Infinix Note 11 Pro review

Design

The Infinix Note 11 Pro is not a flashy device by any means, yet it still manages to look slick and modern. The backside and particularly the camera island have a rather distinctive look to them.

Infinix has managed to create a pretty convincing illusion of depth and extra size around the lenses on the camera island. From a distance, you would be forgiven to think that there is, perhaps, something impressive present here, like a beefy gyroscopic stabilization setup or something of the sort. The older Note 10 Pro doesn't really pull off the look as convincingly.

The back panel itself feels quite sturdy. In fact, the entire device feels nice and dense, and there is no give. It seems Infinix is making a proper use of that entire 173.1 x 78.4 x 8.7 mm exterior. Tipping the scale at 209 grams, the Note 11 Pro is definitely not a light phone, but probably due to its large size, it feels well balanced. By the way, the exact same goes for the Note 10 Pro, which is almost identical in all dimensions.

Back to the topic of surfaces - the back panel on the Note 11 Pro, like most other parts of the phone, is made of plastic but feels great and solid, with a matte finish, reminiscent of sandstone, but not quite as coarse.

It provides plenty of grip without gathering any grease or fingerprints. Color options include Mithril Grey, Haze Green and Mist Blue.

The plastic middle frame seems to be going for a metal finish but doesn't quite manage to pull it off. Unlike the back, it is a smudge-fest. Other than that, it feels nice and sturdy. Plus, we kind of like the concaved bits on the top and bottom side. They make for a modern look.

The front of the Note 11 Pro is quite unassuming. Nothing out of the ordinary. The bezels are on the thicker side, but that just comes par for the course with a budget phone. The selfie camera punch hole is also of the wider variety but is not a particular eyesore or disproportionately large for the large display.

Infinix Note 11 Pro color options

By the way, once again, most of these observations are also valid for the older Note 10 Pro since the duo shared most of its exterior. In fact, we are pretty certain that Infinix is reusing some of the parts and molds. No shame in that.

Build quality

The Infinix Note 11 Pro is mostly made of plastic. After all, it is a budget device, plus plastic still has some intrinsic positive qualities, like high durability and comparatively low weight. It arguably takes scuffs and scratches better than metal or glass. And all of the plastics on the Note 11 Pro feel solid, with practically no flex.

Even though we don't mind seeing plastic on the body of a phone, it is a lot more worrying to potentially have it covering the display. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to confirm what finish the display on the Note 11 Pro has. However, given that the phone comes with a glass screen protector in the box, it is a safe bet to assume that you are expected to install it, which likely means there is no glass finish on the display.

Another thing notably missing from the Note 11 Pro specs sheet is any official ingress protection. By the way, these points are equally applicable to the Infinix Note 10 Pro as well.

Controls and connectivity

The Infinix Note 11 Pro has a standard control setup. Volume rockers and the power button are both on the right-hand side. The volume rocker feels good in terms of tactile feedback, though not great. The same goes for the power button. We do appreciate its nicely concaved surroundings, which make it easy to feel out.

The power button doubles as a conventional capacitive fingerprint reader. It is very accurate and snappy. No complaints there.

One thing worth noting is that even though controls on the Note 11 Pro and Note 10 Pro looks quite similar, they are not quite identical and actually differ a bit in positioning, which suggests that Infinix is not really reusing as many of the molds and is trying to improve on ergonomics. The volume rocker on the Note 11 Pro is a bit wider, which is nice. Though, the Note 10 Pro has all of its right-hand buttons a bit higher up on the frame, which we kind of like more. We guess that comes down to personal preference, though.

Infinix Note 11 Pro

Anyway, the Note 11 Pro has its SIM tray on the left-hand side. It takes two nano-SIM cards, as well as a microSD card in its own dedicated space. So, you don't have to pick and choose.

There is practically nothing on the top side of the phone, whereas the bottom houses a Type-C port, with a USB 2.0 controller and OTG functionality. Next to that - a trusty old 3.5mm jack and the main microphone. Also, a dedicated bottom-firing speaker.

The Note 11 Pro actually has a hybrid stereo speaker setup going, with the amplified earpiece nestled above the display, acting as the second channel. Not too shabby.

In terms of radio and wireless connectivity, you get a fairly-modern loadout, courtesy of the Helio G96 chipset, including dual LTE standby, dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0 with LE and an FM radio. No NFC, though.

All of this, by the way, is equally true of the Infinix Note 10 Pro as well.