realme 11 Pro: Italian chic with great features

What you require from your smartphone is a very personal thing. For some, it is important that the phone also looks good and is something truly special - leading to it potentially being commented on in public. Others might prefer a more stripped-back phone that doesn't attract any attention.

realme has decided to speak to both types of audiences with its mid-range 11 Pro which can currently be had for around US$350. You can either go for green or beige, which were both designed by ex-Gucci designer Matteo Menotto and feature faux leather, a textile strip down the middle and slightly more unusual colors. On the other hand, you can also go for sleek black, which still features a very attractive matte-shimmery back.

In either case, the realme 11 Pro delivers lots of storage if needed - and fast, as well. In this price range, it is rather unusual to see UFS 3.1. On the flip side, an AMOLED screen is pretty standard and realme has tried to mitigate the negative effects of PWM flickering by raising the frequency to over 2,000 Hz - although, on our test device, we only measured about 600 Hz. As this isn't true DC dimming, we would definitely recommend that sensitive users try out the display before purchasing the phone.

In terms of performance, the phone doesn't just impress with its storage, but also with its SoC: You might not get true high-end performance but even so, it is definitely enough power for everyday use. A little annoying are the low browser benchmarks which, in practice, can be seen in the shape of slow-loading pages.

The much-advertized 100-megapixel camera with OIS is good but it has to tackle all photo tasks on its own: Apart from a small assisting camera for portrait effects, there is no additional usable camera, such as a wide angle or macro lens. This definitely limits the camera system's flexibility.

All-in-all, we liked the realme 11 Pro - it doesn't just make a good visual impression. If you are looking for more details, our definitive rating and further results, then we would recommend taking a look at our detailed review.