Introduction
The realme 11 Pro 5G is the more affordable of the brand’s new duo of mid-range smartphones. And while it doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of the Pro+, it still presents an attractive offer for those who want a good all-around device for gaming, photography, and media consumption for less money. At least on paper.
The question is, is it the better purchase? or should you just save up for the Pro+?
Design and Build Quality
The realme Pro 5G shares the same Premium Vegan Leather rear panel as the Pro+, something that stands out especially if you get this Sunrise Beige color. This 3D Woven Texture is an industry-first, and to me, this looks like one of those luxury clothing pieces, a shirt to be specific, with a golden zipper in the middle.
The design really shines, even when you put on the case, and is complimented by the copper-finish on the sides, top and bottom. Thanks to curved sides, it also feels great to hold, though I am a bit concerned that the rear panel can easily catch dirt or stains.
Now, onto the other side of the coin. There is no specified waterproofing, no expandable storage, and no headphone jack. You do, however, get a pair of speakers.
You also get the same display as the Pro+ – a 6.7 FHD+ 120Hz Curved OLED screen that supports HDR10+. That means deep black and rich colors that should make your binge-watching sessions a visual treat.
Performance
Both the realme Pro 5G and the Pro+ 5G are powered by the Dimensity 7050 processor along with 8GB of RAM. You also get 256GB of storage, which is personally more than enough, but could be a dealbreaker for those with a large library of files.
This chart shows comparison of the fps performance on the best and worst runs of the test. As you can see, there were noticeable differences in fps, especially on the first and latter mid sections, though you probably would not notice that when in-game.
Performance-wise, the phone was able to achieve a stability score of 98.6% on 3DMark’s Wildlife Stress Test, which subjects the device to 20 rounds of heavy graphics tests to see how consistent and stable it handles the task. While not totally indicative of real-world performance, this gives the impression that this phone will perform consistently when gaming for extended periods of time.
Now, unfortunately, the tool we’re using to measure FPS and thermals did not work this time, so we’ll just give you a rundown of how the games performed.
If you want to play Honkai: Star Rail on this phone, you’ll have to dial the settings down to the lowest preset at 60fps or 30fps to get the most stable performance. You will still run into occasional stutters, but it won’t be as bad when you’re at higher settings.
For Diablo Immortal, you will have to settle with 30 fps, medium resolution, and at low to medium preset if you want a stable performance. It is important to note that even after around 20 minutes of playtime, the phone only got slightly warm.
For Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, I expected the phone to handle the game and at least Super Refresh Rate and Ultra Graphics, but no. You only get High Refresh Rate and High Graphics. It could be that the game is not yet optimized for the Dimensity 7050, which was announced barely 3 months ago.
Camera (Stills)
A major difference between the Pro and Pro+ is the camera setup. The realme 11 Pro 5G has a dual camera system composed of a 100MP main unit and a 2MP depth sensor. They could’ve fitted an ultra-wide in here in my opinion, but perhaps, that would’ve added one reason to not get the Pro+.
Quality-wise, the amount of detail, good contrast and dynamic range makes it a great option for me. It’s a great phone for night shots too, with it being able to reduce noise while preserving detail without tending to overexpose anything.
While it may not have the 200MP camera of the Pro+, samples taken in 100MP mode still show good levels of detail even when slightly zoomed in. You are, however, limited to 2X lossless zoom.
Even at 20X, the text on the signboard is still slightly readable.
As far as color accuracy goes, I found that it still slightly boosts colors even when AI is off in a few instances, but for the most part, it can reproduce colors accurately.
Camera (Video)
The realme 11 Pro 5G can shoot up to 4K 30fps on the rear camera, and up to 1080 30fps on its 16MP front camera. There is Ultra Steady Mode for stabilization, but it’s only available at 1080p 60fps, and not in 4K.
Speaking of which, the stabilization works well to manage shakes, but of course, only to a limited extent. If you have steady hands, or just shooting static footage, 4K 30fps should be viable.
If you’re going to vlog with this phone, the good news is that the video quality is more than ample, and it’s also able to pick up my voice well, but there’s no noise reduction, so environment noise will also be heard. There’s still that slight jelly effect, but if you can control your movement well, things should be okay.
Software
The realme 11 Pro 5G runs realme UI 4.0 on top of Android 13. I am still confused as to why they call it in a different name, when it’s technically ColorOS. I know, because I have a phone with ColorOS and they look exactly the same, just some terms changed.
Anyway, this take on Android runs smooth most of the time. You do get a fair amount of pre-loaded apps. Most of which, you can uninstall.
In terms of features, the one I mainly use is the Smart Sidebar, which gives me access to some apps, capture what’s on screen, and take screenshots. But if you need to, there are features for opening floating windows, and split screen for multitasking.
Battery
Using PCMark’s Work 3.0 benchmark, which simulates tasks such as data manipulation and basic photo and video editing, the realme 11 Pro 5G managed to score 17 hours and 19 minutes in Auto Refresh Rate mode, which is excellent. This means that with light to moderate use, this phone should last for at least a workday with some energy to spare for the trip home.
realme 11 Pro 5G – Verdict
The realme 11 Pro 5G may lack the 200MP camera, higher zoom range, and the faster charging capability of the Pro+, but you get the same display, same level of performance, and the same eye-candy looks.
As for its cameras, they are good. And unless you’re planning to make a wallpaper or large print, or unless you really need that zoom range, or for charging, you really value the difference in minutes to recharge, I honestly don’t see that you’re missing out on a lot.
Personally, if there’s a reason for me to get the Pro+, it would only be because it has an ultrawide camera, and it’s got more storage.
Of course, it isn’t a perfect phone. There’s no waterproofing, no expandable storage, no ultrawide camera, no 4K on the front camera, and stabilization is only limited to 1080p.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
