Realme 11 and Realme 11x Review: Separated by Cameras, United by Design

Realme launched the Realme 11 Pro series, featuring the Realme 11 Pro and the Realme 11 Pro+, in India a few months back. Although good offerings in their own capacities, the devices fell short of expectations when stacked against their competition.

Now, in an effort to extend the series and have more offerings for the different needs of customers under different price points, Realme has launched two new devices, the Realme 11 and the Realme 11x, as part of the Realme 11 series.

Priced under Rs 20,000, both phones share a lot of similarities, except for cameras and charging. But how do they fare against each other, and should you pick them over their competition? Let’s find out in our Realme 11 and Realme 11x review.

Realme 11 and Realme 11x Review: What’s Similar?

Realme has opted to use the same design on both Realme 11 and Realme 11, just like it did with the two devices in the Realme 11 Pro series.

It’s a boxy design, with flat edges on the sides and a plastic back panel. Since the back panel is made of plastic, it manages to conceal fingerprint smudges decently. In addition, the “S-curve gradient” design, which illuminates as light falls on it at certain angles, also aids with the same and gives the device a unique characteristic.

Realme has gone with a flat-edged side design on the Realme 11 and Realme 11x likely because it wants to make the devices stand out from their competition in the same price bracket. But I have one problem with this design: I find the edges rather too sharp, especially on the Realme 11, and noticed that they leave a mark on fingers even with limited use, making it uncomfortable to use the phone without a case.

Likewise, I don’t particularly like the gradient finish on the back panel of these devices either. It’s a little too fancy for my taste, and given a chance, I would pick the black options of these models since they are muted and a bit more subtle. Other color options for the Realme 11 include Glory Gold and Glory Black, whereas, for the Realme 11x, you have Purple Dawn and Midnight Black.

Another design highlight of the Realme 11 series models is the “Glory Halo design” element. It’s essentially a fancy name for the rear camera module, which is a fairly large, circular one on both these models, located slightly off-center on the back panel. Besides, you get the volume buttons and a power-button (with fingerprint scanner) along the right side on both devices. The fingerprint scanner is quick to unlock and quite accurate. However, the haptics aren’t that good on either device.

Moving to the front, you get a 6.72-inch IPS LCD display on both Realme 11 and Realme 11x. One thing that jumps out when looking at this display (with the screen turned on) is that the bezels are asymmetric, and the bottom one, in particular, is noticeably bigger than the rest. For those who care about the display, this can be a little disappointing.

The display offers a screen resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and has a peak brightness of over 500 nits. However, the outdoor visibility isn’t the best, and using the two phones in bright sunlight doesn’t give you the best experience. Similarly, since it’s an LCD panel, the viewing angles are limited, and so are the contrast levels. Realme offers two color modes on both models, along with the ability to adjust the screen temperature so you can set the display to your taste.

Lastly, the display supports a high refresh rate of 120Hz. You can either set your device to use the high refresh rate at all times or switch automatically to conserve some battery.

Both phones support Widevine L1 certification, meaning you can watch FHD content on OTT platforms. Speaking of, the media consumption experience isn’t the best on these devices since the display isn’t particularly good in that regard, and the accompanying mono speakers on these devices are subpar, lacking in terms of output volume and clarity. What’s good, though, is the inclusion of the 3.5mm audio jack, which lets you enjoy wired audio on the device.

Coming to performance, the Realme 11 and the Realme 11x share the same MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ chipset based on the 6nm fabrication process. It’s a relatively new chipset, which comes with two performance cores and six efficiency cores and offers a maximum clock speed of 2.2GHz. Additionally, it has an ARM G57 MC2 GPU for handling graphics.

Realme offers one RAM (8GB) and two storage options (128GB or 256GB) for the Realme 11. Meanwhile, the Realme 11x gets two RAM (6GB or 8GB) and one storage (128GB) option. Both models support dynamic RAM expansion, up to 16GB, for those who need it. Similarly, if you need more storage, you have the option to expand it using a microSD card. Both phones get a dedicated microSD card slot.

In day-to-day use, these internals translate to a fairly decent performance on both models. Performing regular tasks like clicking photos, using social media, and browsing the web are handled decently by the chipset. However, the multitasking experience isn’t very fluid—there are other devices in this price range that do a better job. Similarly, what isn’t smooth either is the overall user experience, which could perhaps be due to the software.

Gaming performance is decent. I played Call of Duty: Mobile as part of the testing, and both phones managed to deliver well (with medium graphics settings) on this front, too. I did, however, notice that the phones got a bit too warm during this time, but nothing too concerning.

Coming back to the software, both phones run on Realme UI 4.0 based on Android 13. The Realme UI 4.0 comes with a bunch of customization options but at the same time includes a ton of pre-installed apps, including Hot Apps and Hot Games, which has been an issue with many budget and mid-range Realme phones for a while, and I’m not surprised by it here even one bit. Glance integration and personalized search recommendations are other issues that make the experience further annoying on both devices.

Realme 11 and Realme 11x Review: What’s Different?

A major difference between the Realme 11 and the Realme 11x is in terms of cameras. While both devices sport a dual-camera system on the rear, the configuration is a little different on each of them. This difference also extends to the front-facing cameras, and the two phones use different sensors for the same.

With the Realme 11, you get a 108MP main camera on the rear with support for 3x zoom. Meanwhile, on the lower-end Realme 11x, the company offers a 64MP primary sensor with 2x zoom. Both phones have the same 2MP auxiliary sensor for portraits.

Speaking of image quality, in good lighting conditions, both phones shoot above-average photos. Of course, when compared side-by-side, the Realme 11, with its 108MP, manages to capture sharper images with good details and contrast levels. Saturation, however, isn’t consistent on the Realme 11, as the images often look oversaturated. This isn’t the case with the Realme 11x.

When it comes to portrait shots, here, too, the Realme 11 outperforms the Realme 11x, with better edge detection and details, though it isn’t very good either.

Similarly, it also pulls ahead of the Realme 11x in terms of zooming capabilities; not only does it let you zoom in more, but it manages to retain good details and produce sharper images—something the Realme 11x fails to do consistently.

Low-light shots lack sharpness on the Realme 11x and there’s a lot of noticeable noise. Meanwhile, the Realme 11 does a good job in such conditions, though it boosts contrast levels a little too much and makes the image look more saturated.

Night mode is more effective on the Realme 11.

Moving to the front cameras, the Realme 11 does a satisfactory job. It captures sharp images and retains a good amount of detail. However, the skin tones appear unnatural many times. In contrast, while the Realme 11x doesn’t unnecessarily boost colors, the selfies sometimes appear washed out and lack details. It also performs badly in low light, and there’s a lot of noise in pictures.

Some more camera samples from the Realme 11 and the Realme 11x:

Aside from the camera system, the only other thing that separates the Realme 11 and the Realme 11x is the battery charging speeds.

Both phones pack a 5000mAh, and with my use, which involved social media, snapping some photos, and consuming content (including listening to music over Bluetooth), I was able to get a day’s worth of use easily on a single charge out of both models.

However, when it came to charging, the Realme 11 pulled ahead of the Realme 11x. Its 67W fast charging solution was considerably faster at topping up the battery when compared to the 33W system on the Realme 11x. The former can charge the battery from 0 to 100% in under an hour, whereas the latter takes around an hour and a half.

Realme 11 and Realme 11x Review: Verdict

Realme offers both Realme 11 and Realme 11x in two configurations, and here’s how much they cost:

Realme 11

• 8GB + 128GB: Rs 18,999
• 8GB + 256GB: Rs 19,999

Realme 11x

• 6GB + 128GB: Rs 14,999
• 8GB + 128GB: Rs 15,999

Both phones offer good value for money when considered individually, giving you above-average cameras, excellent battery life, and a generally good chipset that should serve the needs of most users.

However, when you consider the competition in this price range, the display is one area where both devices get outplayed. In this regard, the Samsung Galaxy M34 is a better option over the Realme 11, with its AMOLED display. Similarly, the POCO X5 outdoes the Realme 11 in this area and promises really good performance in this segment. On the other hand, if you want a better software experience, I would recommend the OnePlus Nord CE3 Lite.

As for which model between the two should you choose, it comes down to your budget. If you’re looking for a phone under Rs 15,000, the Realme 11x is the one you should go with. Meanwhile, if you don’t mind spending Rs 4,000 more, the Realme 11 gets you faster charging and marginally better camera performance. So, if these two aspects are important to you more, you can opt for the Realme 11. Otherwise, you may want to look for alternatives, like the ones we mentioned, if you wish for a better experience with display, camera, and performance.

Buy Realme 11

Buy Realme 11x