It's no surprise that Xiaomi has taken over the smartphone market. The company keeps launching quality smartphones at unbeatable price points, such is the case of it's latest flagship; the Xiaomi Redmi 3.
However, that doesn't mean that the affordable smartphone is without flaws. Recently we sat down to review the pros and cons of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and today it's time to do the same with its "little brother" so buckle up and get ready to find out everything you need to know about the Xiaomi Redmi 3.
Pros and Cons of the Xiaomi Redmi 3
Pros of the Xiaomi Redmi 3
Long Battery Life
More and more, battery life is becoming a deciding factor amongst buyers who are quite simply tired of having to charge their gadgets on a regular basis. It's with this in mind that Xiaomi gifted it's latest flagship with roughly double the battery life of its predecessor, the Redmi 3.
In terms of capacity, the Redmi 3 comes in with a strong 4100 mAh battery versus the previous 2200 mAh battery of the Redmi 2.
There are no official numbers as to what this means as far as talking time and browsing time. However, if you consider that the Redmi 2 could generally last a whole day until we needed to charge it, the new model should be able to give us between one day and a half and even two days of battery life. It's not a stellar feature but it's surely one of the Xiaomi Redmi 3's biggest pros.
There are no official numbers as to what this means as far as talking time and browsing time. However, if you consider that the Redmi 2 could generally last a whole day until we needed to charge it, the new model should be able to give us between one day and a half and even two days of battery life. It's not a stellar feature but it's surely one of the Xiaomi Redmi 3's biggest pros.
It still has a sleek design
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to have a large battery and still maintain a sleek design. Such a concept is proven with the Redmi 3 that's actually thinner than the previous generation.
Specifically, while the Redmi 2 sported 0.37 inches of thickness, the newly released model slims down all the way towards 0.33 inches.
The same can't be said for the weight of the smartphone. However, we do appreciate that the difference between the newer Redmi 3 and the previous model is just under 11 grams (0.38 ounces), coming in at a mere 5.08 ounces.
The 5 inch screen gives way to great ergonomics
I love phablets, i love them for browsing, watching videos, writing emails, etc. We simply can't deny that the 5.5 inch smartphone is a better suit for most "active users". However, as much as we can't deny that, we also can't deny the fact that a 5 inch smartphone provides the best of both worlds; giving us the ergonomics of a smaller smartphone and the functionality of the phablet.
Sure, many people think 5 inches is either too big ir too small for their daily needs. Personally I believe it benefits from the best of both worlds, being neither too big to carry around nor to small to be rendered useless when I need to do something beyond writing a quick whatsapp response.
Octa Core CPU, 2 GB base RAM and a whole lot more
It's quite clear that the Xiaomi Redmi 3 comes in with more then just a few minor improvements over the previous generation. Aside from including a bigger battery, the Redmi 3 also comes with a powerfull Snapdragon 616 octa core processor which integrates two subprocessors; one quad core that runs at 1.5 GHz for heavy duty tasks and another quad core that runs at 1.2 GHz for lighter tasks.
To accompany the more power efficient CPU, Xiaomi gave its new flagship 2 GB of RAM. This is another step up from the previous model that came in with 1 GB of RAM for the base model and could be upgraded to 2 GB if you splurged a few extra bucks. Storage has also improved, going from 8 GB on the base model to 16 GB.
All in all these are pretty solid specs for a mid range smartphone and when you take into account it's extremely affordable price point they become stellar specs.
Everyone knows it's not easy to find a budget smartphone with a good camera. Most budget smartphones come with basic cameras (8 megapixels). However, one of the biggest pros of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 is actually its set of cameras.
That said, the third generation Redmi phone comes in with a 13 megapixel rear end camera with a dual tone flash and a 5 megapixel front facing camera. Sure, it's not gonna replace your mirrorless Nikon any time soon but now it's at least good enough for the occasional selfie and group shot.
All in all these are pretty solid specs for a mid range smartphone and when you take into account it's extremely affordable price point they become stellar specs.
A quality Camera
Everyone knows it's not easy to find a budget smartphone with a good camera. Most budget smartphones come with basic cameras (8 megapixels). However, one of the biggest pros of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 is actually its set of cameras.
That said, the third generation Redmi phone comes in with a 13 megapixel rear end camera with a dual tone flash and a 5 megapixel front facing camera. Sure, it's not gonna replace your mirrorless Nikon any time soon but now it's at least good enough for the occasional selfie and group shot.
Cons of the Xiaomi Redmi 3
HD Display instead of Full HD
While we appreciate the ergonomics of the 5 inch smartphone, we also would've liked to see a Full HD display presented alongside the 5 inch screen. Personally this is something I can live with.
Having used both Full HD and HD smartphones with 5 inch screens I honestly can't say that the difference is that noticeable for everyday use. Also, much more important than the screen resolution is the kind of display employed in the process.
That said, though we point this out as one of the biggest cons on our pros and cons of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 list, we also must point out that if the Redmi 3 did sport a Full HD screen then the battery life would've surely suffered the consequences, even with the bigger battery in place.
Dual SIM or Expandable Storage: ¡Pick one!
Something a lot of people don't know is that though the Redmi 3 supports the dual SIM functionality, it does so at a cost: not being able to expand the storage. Therefore you must choose what's more important for you; extra storage or having both work and personal numbers in one phone.
In most countries Dual SIM won't be seen as a necessity because the carriers available cover the whole country. However, in developing countries this is not always the case and the need for a Dual SIM phone is due to the fact that carriers are fragmented throughout the territory making these people need a dual SIM smartphone to maintain their connection.
No fingerprint scanner
Nowadays, most new flagships come with a fingerprint scanner therefore we where quite surprised to see that such was not the case with the Redmi 3. Especially when you consider that the Redmi Note 3 does include such a feature.
From where we're standing this is probably the biggest disadvantage we can appreciate on the new model. Fingerprint scanners offer a more secure way to interact with our smartphones and for many of us it's become the standard unlocking method due to it's level of security compared to the traditional unlock code.
Android 5.1 instead of 6.0
Even though Android 6.0 has been on the market for quite a while now, most manufacturers still choose to launch phones and tablets with the previous version of the popular OS. The Redmi 3 is no exception as it also comes with Android 5.1 Lollypop under the hood.
Fortunately for you, this isn't something you'll really notice thanks to the fact that the UI placed above Android (Miui 7 in this instance) won't let you truly notice the absence of Android 6.0.
Final thoughts: Should I buy the Xiaomi Redmi 3?
After carefully reviewing the pros and cons of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 it's become quite clear that the signature smartphone has many more advantages then disadvantages. It's a big step up over the previous generation with a strong boost in RAM, CPU, battery and overall performance.
That said, the lack of a fingerprint scanner and the use of an HD display over a Full HD display do put us on the hot seat when picking between the Redmi 3 and Redmi Note 3. Overall we would grade this smartphone with a 9/10 if it had the scanner, though without it it's still a solid smartphone.
Another point to consider is the price tag (check availabity here) and the truth is that it's going to be very hard to find something better at this price point. Sure, you might see some phones with overall better specs but they lack the quality interface and the community of developers that Xiaomi has on its side. With this in mind and all things considered we would definetly recommend the Xiaomi Redmi 3.
How about you? Do the cons outweigh the pros? What do you think of Xiaomi's latest introduction?