Realme 11x 5G review: Budget phone with quality camera; Check Price, specs, pros & cons

The Realme 11x is a brand new contender in the ever growing affordable 5G smartphone segment.

But the important question is: can it carve out its unique space in a sea of choices?

Realme 11x Design & Utility

The Realme 11x boasts a distinctive shimmering back panel with a graceful S-shaped gradient. This Purple Dawn colour of our review unit also does a commendable job of masking fingerprints.

However, the circular camera island is off centre, which may not be to all tastes. It also makes the phone wobble quite a bit on a flat surface.

The device's flat sides accommodate tactile and clicky buttons, while its plastic construction aligns with its budget-conscious positioning.

On the front, the 11x features a hole punch cutout for its display, and features standard bezels for a budget smartphone.

Interestingly, the inclusion of a headphone jack could be a pleasant surprise for those not into TWS earbuds.

Another great thing about the 11x is its dedicated slot for a micro SD card. I wish more phones had this.

One area with room for improvement in my experience was the side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which occasionally required a few tries for accuracy.

Realme 11x Display

The Realme 11x boasts a 6.72-inch IPS LCD screen with a sharp FHD+ resolution, enhanced by a refresh rate of 120Hz.

When viewed from various angles, the display maintains decent clarity, and its peak brightness is commendable, especially in outdoor settings.

However, a common challenge with budget-friendly phones like this is the refresh rate optimisation.

As a result, despite the 120Hz capacity, many apps on the Realme 11x will typically run at lower rates, such as 60Hz or 90Hz.

Realme 11x Performance & Software

The Realme 11x is powered by MediaTek’s new 6nm Dimensity 6100+ chipset. Since the Dimensity nomenclature is now confusing, consider this chipset in the range of the former Dimensity 800 series.

With up to 8GB of RAM as standard, there were no hiccups in day to day performance. The 6100+ can also do short sessions of gaming with ease. For instance, it could play Call of Duty at Medium graphics and a high frame rate.

That being said, you get Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 powered phones within this price range, and that is undoubtedly a superior chipset in every regard.

Anyway, on the software front, the 11x runs on Realme UI 4, based on top of Android 13. It is commendable how Realme has recently reduced intrusive ads and spammy notifications in its UI.

Although some frustrations remain, such as the Glance lock screen and hot games & apps folders, the overall software experience leans toward the favourable side, especially for an affordable smartphone.

Realme 11x Camera Review

The Realme 11X has a 64MP primary camera. Accompanying it in this second massive cutout, is a 2MP depth sensor.

The performance of the main camera is a welcome surprise. The dynamic range and details captured by this sensor are impressive by segment standards. The colours are slightly boosted, but they never feel out of place.

Videos also capture a decent level of detail, but the lack of any form of stabilisation is a big bummer.

The 8MP front camera is decent for the price, but it has the tendency to produce washed out photos in challenging scenarios.

Realme 11x Battery Life

The Realme 11x is powered by a large 5,000mAh battery, making it a reliable all-day companion. It would take a lot of heavy content consumption to drain this battery in a day.

The included 33W charger provides quick top-ups, which is crucial in today's fast-paced world.

Realme 11x Verdict

The Realme 11x emerges as a competent affordable 5G smartphone.

It gets the fundamentals right and does everything well. Sure, if you game a lot, you have more powerful options, but for others, the Realme 11x offers a strong value proposition.

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