Infinix is back again with another large formfactor smartphone: the Note 11S. It packs quite a lot in its massive frame including a 6.95-inch 2460 x 1080 120Hz display, triple rear cameras with a 50MP f/1.6 main lens, a Helio G96 chip with 8GB RAM, and 33W Fast Charging all for under PhP 10,000.
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio G96 |
| Screen | 6.95-inch IPS, 2460 x 1080, 120Hz |
| RAM | 4GB, 6GB, 8GB LPDDR4x |
| OS | Android 11, XOS 7.6 |
| Rear Camera | 50MP f/1.6 Main, 2MP f/2.4 Depth, 2MP f/2.4 Macro |
| Front Camera | 16MP f/2.0 |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB UFS 2.2, expandable via MicroSD |
| Network | Dual-SIM, 4G LTE |
| Connectivity | Dual-Band WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.2, 3.5mm Audio Jack, USB Type-C |
| Battery | 5,000mAh, 33W Fast Charging |
| Others | In-Display Fingerprint Scanner, Stereo Speakers |
| Colors | Green, Gray , Cyan |
The Infinix Note 11S comes in a bright green box that’s sure to get the attention of its users. Inside is the smartphone itself, a welcome letter to the brand’s XCLUB community, documentation, a silicone case, a SIM ejector pin, a white USB cable, and a 33W wall adapter.
The smartphone has a substantial frame thanks to its large 6.95-inch display. It is made out of plastic but Infinix is able to make out somewhat premium-feeling by applying a metal-like matte finish resistant to fingerprint and smudges instead of having a shiny exterior.
There is a large camera bump for its triple cameras at the back. Its edges are slightly curved for a comfortable handling experience. It doesn’t feel cheap and there is some heft to the device when held.
Its volume rocker and power button with an integrated fingerprint scanner are all located at the right-hand side. All the buttons are tactile and its fingerprint scanner is able to detect and unlock the device swiftly. At the left-hand side is its compact SIM tray that can house two nano SIM cards and a microSD card slot.
Located at the bottom are its USB Type-C port that supports 33W Fast Charging, 3.5mm audio jack, and grilles for its microphone and bottom-firing speaker. Not much out of the ordinary here.
One of the key selling points of the Infinix Note 11S is its massive 6.95-inch 2460 x 1080 120Hz IPS display. It might not have an AMOLED panel but its large size and fast refresh rate will be appreciated by anyone.
Size and speed have not affected the color quality of the display despite the smartphone’s budget nature. It has a surprisingly wide color gamut and has a maximum brightness of 516.61cd/m2. Blacks are deep but not as deep as entry-level AMOLED screens but contrast ratio remains good. Colors do tend to prefer red hues and lacks a bit of green.
The Infinix Note 11S is able to deliver stereo sound by combining the earpiece and its bottom-firing speaker. Volume can get pretty loud and there is okay soundstage for a smartphone. Audio does not get tinny even in high volume but lacks a punchy bass.
The Infinix Note 11S runs on Android 11 with the brand’s XOS 7.6 on top. It has all of the Android 11 features such as Dark Mode, a simple UI, gesture navigation, multi-screen support, and split-screen among many others.
XOS 7.6 does pre-install a lot of bloatware on startup but comes with a few extras. Users can access its Smart Panel by swiping from the side, which reveals shortcuts to apps and additional functions like quick screenshot and screen recording.
Game Mode available to allocate resources for games and a gaming assistant which can quickly disable notifications and even remap the volume buttons to other functions while playing games.
The smartphone has three cameras at the back: a 50MP f/1.6 main lens, a 2MP f/2.4 depth sensor, and a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. While selfies are taken with a 16MP f/2.0 front-facing lens.
The camera app has all the modes you need on a smartphone. Photo (AI Cam), Video, Short Video, Beauty, Portrait, Night Mode, AR Shot, Slow Motion, Pro Mode, Panorama, Documents, Time-Lapse, and 50MP mode. HDR is supported and the device comes with various filters for photos.
As far as video goes, the Infinix Note 11S can take 720p, 1080p, and 1440p videos all are fixed at 30fps. There is no 4K nor 60fps options available.
Its 50MP f/1.6 main lens natively takes 12.5MP photos but can be upscaled by using its 50MP mode. Its wide f/1.6 aperture has no trouble even in low-light scenes. Color rendition is good and details are well-preserved but it appears that sharpness is slightly boosted to increase quality.
Infinix skips the ultrawide camera and instead implements a 2MP f/2.4 macro lens. As with most budget-oriented smartphones, the macro lens only exists as filler for the specification sheet. Photos taken are washed out and lacks detail due to the low resolution but it does get close to subjects.
At the front of the Infinix Note 11s is a 16MP f/2.0 selfie shooter. It takes good snaps with natural-looking skin, decent colors, and good details. There is minute noise in low-light conditions but overall performance is pretty good for a budget-oriented smartphone.
The Infinix Note 11S runs with a MediaTek Helio G96, which sports 2 Cortex-A76 cores, 6 Cortex-A55 cores, and a Mali G57 MC2 GPU. The chip is paired with 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM that allows most users to run plenty of apps without stuttering. It’s worth mentioning that the smartphone is able to cool itself efficiently and does not become hot to the touch even in heavy workloads.
Performance of the smartphone is pretty good when it comes to synthetic benchmarks. AnTuTu is able to reach the 341,249 mark, PCMark Work 3.0 scores 9,286, and the device is able to scorer 505 and 1,619 in single-core and multi-core benchmarks in GeekBench 5.
The Helio G96 will be able to play mainstream games without any problems. Titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and League of Legends: Wild Rift are able to run at a steady 60fps with minimal dips. Call of Duty Mobile maxes out at Medium Graphics but runs at 60fps while PUBG Mobile at HD Settings with 2x AA runs at a locked 30fps. Genshin Impact also runs at a steady 46fps and 30fps at Lowest and Medium settings, respectively.
Powering the Infinix Note 11S is a 5,000mAh battery, which is surprising given its size. We expected at least a 6,000mAh battery to fit in its large frame but it is able to do quite a lot with its battery.
We were able to get more than a day of usage with medium use that includes work, browsing the web, watching YouTube videos, and occasionally playing games. The smartphone is able to score nearly 20 hours in PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test with medium brightness and volume.
The device is charged through a USB Type-C connection at the bottom that supports 33W Fast Charging. This is significantly faster compared to the 18W Fast Charging tech we usually find in sub-PhP 10,000 smartphones. Charging the smartphone from 0% to 100% should take around an hour and 30 minutes.
The Infinix Note 11S is shaping up to be an ideal smartphone for bargain hunters. It has a large 6.95-inch 2460 x 1080 display running at 120Hz. Infinifffffffffffx has not skimped on color gamut and brightness on the screen but some games won’t be able to take advantage of the fast screen. Blacks aren’t as deep, however, when compared to similarly priced AMOLED-based smartphones.
Its Helio G96 chipset is competent in most tasks and is able to run most mainstream games at a steady 60fps aside from graphically-intensive games like Genshin Impact at its highest settings. Meanwhile, its 5,000mAh battery might be smaller than expected for a large device but lasts for quite a while and it can be charged swiftly thanks to 33W Fast Charging.
Its 50MP f/1.6 main lens and 16MP f/2.0 take decent photos with good colors and details even in high contrast scenarios and low-light. The two 2MP f/2.4 macro and depth lenses are just here to round up the specifications sheet but we would have preferred if the Note 11S had an ultrawide camera.
Overall, the Infinix Note 11S is a solid smartphone at PhP 9,990. It has a large and fast screen as well as decent performance and main cameras, which is why we are giving it our seal of approval.
The Infinix Note 11S is now available in the Philippines for PhP 9,990 through Shopee. Those who will get it until December 12, 2021 can get PhP 491 off the list price or get a Free Fire Edition with a custom packaging and silicone case.
