If there’s one thing about Realme phones that remains consistent throughout their portfolio, it’s the comfortable in-hand feel they offer. The Realme 11 Pro Plus is no exception, as it combines comfort with an outstanding design. Priced at Rs 27,999, it stands out as the most stylish phone in its segment, in my opinion.
The Realme 11 Pro Plus is filled to the brim with features, including a 120Hz 6.7-inch OLED display, a 200MP camera, 100W fast charging, and more. However, it’s important to note that impressive on-paper specifications may not always reflect the actual software experience. Here’s what you should know about the Realme 11 Pro Plus before making a purchase.
Realme 11 Pro Plus: The good
The Realme 11 Pro Plus is hands-down the best looking mid-range smartphone. None of the Pixel 7a, Poco F5, iQOO Neo 7 Pro, Vivo V27 Pro and others come close. It’s because of the vegan leather back that’s designed in collaboration with renowned former Gucci designer Matteo Menotto. Smartphone companies collaborate with designers all the time but this is one design that looks classy and elegant, which sets the Realme 11 Pro Plus apart from the competition – especially in the Sunrise Beige color.
The device is comfortable to hold, thanks to the curved edges and a lightweight form factor at 189 grams. It weighs lesser (183 grams) in Astral Black color option because that lacks the fake leather finish found on Sunrise Beige and Oasis Green variants. However, you don’t get any Gorilla Glass protection on the front since it’s covered by a “double-reinforced glass.” In my two weeks usage, I’ve dropped it a couple of times (unwillingly, of course), and it came out unscathed.
The Realme 11 Pro Plus features a 6.7-inch OLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution (2412 x 1080 pixels). The display is subtly curved on the sides, which is good for the looks and doesn’t cause any ghost touches. It gets bright enough for comfortable viewing in direct sunlight, and is good to watch videos.
The new Realme phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, paired with 8GB / 12GB RAM and 128GB / 256GB of storage. It runs well in day-to-day life, with no lags or stutters in the UI. Scrolling through Twitter, Chrome and Instagram, multitasking between productivity apps like Asana, Teams and Slack wasn’t a problem. However, if you are looking to play games for long durations, this is not the phone for you For that, better look at the new iQOO Neo 7 Pro.
The Realme 11 Pro Plus packs a 5,000mAh battery that supports 100W fast charging. It lasts an entire day if you aren’t a heavy user. I like that my phone can go from 10% to full within 30 minutes.
Realme 11 Pro Plus sports a 200MP primary camera that supports 2x and 4x in-sensor zoom, which is termed as “lossless” by Realme. This isn’t optical zoom but is better than digital zoom. It mostly makes up for the lack of a telephoto lens but don’t expect the zoom to be as good as dedicated telephoto cameras. The primary camera captures decent shots with good details in bright daylight.
While the shutter speed is fast, I’ve found myself with blurred subjects often. It sometimes clicks moving subjects well but other times I get a photo with blurred faces. The dynamic range is great most of the times but here as well, I got shots against the sky where the background was washed out. That being said, the Realme 11 Pro Plus takes good-looking photos for the most part. As for the 12MP ultrawide-angle camera, it’s serviceable.
Realme 11 Pro Plus: The not so good
The only annoying part of Realme 11 Pro Plus is its software. It runs Realme UI 4.0 based on Android 13, which is snappy for the most part. But it’s not as clean as I’d like it to be. You have to be familiar with tech to use this phone comfortably, or else you’ll be bombarded with unsolicited notifications.
When I set up a new phone, I login to my accounts and let it update and install all my apps, which takes a few minutes. I keep the phone idle in the meantime. On the Realme 11 Pro Plus, after I was done, I noticed notifications from apps that I hadn’t interacted with. These include App Market, Game Center, and the likes. Then there are pre-loaded folders like Hot Apps and Hot games with random app suggestions. Plus, you get lots of pre-loaded apps, which could appeal to some people but they aren’t for me.
All of these can be turned off or deleted with a few taps, so it shouldn’t be a problem for you if you’re familiar with how to get rid of them. But it could be a problem for people who aren’t into tech and want the phone to just work for them.
Should you buy the Realme 11 Pro Plus?
Rs 27,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and Rs 29,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage option are good prices for the Realme 11 Pro Plus. You get an exceptional design, good display and performance, all-day battery life with fast charging and a camera that’s good for the most part. If you are familiar with how to turn off notifications and uninstall apps, the Realme 11 Pro Plus is a good choice.
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