that premium phones — like the iPhone 17 Pro Max or Google Pixel 10 Plus — can provide, but for a handset in the budget-to-mid-range bracket, the results are very decent.

The main camera is definitely best-suited to well lit conditions, and some low-light images could look a little obscured, but at night time, my environment would be brightened accordingly, and elements like streetlights didn’t exhibit exaggerated blooming or similar.

As you may expect, there are some limitations to the camera capabilities on-board, though. The main thing is that there’s no telephoto lens, so the effectiveness of zoom can vary. In 2x or even 4x mode, pictures still emerged with commendable clarity. When snapping a swan in the distance, details on its head and wings were easy to make out with 4x zoom, which can’t be said of all budget phones. However, when straying beyond that mark, photos could often look grainy and unrefined — something worth bearing in mind if you’re a photo enthusiast.

There’s also a 20MP front camera, which is neat for social media use or grabbing a quick selfie on the go. I found it captured intricacies like individual hair strands and lines on my face with relative ease, and it will certainly be up to the task of delivering clear video calls.

Finally, the Note 15 Pro’s video capabilities remain in-line with the bulk of the competition. You get 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps, and during testing I found captured content to be smooth, stable, and to look clean.

• Camera score: 4/5

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: performance

• Relatively smooth user experience
• 8GB or 12GB versions available
• LDAC, aptX, and Dolby Atmos support

As a phone in the budget to mid-range zone, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G performs about as well as you’d expect.

Its MediaTek Dimensity 7400-Ultra processor supplies a relatively smooth user experience, and I experienced no delays when scrolling social media, web pages, or playing more basic mobile games — even with multiple applications open at once.

When playing more demanding games like Genshin Impact, I spotted the occasional frame drop, but again, the game still ran plenty well enough, and the phone’s ‘Turbo’ mode kept things stable, even during busier segments. I was using the version of the Redmi Note 15 Pro with 12GB of RAM, so your experiences may differ slightly on the 8GB alternative, but that should handle day-to-day use, video streaming, and general productivity tools without a hitch.

The phone’s stereo speakers aren’t the highest quality ever — I experienced the odd bit of tinny audio, especially when listening at higher volumes, but they sounded pretty solid for the price you pay.

This phone also supports higher-resolution Bluetooth codecs like LDAC and aptX Adaptive, so you’ll be able to get the most out of your wireless headphones or earbuds that support such standards. There’s also Dolby Atmos support if you’re watching movies or listening to music in that format.

• Performance score: 4/5

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: battery life

• 6,580mAh capacity battery
• 45W wired charging
• No wireless charging

Like many budget devices, the Note 15 Pro prides itself on battery life — and you’re getting a big upgrade over its predecessor's 5,110mAh capacity battery.

This model has a 6,580mAh battery, and I found it lasted plenty long enough during everyday use. Even if you dip into more intensive apps for video calls or mobile games, you should be able to make it through the day without having to juice up your device, which is great to see.

When you do need to charge your phone, though, you’ll be able to do so relatively quickly. The Note 15 Pro supports 45W “turbo” charging, so you won’t have to wait around for hours on end to hit 100%. It’s not the fastest about, and some rivals, like the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion, offer 68W wired charging. But it’s definitely rapid enough.

Unfortunately, though, there’s no support for wireless charging, and as someone who uses this daily on my Samsung phone, this was a little disappointing. It’s quite common for cheaper and mid-range handsets to skip on this feature, but it would’ve been a very nice addition.

• Battery life score: 4/5

Should I buy the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G review: also consider

How I tested the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G

• Tested intensively across multiple days
• Used for gaming, working, and general productivity
• Made full use of various features and camera settings

I spent a number of days testing the Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro 5G, during which time I used just about every feature it had to offer, took a whole lot of photos, and tried out a bit of mobile gaming.

In addition, I made sure to compare the phone against the similarly priced Nothing Phone (4a) on aspects such as camera quality, display, and general performance.

During photography, I made sure to snap a range of objects and environments in a wide array of conditions, including natural, artificial, and low-light settings. Most photos were taken using the main camera in 16:9 at the highest quality, but I also made use of the selfie camera and tried out the cameras’ zoom capabilities.

More generally, I’ve tested a ton of phones here at TechRadar, including budget-friendly models like the Motorola Moto G06 Power and pricier alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: May 2026

Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi has revealed the K90 Pro Max, a new mid-range smartphone with a built-in subwoofer and some ridiculously powerful internal hardware.

The Redmi K90 Pro Max comes with a 6.9-inch OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, a triple-camera system with three 50MP sensors and a 5x periscope lens, an enormous 7,560mAh battery with 100W (100W!) wired charging and 50W wired charging, and, as mentioned, a 2.1 speaker system with two linear stereo speakers, a rear-firing subwoofer, and sound tuning by Bose. It also comes in a blue denim design option.

As TechRadar’s Staff Writer for Mobile Computing and one of the team’s many resident music nerds, that latter feature has certainly caught my attention. This is the first phone I’ve ever seen with a subwoofer – while other devices have made attempts at audio-focused hardware, I’ve never seen a separate speaker for bass before.

Though we haven’t tested the K90 Pro Max, this standalone subwoofer should, in theory, allow for punchier, fuller bass, while taking pressure off the main speakers and allowing more detail to come through. The K90 Pro Max won’t launch in the US, but I’d be curious to try it for myself should it come to Europe under the Poco brand (as Android Authority speculates).

In fact, the apparent strangeness of a phone with a subwoofer – or any kind of additional speaker for that matter – has me wondering why there are so few smartphones with any kind of specialised audio hardware.

Phone speakers are essential

You probably use your phone’s speakers every day. Whether you’re watching videos, listening to voice messages, playing games, or streaming music, chances are that some kind of audio makes its way from your phone to your ears on a daily basis. I’m streaming Spotify through my phone as I write this.

However, it’s really very rare that you see a phone maker make any kind of noise (get it?) about its phone’s audio capabilities. During your average phone release keynote, you might get a cursory mention of an upgrade to a new version of Bluetooth or support for higher-quality streaming, but never the speakers themselves.

It’s odd, really. Phone makers are keen to shout about their displays, touting even minor upgrades as reasons to purchase an entirely new handset, but won’t do the same for the audio experience, often the opposite side of the same coin.

I’m not saying there aren’t reasons for this; phone speakers have to be pretty small in order to fit inside a compact frame, which, thanks to those pesky laws of physic,s puts a pretty low ceiling on detail, clarity, and bass response.

Even though I was previously impressed with Apple’s efforts on the iPhone 15's speaker system, it can still struggle to keep up with dedicated speakers thanks to its tiny drivers. Some phone makers may keep quiet about their phone speakers in recognition of the fact that they’ll never quite match dedicated speakers.

And then there’s the marketing side – how do you advertise better sound quality? It’s pretty easy to show off a nice new display on a billboard or TV spot, but audio quality is a much more abstract thing, and much harder to signify.

Still, I think it’s high time that phone makers started paying a little more attention to audio quality – a feature most of us use every day deserves to be more than an afterthought.

Giving 'speakerphone' a whole new meaning

Though it might seem hard to believe, the Redmi K90 Pro Max isn’t the first speaker-focused phone to catch TechRadar’s attention.

Back in 2022, we published our AGM H5 Pro review, a rugged phone with a ridiculous 109db speaker mounted on the rear panel. For reference, that’s more than twice as loud as a motorcycle engine, and our review mostly found it to be an annoyance.

Then, in 2024, we covered the ZTE Nubia Music, a cheap phone with two headphone jacks and another huge speaker on the back – but as reviews came in, it became clear that the quality of this massive vinyl-inspired speaker wasn’t all that great.

I’m hoping the Redmi K90 Pro Max, should it land on Western shelves, can serve as something of an ambassador for speaker phones by being, well, actually good. The Bose branding on the back does give me some hope – Bose being the brand behind many of the best sound bars and the best headphones – but we’ll have to wait and see (wait and hear?) for ourselves.

In any case, the K90 Pro Max could land at a very reasonable price. In its home market of China, the phone starts at CNY 3,999, which works out to about $560 / £420 / AU$860 – pretty impressive for a phone with such powerful hardware. Let us know what you think of this bass-boosted handset in the comments below – we’re all ears.

Xiaomi subsidiary Redmi has just introduced the Note 12 Series; its latest flagship line of products. It’s not technically a true flagship tier of devices, but that’s what the latest Xiaomi 13 is for. Rather, the Note 12 series continues the brand's efforts to nail down the most important features of a smartphone while dialling down on unnecessary niceties.

The Redmi Note 12 series is made up of four phones: the Redmi Note 12, Redmi Note 12 5G, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, and Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G, with the Note 12, 12 5G and 12 Pro Plus 5G set to go on sale in the UK on March 24 (at retailers including Xiaomi, Argos, Very and Amazon UK), while the regional availability of the 12 Pro 5G is still to be confirmed.

Pricing starts at £219 (approximately $270 / AU$400) for the standard Note 12, £279 (approximately $345 / AU$510) for the baseline Note 12 5G, £339 (approximately $420 / AU$620) for the Note 12 Pro 5G and £449 (approximately $550 / AU$820) for the Note 12 Pro Plus 5G.

Though all four phones appear similar on the face of it, there are differences between them. All the phones sport the 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, with the differences showing beyond that. The Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus uses Gorilla Glass 5 protection on both sides, as does the Redmi Note 12 Pro. The Note 12 and 12 5G sport older Gorilla Glass 3, and only on the front.

Cameras and charging are two other points of focus for the lineup. Naturally, the Note 12 Pro and Pro Plus come in the lead here. The Pro Plus gets a 200MP primary camera while the Pro gets the same 50MP Sony IMX766 you’ll find in the phenomenal Oppo Find X5 Pro. The Redmi Note 12 and Note 12 5G also get 48MP and 50MP cameras, respectively but the company didn’t specify which particular sensors are at play. Tertiary cameras for all agree on an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. The front varies between 16MP for the Pro devices and 13MP for the non-Pro devices.

Charging-wise, the Redmi Note 12 Pro and Pro Plus take the lead on this, with a 5,000mAh battery and amazing 67W and 120W peak charging speeds, respectively. That’s not as fast as the Realme GT 3 (what is right now?), but they’ll certainly leave your iPhone or Samsung in the dust. The Note 12 and Note 12 5G aren’t quite as fast, but 33W should still be plenty for most people. At least they all come with in-box chargers.

It’s a mixed bag when it comes to the rest of it. The Pro Plus and Pro have powerful MediaTek 1080 processors paired with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage, while the Note 12 sports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 685 and the Note 12 5G rocks the chip maker’s latest Snapdragon 4 Gen 1; again with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage. The non-Pro models are also microSD expandable, up to 1TB.

They all have the latest MIUI 14 user experience, which would be a plus if all but the Redmi Note 12 weren’t based on Android 12 as opposed to the more recent Android 13. Vibrant finishes are here aplenty; with black, white, blue, and green colorways present, depending on which device you pick.

 A formidable lineup  

The Redmi Note 12 series continues the company’s goal of making powerful devices affordable. Certainly, the likes of Google’s Pixel 6a operates as one of the best cheap phones you can buy, but you can get a lot more from the (presumably) similarly-priced Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus.

A 120Hz display, for example, is still a flagship feature for the likes of Apple and Google, and neither company has gotten close to a 200MP sensor yet. There are many reasons why one would thumb their nose down at the somewhat unsophisticated, brute-force approach Redmi takes with its devices, but there’s no denying the brand has its finger on the pulse, and is incredibly responsive to the needs of the markets it serves, meaning these have to potential to find their way onto our list of the best Xiaomi phones, if all goes well during review.

The Redmi Note 12 and the Redmi Note 12 Pro may not be as good, but if you need a big screen, a fast-charging phone that lasts all day, and a decent camera that captures a lot of detail, there are few phones which look as good in this category.

Two-minute review

What’s in a word? Not much, according to Xiaomi: if you know much about the Redmi Note 11 Pro, you’re not going to find many surprises with the Pro Plus, despite the extra word plonked on the end of its name.

This Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus review completes our look at Xiaomi’s early-2022 family of affordable Redmi phones. The Pro Plus joins the aforementioned Pro and also a standard Note 11 - well, it presumably completes the set, though with this habit of additive-titling we could see more in the future.

Xiaomi is using the Note 11 Pro Plus to showcase  tech we’ve already seen in more premium phones in its lower-end devices, We haven’t seen some of this tech in handsets this cheap before.

The flagship feature in the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus is the 120W fast charging, which we’ve seen in the Xiaomi 12 Pro and the Mi 11T Pro, but not in anything as affordable as the Pro Plus. It powers the phone up to full in just 15 minutes, and banishes overnight charging into the annals of history.

The other big upgrade this Redmi boasts over its siblings is a better chipset - the Dimensity 920 here is a mid-range chip, providing more power and smarter AI than the lower-end silicon used for the Note 11 and Note 11 Pro.

Beyond those features, this is largely the same phone as the Redmi Note 11 Pro - it has a big FHD+ 6.67-inch screen, three rear cameras led by a 108MP monster, and MIUI software laid over Android 12.

While the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus gets all the perks of the non-Plus - and then some - it also inherits nearly all of that phone’s rough edges too, so it might not win over people who were on the fence about the other family members.

The biggest issue here is the camera - despite the 108MP sensor looking powerful on paper, it doesn’t return great results in the field. 

We found that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus just isn’t great as a simple point-and-shoot camera: when we treated it like one, we stumbled into issues like skies that were blown out, animals that were out of focus and details in darker areas that were completely lost.

Sure, you can avoid a lot of these issues - like focus and overexposure problems - by spending loads of time framing the shot just right or fiddling with settings, but if you’re trying to grab a quick snap of a pet doing something funny or a treasurable moment on a lovely day, you don’t want to waste any time.

The Note 11 Pro Plus won’t exactly win any beauty contests either; it’s big and bulky, and will stretch your mitts if you don’t have giant digits. Given that Vivo, Realme and Samsung are all showing us how good-looking budget phones can be, and that Xiaomi’s own Pocophone has attractive budget mobiles, the Redmi has no excuse.

That said, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is incredibly intuitive, and it works better than most other phones’ alternatives.

Most of our issues with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus can be overlooked because of the price. The cost straddles the border between budget and mid-range, though it lists closer to the former; at this price you don’t expect breathtaking photos, or a svelte design, and the Redmi jumps ahead where it matters.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus price and availability

• Launched in April 2022
• Follows from Note 11 and Note 11 Pro
• Costs £369 (roughly $480, AU$650)

The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus was launched two months after its siblings, in April 2022, with a release date later in May.

You can pick up the phone in the UK, but Xiaomi doesn’t launch its phones in the US. It sometimes does in Australia, so we could see a release there in the near future, but don’t take it for granted.

The phone costs £369 in the UK - that converts to about $480 or AU$650, putting the phone’s price just a hair above that of its siblings.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus design

• Similar design to Note 11 Pro
• Intuitive side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• Has 3.5mm headphone jack

If you can tell the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus apart from its non-Plus sibling without prompting, you deserve a medal: the handsets look near-identical, save for a slightly-redesigned camera bump.

This is your standard ‘chocolate-bar’ smartphone - if you want a more unique design, you have to pay a lot more. Around the edge, there’s a USB-C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, volume rocker, and power button with the fingerprint sensor built in. The latter is very intuitive and quick to use, which makes unlocking the phone a breeze.

Xiaomi has made the interesting - though not unwelcome - decision to use a glass back panel for the phone, as apparently, plastic doesn’t befit a ‘Pro Plus’ phone. The handset feels nicer to hold as a result.

With an IP53 rating, it’s fairly well protected against moisture or dust, though don’t take this thing for long dips in the pool.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus display

• 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen
• 120Hz refresh rate
• Broken up by small punch-hole camera

This phone has the ‘Xiaomi special’ display - the specs sheet is the same as on various Redmi, Poco and Mi phones.

That means it’s a 6.67-inch FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate and Super AMOLED tech. Its max brightness of 1200 nits is impressively high for a budget phone; the viewing area is broken by a small ‘punch-hole’ cut-out for the front-facing camera.

For a phone of its price, the Redmi has a good-looking display; it was good for watching movies during our lunch break or playing quick games. Because of its size, though, some might find they have to stretch to reach the upper part of the display.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus cameras

• 108MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, 16MP selfie
• Struggles with balaning snaps
• Portrait mode fares better

The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus has three rear cameras: there’s a 108MP f/1.9 main, 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide and 2MP f/2.4 macro - notable because that’s the same as in the non-Plus version but without the latter’s depth sensor.

As with the non-Plus, we weren’t hugely impressed by the photography chops on display here - you can find better budget phone cameras at the same price.

The Redmi seems to struggle with balanced pictures. Sometimes snaps looked overexposed, but more often than not, they were underexposed, which makes photos look dull and unappealing. The sky was often a big problem, as the light from above blew out lots of photos.

Now and then, we took good-looking photos, but this wasn’t a fluke. To ensure snaps looked attractive, we had to jump into Pro mode and tweak some settings, or frame the picture to make sure the sky wasn’t dominating the background.

Some other modes fared a little better though - Portrait mode took snaps that were just fine, though we wish we could use a more enthusiastic adjective than ‘fine’. The pictures were more balanced than on the standard camera mode, but still a touch dim, and the bokeh background blur was a little soft-touch.

We weren’t as disappointed by the 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera, and it took pictures that were notably more bright and colorful than on the rear cameras.

Video recording here goes up to 4K at 30fps, and there are a few other modes, like Panorama and Night sight, but you’re not getting as big a range of extra features as on a flagship Xiaomi phone.

Camera samples

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus performance and specs

• Dimensity 920 chip is good for price
• Phone connects to 5G networks
• Good for gaming

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus is fairly powerful for a phone of its price - sure, you’re not getting flagship power, but we were impressed by the performance.

The handset packs the mid-ranged MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset, which we’ve also seen in the Vivo V23 and Realme 9 Pro Plus. It’s a chip generally offered on phones that straddle the line between budget and mid-range prices.

When we put the phone through the Geekbench 5 benchmark test, it returned a multi-core score of 2,175, which puts it in line with those other handsets we mentioned. It’s more powerful than a budget phone, but not as snappy as a true mid-ranger - which is exactly what you’d expect for a phone that sits between those categories in terms of price.

We took the phone for a spin with some games and found it played just fine, as long as we didn’t bump the graphics up to their highest options; it’s also fast enough for menu navigation and other simpler tasks.

You can use the phone to connect to 5G networks, if that’s something you want (or is even available in your country). That’ll be good news for people who like to stay connected, though we can’t help but picture a version of the phone where the price you’re paying for a 5G modem, is spent on other features instead.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus software

• Android 11 with MIUI 12.5 laid over the top
• MIUI has useful iOS-style quick-settings menu
• Not as much bloatware as earlier Redmi phones

Curiously, the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus comes on Android 11, which isn’t the newest version of Google’s operating system that’s available to mobile makers. The other Note 11 phones are the same, so we can’t be too surprised, but the software is a step behind in one odd way.

All the phones use Xiaomi’s Android fork called MIUI, but while the other Note 11 handsets use MIUI 13, you’re only getting MIUI 12.5 here - presumably, it’ll get updated at some point soon though.

MIUI is mainly an aesthetic change with design tweaks to app icons, menu layouts and more - you can probably get the gist of this from the pictures accompanying the review, but it’d be even better if you could get your hand on a Xiaomi phone to test it out. 

One feature we like with this is the iOS-style swipe-down menus - in most Android forks you swipe down from the top to bring up your quick settings and notifications trays, but in MIUI you only summon the quick settings if you swipe from the right, with notifications from the left. When you get used to this, it’s a really useful extra feature.

MIUI was once a very bloatware-packed operating system - Xiaomi has gotten a bit better about this in recent years, though the Redmi still has a few annoying pre-installed stragglers when you boot up the phone, which you’ll likely want to uninstall.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus battery life

• 4,500mAh lasts a good day
• Incredibly fast 120W fast charging
• That powers the phone to full in just 15 minutes

Xiaomi’s Redmi phones have often been great for battery life - that’s not the case here; we weren’t quite as blown away as we usually are.

The 4,500mAh battery will last you for a day, easily, but won’t stretch to a full second day - you’ll find yourself having to power up after about a day and a half if you’re ready to run your battery all the way down to zero.

That’s under intensive fire though, so with a fair dolloping of map navigation, video streaming and social media, this is still a fairly long-lasting phone.

Charging is one department where the phone does excel - at least in theory. The phone packs a whopping 120W powering, which Xiaomi says will power up the phone in just 15 minutes. Judging by our experience using other 120W phones, this claim is likely accurate.

Unfortunately, we weren’t shipped a version of the phone with a charger compatible in our region, so couldn’t quite test out this claim. Still, using a nearly-as-fast third-party charger, we still got impressive powering speeds.

There’s no wireless powering here, but with impressive wired charging, we can’t complain.

Should I buy the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If this Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus review hasn't enlightened youas to your next phone purchase (or you don't want a phone with a name that long), here are some alternatives you could consider.

• First reviewed April 2022

We now know everything about the new Redmi Note 11 series, because following on from launches in China and India last year, the new line of cheap Xiaomi phones has been re-unveiled for global audiences.

These new mobiles have some tweaks over the Asian versions, but we also now know their price and release dates too, thanks to information provided at the event which concluded recently.

In total, four new phones were unveiled: the Note 11, Note 11S, Note 11 Pro and Note 11 Pro 5G, all with slightly different specs, particularly in the screen size, camera and processor departments. 

If you're interested in the new mobiles, you can follow our live blog of the launch below, including pre-launch pieces of information, all our thoughts and observations during the event, and important pieces of analysis afterward.

You can also watch the launch back yourself using the YouTube video below.

• These are the best Xiaomi phones so far

Welcome to our Redmi Note 11 live blog - if this is the only post you can see, it's because we've only just kicked off this page. Stay tuned for more very soon.

You might be thinking “didn’t the Redmi Note 11 series already launch?” and you’d be right - sort-of. We saw the mobile phones debut in China, and you can find out everything you need to know about those versions of the phones here. 

However, when Redmi phones launch in different regions there are often slight changes, particularly in the processor, charging and camera departments. So the phones we see debut today could actually be different mobiles in a few ways.

The names will likely be the same though, so we’ll probably see a Redmi Note 11 and Note 11 Pro - perhaps there will also be a Redmi Note 11 5G or Note 11T based on the company’s past performance.

We’ve also seen the Redmi Note 11T, which launched in India last year. That was basically the same phone as the Chinese Note 11, but with a different name.

Redmi often releases T versions of its phones a little after launch, sometimes with tweaked specs to the original version, and sometimes as completely different mobiles.

Honestly, Redmi phone naming can be quite confusing, especially when you look at global markets where the same titles are used on different mobiles.

Could we see more tech unveiled at the Redmi Note 11 launch today?

Well, if there’s more up Xiaomi’s sleeves, we haven’t heard about it. We sometimes see wearables or wireless headphones launched at this kind of event, and Redmi does make those kinds of devices. But so far, we haven’t heard anything.

Xiaomi is also prone to show off some random flashy smart home gadgets at its launches like air purifiers, smart TVs, streaming sticks and the like, but it mainly sells these products in Asia, so we’re not confident anything like that will show up.

We often see Xiaomi's CyberDog (pictured) show up at these events though, not to go on sale but just as a fun extra, so maybe the metal mutt will show up later too.

So expect just the Redmi phones, but if anything else appears we’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Interested in what else is happening in smartphone news today, outside Xiaomi?

Well, it's been a very OnePlus-heavy day. Firstly, a rumor suggests a OnePlus 10 Ultra is on the way, which will arrive later in the year if it's actually real at all.

Secondly, we've heard more about the OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G, which sounds like it could be launching very soon, maybe even February 11 according to this new leak.

There's now an hour until the Redmi Note 11 launch kicks off.

A teaser on Twitter gives us some idea of what to expect, in somewhat broken English. It says "smooth every scroll" then "color every frame" then "immersed in every moment". 

Presumably, these things refer to the display, so we expect a high refresh rate, a wide color gamut and... well, we don't really know how to interpret the last phrase.

The slogan for this launch is 'Rise to the challenge' but this sounds like a motivational phase more than a tease for the phones - Chinese brands like picking out random catchphrases like this.

It sounds like the first few months of 2022 could end up being very busy for Xiaomi. Kicking off the proceedings is the Redmi Note 11 launch, but we’re expecting a lot more in the coming months.

The company’s latest flagship, the Xiaomi 12, debuted in China in December last year alongside the Xiaomi 12 Pro. The company generally unveils its tech in its home country first, as this Redmi Note 11 launch shows, and we’re expecting the top-end phones to launch globally in February or March.

Black Shark, a gaming phone brand owned by Xiaomi, also tends to debut its yearly phone in the first few months of the year, so March or April could bring the Black Shark 5.

Finally, we haven’t heard much from the Poco sub brand recently, but it maintains a slow and steady stream of budget mobiles, so we could see the next of those coming soon too.

The Redmi Note 11 live stream has begun - sort-of. The placeholder saying 'X minutes until the live stream starts' has gone, and the video has a time counter on it now, which means it's technically begun.

However we're still just seeing text which says 'the event will start shortly' so it's not exactly exciting. Chat is popping off, though.

Half an hour left - better get your drink and snacks ready.

Judging by this Tweet, we might hear about MIUI updates today too. MIUI is Xiaomi's fork of Android, and it's the software the company's phones run. 

We've previously found MIUI to be quite buggy, and it's often full of bloatware too, especially on the budget Redmi phones. However we've heard that Xiaomi is looking to revitalize its divisive software, so maybe we'll hear about that today.

On the live stream, we're currently seeing a looping video that's just promotional video for older Xiaomi phones - but the event proper is due to kick off very soon.

Oh - the Redmi Note 10 trailers have stopped, and we're back to the old 'the event will start shortly'.

This time it's accompanied by a timer, counting down from 5 minutes.

And it's begun.

Like most tech launches, we're starting with the company just explaining how popular its phones are.

The presenter is explaining how popular Redmi phones are, giving an example of how the company talked to a fan who visited ten different stores to pick up the Redmi Note 10.

That doesn't exactly say good things about Xiaomi's global supply though...

First, we're looking at the Redmi Note 11 Pro and Note 11 Pro 5G - it sounds like these are two different phones - which the company is referring to as its '108MP powerhouse'. Did anyone tell the company that the Redmi Note 10 Pro also had a 108MP camera?

Xiaomi first run us through the colors of the phones: Polar White, Atlantic Blue (which has a textured effect that looks like how refracted water does when it bounces on other surfaces) and Star Blue which is a light blue and violet gradient.

Here's that Atlantic Blue.

We've also heard other design features - there's a glass back, side-mounted fingerprint scanner, 3.5mm headphone jack. You can see the camera bump yourself in this image.

We've already smashed straight into photography, but at the moment they're just sharing photo samples. These were taken on Redmi phones, but were obviously edited in software afterwards to make them look good.

They're explaining the benefits of 108MP, particularly in the detail and low-light department.

We're reading between the lines quite a bit here, but it sounds like the 108MP sensor used is a better one than we saw in previous Xiaomi phones.

We've also heard the other cameras: there's an ultra-wide and macro camera. We hope the latter is like the one we saw in the Xiaomi Mi 11, as it was a telemacro which was great for close-up shots, but they didn't say.

Xiaomi has moved straight onto video, and they're not wasting any time with this launch. As tech fans, we appreciate how Xiaomi seems to value our time, and isn't spending ages discussing every small point about the phone. As someone having to live blog this launch, our hands hurt.

Thankfully a video of someone skateboarding down a hill is giving us time to write this post out - apparently it was shot on the Note 11 Pro 5G.

It sounds like some Mi 11 videography modes are coming to the Redmi series.

Here's a summary of the Redmi Note 11 Pro camera modes.

We've already moved onto display. Apparently the phones will get AMOLED screens, which is surprising, as that's the display tech top-end phones use, and we generally see LCD or OLED in budget mobiles.

There's also a 120Hz refresh rate - this means the display updates 120 times per second, making motion look smoother than on other phones with 60Hz or 90Hz screens.

Here are those screen features, as it's easier to screenshot than to write it all out, thanks to Xiaomi's fast event speed.

Oh, and apparently the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G has 5G connectivity, which is an absolute shocker given that name.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G is getting the Snapdragon 695 chipset. That's a bit of a surprise, as it's more of a budget processor than the 732G used by the Redmi Note 10 Pro, and the phone might not be too powerful as a result.

The non-5G version gets the MediaTek Helio G96, which also won't be too fast.

There's expandable storage on both though, with a micro SD card slot which supports up to 1TB storage.

Oh, and apparently RAM and storage go up to 8GB and 128GB respectively, though we expect there will be different configurations you can pick.

Oh crickey, we're on to battery already. My poor hands...

The Redmi Note 11 Pro is confirmed to have a 5,000mAh battery and 67W fast charging, two pretty impressive specs for mid-range or low-end phones.

Xiaomi says you can get an entire day of battery life from just 15 minutes of charging, a claim we're dubious of, and we're definitely going to test out that claim when we get our hands on the phone.

Also, Xiaomi is using Samsung's phone charging speeds to compare. That's a clever example, but not the best as a point of comparison, as Samsung uses painfully slow charging speeds for its mobiles.

Oh, and Xiaomi has confirmed that the phones will come with a 67W charger in the box.

So that's the Redmi Note 11 Pro and 11 Pro 5G. We're moving onto the price now.

The 5G phone will start for $329, for 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Just note that the company doesn't sell its phones in the US, so presumably it's using US Dollars as a point of comparison.

The phone goes up to $349 for 128GB storage and $379 for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The phone will go on sale at some point in February, though a pre-order deal was mentioned that's only live on February 15 and 16, so presumably it'll be available at some point after that.

The 4G version starts at $299 for 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, with the same bigger variants as the 5G one at $329 and $349 respectively. It'll also be along at some point in February.

And now we've moved onto the Redmi Note 11 and Note 11S - the former is the '90Hz AMOLED Pioneer' and the latter is the '108MP Expert' apparently.

The Note 11 and Note 11S look the same - there's the 6.43-inch screen, side fingerprint scanner, 3.5mm headphone jack, flat edges and rectangular camera bump. They also look the same as the Pro models.

The phones come in blue, black, white and blue.

Cameras!

The Note 11S comes with a 108MP camera, like the Pro and Pro 5G, as well as an ultra-wide and macro camera. 

The Note 11 'just' has a 50MP camera, joined by an ultra-wide, macro and... another camera, though while a fourth camera was confirmed, we weren't told what it actually was.

Display! (we've given up with images because it takes too much time, and Xiaomi is going so quickly).

Both phones have FHD+ AMOLED displays, broken up by punch-holes for the front cameras at the top-center. The the Note 11 and Note 11S both have 90Hz refresh rates and 1000 nits max brightness.

The Note 11S has the same Helio G96 processor as the Pro 4G, while the Note 11 has the Snapdragon 680, another Snapdragon 600-series chipset like the Pro 5G.

We're not sure about either of these chipsets, and it sounds like they might not be the fastest budget phones in the whole world, but we'll need to test that out before saying it for sure.

Battery!

So it sounds like all the Note 11 phones will have a 5,000mAh battery. But the Note 11 and Note 11S get 33W charging (with in-box chargers) unlike the 67W of the Pro versions.

According to Xiaomi, this will power the battery to full in just 58 minutes, something we'll have to test out.

Xiaomi has also detailed Memory Extension mode, which lets you turn free storage space into RAM temporarily to give you extra processing power - we've seen a few phones which do this.

There's also dual stereo speakers.

Here's that roundup. Now onto prices...

...if our keyboard hasn't caught fire before we announce them.

The Note 11S starts at $249 for 6GB RAM and 64GB storage, and goes up to $279 for 6GB/128GB and $299 for 8GB/128GB. Apparently it'll go on sale 'starting January', which doesn't exactly give Xiaomi much time to release the phone.

The standard Note 11 costs just $179 for a 4GB RAM and 64GB storage model, and goes up to $199 for 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, and $229 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

Those are some pretty low prices, though we'll need to hear regional pricing in places the phones will actually go on sale.

The phones will go on sale in January like the Note 11S.

So those are the four phones, and Xiaomi has confirmed those are the only smartphones launching today - but it's already barreled on to software, and its MIUI Android fork.

Apparently MIUI 13, the new version of MIUI, has four key focuses.

The first is 'Liquid Storage', which is an algorithm that optimizes storage space by reducing fragmentation. A good idea is like, when you play Tetris, you know how gaps can form in your grid? Defragmentation lets you fill these in to automatically remove lines and optimize storage. That's a bit of a mixed metaphor, hope it makes sense.

RAM optimization is another new focus, which smartly optimizes what your phone's RAM is doing at any one time. 

Third is focused algorithms, which improves speeds and performance by... doing something? We couldn't catch it.

Next is Smart Balance, which automatically finds the correct mix between performance power and battery life depending on what task you're doing, which should improve your phone's battery life.

We've also heard a design change for MIUI - a side bar is being added, which lets you easily access your most-used apps by swiping in from the side.

Oh, apparently all four new Redmi phones will get MIUI 13 pre-installed.

We're looking at Xiaomi's wider tech products now.

Apparently the brand has sold 16 million air purifiers so far, and it's announcing a new one now, called the Smart Air Purifier 4 Pro (or Pro 4?) which... purifies the air around you, we guess. 

Not all Xiaomi's smart home tech comes to all regions, so you'll have to see if this goes on sale where you are.

It sounds like the air purifier was the only smart-home product Xiaomi had today. So no TVs or CyberDogs or anything.

The event is likely wrapping up soon then, unless Xiaomi has a 'one more thing' - it wouldn't be the first time the company has used this Apple-like presentation for a final exciting product.

Nope, it sounds like that's it. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 launch is officially over.

That doesn't mean you should close this tab, though, because we've got more to come. 

For the rest of the day (or until we clock off from work, at least) we're going to be sharing analysis, opinions, things you might have missed and other important bits of information.

I might also cede the live blog to another member of the TechRadar team, for some perspective from a writer who doesn't cover every move Xiaomi makes. Maybe.

Firstly, here's everything you need to know about the Redmi Note 11 and Note 11 Pro 5G, the two handsets that are coming to the UK, as we won't be seeing the 11S or 11 Pro here. 

Now we're going to quickly pop out for lunch but expect more analysis in less than an hour.

Now that the event is over, we're going to be moving on to analysis.

One of the interesting points we've noticed is that there's only one 5G phone in the new Redmi Note 11 range, in the 11 Pro 5G, compared to three 4G-only devices.

Given how insistent telecoms companies are on the prevalence and importance of 5G, it's curious that Xiaomi isn't going all-in on the new form of connectivty.

The timing is something to point out, as just hours before the Note 11 launch began, rival company Realme announced that it was going 'all in 5G [sic]' for its Realme 9 Pro series, which will likely rival the Redmi Note 11 series closely in terms of price and specs.

So other companies are clearly embracing 5G more than Redmi.

We gave the Redmi Note 10 Pro a really positive review because its specs were impressive for its low price.

In particular the cameras wowed us with the 108MP main camera and, arguably more importantly, the 5MP telemacro camera which was borrowed from the Xiaomi Mi 11 flagship phone.

Because of that, we're really confused as to why Xiaomi opted to drop this camera for the entirety of its Redmi Note 11 range. As far as we're aware, the macro cameras the phones have aren't telemacro, and they're also paired with 2MP sensors instead of the 5MP one the Note 10 Pro used.

As a result, it's likely the Note 11 Pro is actually worse than its predecessor for macro  photography, and that's a shame, as the Note 10 Pro was probably the best budget phone for this type of picture.

Xiaomi unveiled four new Redmi phones, but if you're on the market for a new mobile, you're not going to have to choose between all four of them.

That's because Redmi phone availability is dependent on market, and we'd imagine most countries will get two or three of them, not all four.

For example in the UK, only the Note 11 and Note 11 Pro 5G will be going on sale. In some other regions, especially ones where Redmi phones are more well known, we could see more of the devices, but we'd be surprised if any regions received all four.

That's good, because with their similar pricing and specs, it could get hard to choose between them.

Xiaomi made a big song and dance about the fact all its new phones have AMOLED panels, and for sure, that's a big feature. Lots of budget phones have LCD panels that don't look as good, with less bold colors and contrast.

It's worth pointing out, though, that Redmi phones have used this panel before - the Redmi Note 10 Pro had an AMOLED screen too.

So the important news is that the lowest-end Redmi Note 11 gets it - phones of that price almost never get AMOLED panels.

MIUI 13 was something else that was explored at the Redmi Note 11 event, and we're glad.

Software changes are something that's very hard to explore in conferences - even Google and Apple struggle to make their new operating systems interesting - and so you'd be forgiven for zoning out for that part of the launch event.

You'll be able to explore MIUI 13 much better when you're testing a phone running it.

But we're happy that Xiaomi detailed MIUI 13 now now, because it means that in the Xiaomi 12 launch - which is likely going to be very soon - we won't have to go through this again.

On hindsight, we've decided this is our favorite color for the Redmi Note 11 series. The textured effect really does look like that pattern that appears on surfaces when light is shone on water and it reflects and refracts.

Is there a scientific name for that effect? Probably? Do we know it? No.

So, we're probably going to start winding down this live blog - partly because we're running out of analysis, but mainly because our work day is nearly over.

Oh, one final thing:

When we think about Redmi phones, particularly with regards to their competitors, we think of a few key phone lines - there's the Moto G, Realme numbered series, Nokia G and OnePlus Nord, to name a few. 

But launching budget phone series in the beginning of the year is an interesting prospect, because it's a very busy period of year for new mobiles. Most of them are premium devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S22 or Xiaomi 12, but often these devices bring Lite versions too.

In the next few months we could see a Xiaomi 12 Lite, Motorola Edge 30 Lite, Oppo Find X5 Lite and maybe more too, which will also rival the Redmi Note 11 handsets.

Not only will those mobiles have competitive specs, they'll likely also have features inherited from their pricey siblings, which could make them more tempting buys than mobiles from the established budget lines.

That means the Redmi Note 11 phones will really need to impress us before we test them.

This is our last post for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 live blog - it's been a busy day, especially with how detail-packed that launch event was. Thanks for following along live if you did, or for catching up afterwards if that's how you picked up all the details.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for full reviews of the Redmi Note 11 phones, and all those other devices we mentioned earlier in this post.

After launching in China and India last year, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 is finally gearing up towards a global launch, and the company has confirmed when we'll be able to see this new family of cheap phones.

We now know that the Redmi Note 11 launch will take place on January 26 at 4am PT / 7am ET / 12pm GMT / 10:30pm ACT, and will be hosted on loads of websites including various social media platforms and Xiaomi's own website.

Xiaomi hasn't said exactly what will show up at the event, but it does refer to the 'Redmi Note 11 series', so we know multiple phones will be there. We'd expect to see the standard and Pro phones.

Because of the two previous launches, we have an idea of what to expect from the Redmi Note 11 series, but there's always the possibility that the company will change aspects of the devices between regions.

Redmi mobiles are affordable alternatives to flagship devices, but often with impressive specs for the cost, like good-looking screens and top camera features. The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus in China has 120W fast charging for example, which is impressively fast powering for a budget phone.

We'll be sure to cover the Redmi Note 11 launch when it happens and report on everything important that gets unveiled at the event, so check back to TechRadar then for the low-down.

• These are the best Xiaomi phones we've ever tested

It's been a quiet few months for Xiaomi, as the company is seemingly sitting on its haunches and biding its time until the next launch (maybe the Xiaomi Mi 11T series). However we've just heard about a batch of new Xiaomi phones that could be coming soon.

As reported by Gizchina, Xiaomi phone owners have been digging around in the code for MIUI (the software the devices use), and have found references to a grand total of 13 new phones from the company.

The actual names of these phones haven't been discovered - we're left with codenames for now - but for six of the devices, a few specs have been discovered for each.

• These are the best cheap phones
• Check out our Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G review
• The Xiaomi Mi 12 is likely coming too

There's no way of knowing which phones are detailed here and since Xiaomi puts out Mi, Redmi and Poco devices, it's no easy task guessing what we're looking at. But judging by the specs, we'd say it's very likely some of these phones are the Redmi Note 11 series, which is expected to launch later in the year.

We say that because the specs aren't top-end enough for the Mi line, but include better cameras than we'd expect to see from a Poco device - thus, the next generation of budget and mid-range Redmi phones seems most likely.

What specs are we talking about?

Of the six phones detailed in the leaks, the top-end one seems to be the one codenamed 'hyacinth', which has a 108MP main camera, two other cameras, and a 120Hz display. That sounds pretty similar to 'cygnus', which has the same main camera joined by an ultra-wide and telephoto (for 5x optical zoom) snapper, and a 90Hz display.

Both 'bestla' and 'divine' have 64MP main cameras, and the latter also has an ultra-wide, a 5x zoom telephoto camera, and a 90Hz display. The fifth phone is 'lepus' with a 50MP camera (that we also saw in the Mi 11 Ultra) joined by an ultra-wide and 5x telephoto lens, and a 90Hz display.

Finally there's 'mercury' with a 12MP main camera joined by the ultra-wide and 5x telephoto snappers we've already heard of. Plus, this apparently has a 120Hz display.

An extra mystery is that 'cygnus', 'divine' and 'lepus' all apparently may have an in-screen front-facing camera, though this sounds vague.

So what are the phones?

So that's a real smattering of specs, with most listed devices combining top-end camera performance with mid-range displays - that's represented most clearly regarding the telephoto cameras, as 5x optical zoom is a surprisingly high-end feature for a device with a 90Hz display.

Generally, Xiaomi's budget phones could perhaps be categorized as emphasizing one feature above all others - Poco devices, for example, are very powerful but with weak cameras, while older Redmi devices have good-looking displays. If there's something these codenamed phones have in common, its that the cameras seem very powerful compared to the displays.

If we had to guess, we'd say these listings refer to the Redmi Note 11 series, which could feature a closer focus on photography. The GN3 sensor 'lepus' is said to use is particularly powerful, and four phones having 5x optical zoom is a surprise given most budget devices omit zoom lenses in favor of macro.

The fact that lots of the listed phones all have these surprise specs in common suggests they're all part of one family, which is why we think Note 11, as we could see five or six phones in total under this banner.

However, Xiaomi often shares specs and features between its phone series, so our guess is a very rough one at this point in time. Perhaps Mi or Poco handsets will launch with these specs to prove us completely wrong.

One thing is very likely though: Xiaomi tends to stagger phone releases, even ones in the same family, so we probably won't see all thirteen of the listed phones, or even a large fraction of them, launch all at once.

• What are Xiaomi phones? A brief overview of the company and its smartphones

The Redmi Note 10 finally has a launch date, and it's March 4. Just like previous Redmi launches, the series of smartphones will make a debut in India, before being available in other countries.

Earlier this month, Xiaomi’s Manu Kumar Jain announced that the Redmi Note 10 will launch in India in the coming weeks and that kickstarted a month-long hype campaign. 

Official details around the exact products to be unveiled are still scarce, and we've yet to hear when the handsets launched will be coming to other countries like the UK. 

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The Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 was available in the UK eventually, but it never made its way to the US or Australia. We'd expect it to be a similar situation for whatever phones come in the Redmi Note 10 series.

The Redmi Note 10 will also mark the longest refresh cycle for the family in recent years, launching a year after the Redmi Note 9 Pro from March 2020. We also expect to see similarly significant upgrades this year, to take on the competition from other Android brands like Realme and Samsung.

There is rumored to be multiple devices in the Redmi Note 10 range, with the top-of-the-line model expected to sport a 108MP primary camera, along with a high refresh rate AMOLED display, a large battery with fast charging and 5G capabilities with a MediaTek Dimensity processor. We expect it to be called the Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G, and be priced close to the Rs 20,000 (around £200 / $280 / AU$350) mark.

There is also rumored to be a cheaper phone in the series too with a more modest camera array, a 4G chipset and an LCD screen.

For context, the Redmi Note 9 Pro Max was powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage. The display spanned 6.67-inches and had a refresh rate of 60Hz. It housed a large 5,020mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. Lastly, it had a 64MP quad-camera on the back and a 32MP selfie shooter on the front.

• Our Redmi Note 9 Pro review

If you want a dedicated gaming phone, you typically have to pay quite a bit - top internals and screen specs don't come cheap - but that might change soon, because affordable phone brand Redmi has announced its entry into the gaming handset market.

This comes from Chinese social media platform Weibo, where Lu Weibing, Redmi's general manager, announced in a lengthy post "In 2021, Redmi will [...] launch Redmi’s first flagship gaming phone".

Weibing also alludes to a price, saying the phone will come "at a price that cannot be refused". That's all we know about the upcoming gaming handset so far, as while Weibing's wider post is about the new MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset, at no point does Weibing actually say that processor will be used for the phone.

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The road ahead

While Redmi doesn't have a gaming phone right now, it's not starting from scratch. Redmi is a sub-brand of Xiaomi, and another one of Xiaomi's sub-brands is gaming phone maker Black Shark, which most recently made the Black Shark 3 but should launch the Black Shark 4 soon. So the company has some knowledge of the market to draw on.

If this Redmi gaming phone is as affordable as Weibing states, it could be a big shake-up for the gaming phone market, as such phones are always mid-range or premium in price. An affordable gaming phone could pull in many fans, and have big implications for the market niche.

We'll have to wait and see though because this upcoming affordable phone is likely some way away. When Redmi does announce this new handset, or provides more information on it, we'll let you know.

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Via Android Authority

The top-end chipset you can find in phones right now is the Snapdragon 865, which brings top speeds, high-res photo processing and 5G, and Qualcomm (who makes it) just dropped the names of a bunch of phones that'll have the system-on-chip.

Some of these phones we already knew about, like the Samsung Galaxy S20, Xiaomi Mi 10 and Sony Xperia 1 II, but the list also includes handsets that were only rumored, so this counts as confirmation of a few new devices.

Topping the list of the unannounced phones is the anticipated Oppo Find X2, due to launch on March 6, and the Xiaomi Redmi K30 Pro, which will likely launch in Europe as the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro (the Redmi K20 Pro was released as the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro there).

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5G inside

Other phones listed include the Black Shark 3, Nubia Red Magic 5G, Asus ROG Phone 3 and Legion Gaming Phone (gaming phones of which we'd only heard of the former), the Zenfone 7, and the Vivo Apex 2020 Concept Phone, a device that likely won't have a global rollout, but we know is being shown off at the end of February.

From this announcement we know they will have top-end processing power, and due to the presence of the Snapdragon 865, they'll also be 5G devices.

These phones won't be the only Snapdragon 865 devices either, just the ones coming soon, with Qualcomm claiming that "more than 70 designs have been announced or are in development based on the platform" - which should spell more top-end handsets for later in 2020.

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 The Redmi Note 8 and the Note 8 Pro are going to be unveiled in China on August 29 as Xiaomi’s top budget smartphones. Redmi has revealed some more bits about these phones in the hype-building phase.

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note series has been a  top-seller in multiple countries including India, thanks for its extreme value-for-money, great performance and reliable battery life. However, in the past few years, Redmi has upped its game by also improving the design and cameras massively. With the Redmi Note 8 series, things are shaping up to be even brighter.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro

 The Redmi Note 8 Pro is going to be the show stopper this time by bringing massive leaps in performance and photography. Powered by the gaming-centric MediaTek Helio G90T chipset, it should have no problems keeping up with user demands. It is likely to be the first device to be powered by this new chipset. 

Also seeing a big step up, the Redmi Note 8 Pro will ship with a 4,500 mAh battery, which is the biggest ever on a Redmi Note device. There will also be support for 18W fast charging over USB Type-C.

 The most interesting upgrade comes in the form of the cameras, as the Note 8 Pro will be the first smartphone to sport a 64MP primary camera, implementing Samsung’s new ISOCELL Bright GW1 image sensor. This is going to be a quad-camera setup. While Xiaomi hasn’t mentioned how these cameras are going to be different from one another, we can expect a combination of a primary, an ultrawide, a telephoto along with a depth sensor. Xiaomi even shared teaser images that showed 25x zoom capabilities, which is likely to be a hybrid solution.

In terms of design, the Redmi Note 8 Pro will build upon the new style that we saw debut on the Redmi K20 series with a curved glass back with smokey edges that dances with the light. Official renders suggest a green and a white colour variant, but we could see more options too. The back also has a fingerprint scanner, indicating that there will not be an in-display solution. The display is expected to be a Full HD+ panel with a dot notch on the top.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 8

 The stage will be shared by the Redmi Note 8 which will be a slightly more affordable smartphone. It will follow the same philosophy but will bring in a few changes in departments such as the design, processor and camera.

For starters, the Redmi Note 8 will be powered by the Snapdragon 665 chipset, which is the same one we saw on Mi A3, and is an upgrade over the Snapdragon 660.

We will continue to get a quad-camera arrangement, but the primary camera will be a 48MP sensor instead of 64MP. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Redmi Note 8 does away with the telephoto lens in favour of a macro lens or something.

Other specifications are likely to be similar with a battery in the range of 4,000 mAh with support for fast charging. The display should also be the same. 

The other perceivable difference comes in the form of the design, as teased renders suggest a design similar to the Mi A3 with a curved glass back with cameras along the edge.

 The Redmi Note 8 and the Note 8 Pro will be announced in China on August 29, along with a new Redmi TV and a Redmi book laptop. Speculations suggest that these phones will launch in India in the coming months, right in time for Diwali.

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Xiaomi is going to announce the Redmi Note 8 alongside its 70-inch Redmi TV in an event scheduled on August 29 in China. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun took to Weibo and revealed a poster for the upcoming Redmi TV 70-inch. 

A user seems to have asked him in the comments section whether we can expect to see the Note 8 on the same day, to which Jun had replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

While that's not an official confirmation, its most definitely a hint at the Redmi Note 8 series that has been said to be in development. Lei Jun has previously teased some of the key areas the company is working on the successor to the Redmi Note 7 series. These include advanced cameras, efficient battery performance and more screen estate to play around.

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Xiaomi has also revealed earlier that they plan on bringing phones with 64MP camera sensor, so we could see that on one of the Redmi Note 8 phones.

Coming to the Redmi TV, we know through the details on the poster that it is going to feature a humongous 70-inch display. While it is still unknown, the TV would have to be 4K considering its size and will be powered by the PatchWall OS like other Xiaomi TVs. There are also rumours about a 40-inch Redmi TV, so we could also see that during the event on August 29.

We'll keep an eye out on the developments in this area and let you know as we head closer to the launch day.

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If you're going to boast about working on a smartphone feature that every other phone company is also working on, you need a particular angle to make your own device stand out, and that's exactly what Redmi has done by sharing a 64MP photo of an adorable cat.

Shared by Redmi – an offshoot of Xiaomi – on Chinese social media service Weibo, the kitty picture includes a zoomed-in section to show you just how well the camera captures the texture and colors of the fur, and the detail in the eye – the eyes are considered the most important feature of a portrait, whether it's of a human or a cat.

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This high-resolution snapper is becoming a hot topic at the moment, after Samsung announced it had developed a 64MP sensor in May. Since then several companies have announced that (or it has been leaked that) they're working on 64MP camera phones, including Samsung, Realme, and Xiaomi.

This last name is the most pertinent to the cat picture – as mentioned, Redmi is a subsidiary of Xiaomi, so the phone referred to in the Xiaomi leak could be in fact a Redmi device.

Xiaomi itself has said nothing yet about its 64MP plans, so we don't know if we can expect the Xiaomi Mi10 or Redmi Note 8 to have the sensor.

For now, all we can do is wait for Xiaomi, Redmi, and other companies, to provide some concrete evidence of a 64MP phone, other than camera samples and rumors. Oh, and we can also stare at the lovely cute picture of a cat.

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Via GSMArena

After being in the shadows for a long time, Xiaomi finally took wraps off their latest K-series of phones which includes the Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro for now. Dubbed as "Flagship Killer 2.0" by the company, Redmi K20 series packs serious power that can go toe to toe with some of the more premium smartphones in the market right now.

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Xiaomi Redmi K20 series price and availability

The Redmi K20 with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage is priced at CNY1,999 while the 128GB storage variant costs CNY2,099. The topmost variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage is priced at CNY2,599

Prices of the four variants of the Redmi K20 Pro starts at CNY2,499 for 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Further, the 128GB storage variant will cost CNY2,599.

Redmi K20 Pro with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage is priced at CNY2,799 and it tops out at 256GB which costs CNY2,999.

Xiaomi has launched both the phones in China and it is expected that the K20 series could arrive in India by the end of June. 

Xiaomi Redmi K20 and K20 Pro specifications

The Redmi K20 Pro features a 6.39-inch Full HD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) Super AMOLED screen topped with Gorilla Glass 5. For the first time, Xiaomi's Redmi lineup has a phone with no notch on the front as it makes do with a pop-up mechanism for the front-facing camera. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor that's embedded into the display.

It is powered by top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 640 GPU. This is paired with 6GB/8GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB of storage.

The phone has a triple camera setup on the back consisting of a primary 48MP camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a secondary 13MP ultra-wide angle lens and an 8MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. On the front, there's a 20MP selfie camera that's housed in a motorized pop-up module.

Redmi K20 Pro has a 4,000mAh battery and supports 27W fast charging. Xiaomi claims that the phone can be charged by upto 58% in just a matter of 30 minutes and will be fully charged in 74 minutes tops.

The regular Redmi K20 has the same display and cameras but is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 618 as the GPU. It will be available with 6GB/8GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB of storage.

Additionally, the Redmi K20 also has a 4,000mAh battery but it supports 18W fast charging, unlike the K20 Pro.

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Xiaomi has revealed its upcoming budget phone, the Redmi 7A ahead of its official launch alongside the much awaited Redmi K20, on May 28. The 7A succeeds Redmi 6A which was launched in June 2018 and went on to become the bestselling phone across Xiaomi's catalog. Now, with the Redmi 7A, the company aims to disrupt the entry-level smartphone markets once again.

Redmi 7A features a 5.45-inch HD+ (1440 x 720 pixels) display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. This means the phone does not have any kind of notch cutout that has become an intrinsic part of modern smartphones.

It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 chipset paired with 2GB/3GB of RAM and 16GB/32GB onboard storage. Users can further expand the storage of the phone by upto 256GB via microSD card. Redmi 7A runs on Android 9.0 Pie based MIUI out-of-the-box.

The phone comes with a 13MP rear camera and is supported by a LED flash. On the front, there's a 5MP selfie camera.

Redmi 7 has a 4,000mAh battery at its disposal which coupled with the power efficient Snapdragon 439 will enable long-lasting battery life.

In addition, the Redmi 7A has a P2i coating which will prevent it from regular splashes of water.

Xiaomi will announce the price of the Redmi 7A on May 28 along with the Redmi K20 in China.

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Xiaomi is in the process of bringing some its most popular phones to the UK, and now we know that it's bringing the Redmi Note 7 to our shores very soon as well.

The Redmi Note 7 will be available in the UK from May 7 – at least, one version of it will be. A black Redmi Note 7, with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, will be available from May 7 at £179, but you'll have to wait a little longer for some variety.

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According to Xiaomi, 4GB / 64GB and 4GB / 128GB options will be available a few weeks after the smaller version, as well as a blue color handset.

You'll be able to pick up the Redmi Note 7 from the Mi website, as well as the London Mi store, as soon as it's released – at the moment there's no word on any phone companies offering it as part of a contract.

What is the Redmi Note 7?

The Redmi Note 7, as its price suggests, is an affordable smartphone that Xiaomi offers as part of its lower-end Redmi Note series, as opposed to the mid-range Mi phones like the Xiaomi Mi 9.

One of the selling points is the Redmi Note 7 camera, a 48MP main snapper joined by a 5MP depth sensor, which should be good for taking high-detail portrait and close-up pictures. 

Other noteworthy features include a sizeable 4,000mAh battery, 6.3-inch display, and a Snapdragon 660 chipset which is respectable for such a low price.

We're using the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 at the moment for our full review, so stay tuned to TechRadar when we publish our in-depth opinion on the phone to see if it's worth your money.

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