Redmi Note 11 Pro leaked: Why this one matters
The Redmi Note is Xiaomi's most popular smartphone series and certainly has a major contribution in propelling it to the spot of the world's third-largest smartphone brand — even without officially selling in the U.S. The company recently announced on Twitter that it sold a staggering 240 million Redmi Note units worldwide. This announcement was followed by another on Twitter about the global launch of the Redmi Note 11 series, scheduled for January 26th.
The Redmi Note 11 series was launched in China in October 2021 with three models — Note 11, Note 11 Pro, and the Note 11 Pro Plus (via Xiaomi China). But ahead of its launch, the global Redmi Note 11 Pro has appeared in leaked (via Tech Insider Blog) marketing material that reveals its design and some of the key attributes. There is uncertainty about the number of variants that Xiaomi plans to launch in the global market, we could expect at least two — if not three — variants.
Xiaomi continues to confuse with its naming
The leaked images point at noticeable differences between the global Redmi Note 11 Pro, pointing towards different models for China and the markets outside it. Xiaomi has already launched all three Chinese models internationally but with different names. Among the Chinese variants — Redmi Note 11 is rebadged as Redmi Note 11T 5G in India and POCO M4 Pro globally while the Redmi Note 11 Pro and the Note 11 Pro Plus have arrived in India as the Mi 11i and Mi 11i Hypercharge (via Xiaomi India)
Let's delve into these differences in detail along with any other feature that these leaked images hint at.
Global Redmi Note 11 Pro retains the 108MP camera
Firstly, the global Redmi Note 11 Pro bears a design that is similar to the Chinese variant but not completely identical. The camera modules on the Chinese and the alleged global variant differ in configuration and alignment. You can compare the two models side by side in the image below with the Chinese variant on the left side and the global variant on the right side.
While the Chinese Redmi Note 11 Pro features three cameras in an L-shaped arrangement, the leaked global model features all sensors in a single line while an "AI" badging occupies the space of a sensor above the flash. According to another picture, the primary camera sticks of the camera bump into another raised platform — unlike the Chinese model in which all the sensors are completely flushed with the camera bump.
The leaked phone also retains the same 108MP primary camera, which — like every other non-Samsung phone with a 108MP camera — is most likely to be Samsung's ISOCELL HM2 sensor. There is a red dot at the bottom right side of the camera bump but it doesn't look like a sensor and could possibly just be there for aesthetic purposes.
120Hz refresh rate, 5G, and super fast charging
There aren't many conspicuous differences on the front. The global Redmi Note 11 Pro — just like the Chinese model as well as the Redmi Note 10 series from last year — features a 120Hz refresh rate display, which is highly likely to deploy an AMOLED panel inside.
Under the hood, the Redmi Note 11 Pro's global variant is tipped to run a Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G chipset. The leaked images do not elucidate the exact model of the chipset but we can expect it to be either the Snapdragon 750G or the newer Snapdragon 695.
The leak also hints at a 5000mAh battery inside the Redmi Note 11 Pro. For charging, the marketing material shows both — 67W and 120W — support, puzzling us about the actual fast charging support on the device.
Contradicting leaks add to confusion about the Redmi Note 11 series
Incidentally, another source — MySmartPrice — also claims to have accessed the marketing images of the global Redmi Note 11 Pro. But instead of complementing the information from our first source — Tech Insider Blog, these images lead to a complicated conjecture. Images shared by MySmartPrice contradict the information above and states the global Redmi Note 11 Pro will come in another set of colors with a quad-camera setup instead of the triple camera underlined by Tech Insider Blog.
Furthermore, MySmartPrice also claims there will be two global variants of the Redmi Note 11 Pro — one with LTE only and another with 5G. The publication associates these leaked renders with the 5G variant.
Concurrently, a third source (via Facebook) claims to have spotted the box of the Redmi Note 11 (non-Pro variant) at a mobile phone shop in Vietnam. Interestingly, the alleged Redmi Note 11 looks exactly like the phone that MySmartPrice is calling the Pro variant.
Due to these conflicting claims, we can only speculate what the actual phone could be but not say anything with confidence until a more credible source clears the confusion. Thankfully, the launching isn't too far and we will know more about the Redmi Note 11 series in detail by next week.