Once again, I’ve been blown away by another fantastic XiaoMi phone. Many of the devices we’ve been looking at are the large 5.5” models. If you’re looking for something more compact without sacrificing any features, the XiaoMi Redmi 3 is an excellent choice. If you’ve seen the XiaoMi Redmi Note 3, you can tell right away that this phone is its little cousin. The design and features are nearly identical, just in a smaller package. For those of you who are not familiar with the note, let’s take a look and see what this phone has to offer.
XiaoMi Redmi 3 Design
While many of the phones I’ve looked at seem to borrow design elements from other products, the XiaoMi Redmi 3 really stands out as unique. The phone has a flat white glass faceplate, while the metal backing wraps around the front to offer both protection from falls as well as a nice silver accent. The aluminum cover on the back of the phone has a really neat looking laser-etched pattern. While this design is quite different from the sharp lines of many models, this design seems to be the perfect combination of visual appeal and durability.
The XiaoMi Redmi 3 has a 5” 720p IPS display. There is a bit of a tradeoff between the resolution and the display type. IPS screens have the best color reproduction on the market, no other display type can come close. Unfortunately, they are not quite as detailed as the full HD screens. If you’re the type of person that likes to watch videos or edit your photos from your phone, I’m sure you will love the IPS display. If you don’t use any media, then you’ll have to consider whether you’ll be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. Personally, I don’t notice. But if you have very sharp eyesight the low resolution may bother you.
Performance
Based on the hardware they put in this phone, it is definitely aimed at casual users. The 1.5ghz quad core processor is powerful enough to run most apps, although some demanding 3d games will not perform so well. The phone has 2gb of ram, which is enough for most apps but you will need to be mindful of closing unneeded programs that are running in the background.
Battery
If you don’t need the advanced processing power required to play 3d games, the simpler chip will really pay off in the battery life. The combination of simple hardware with a whopping 4100mAh battery means that the XiaoMi Redmi 3 can last for up to four whole days on a single charge. Easily the most impressive battery life I have seen on a phone, ever.
Software
One of the disadvantages of purchasing a phone from a smaller manufacturer is that they do not give you software updates. Fortunately, that won’t be a problem with this phone. Instead of creating their own version of android, they installed a very popular version called MIUI. This software has a huge community supporting it and has been in use for many years. This way you’ll have a phone that is always up to date, even when the phone is discontinued.
Verdict
Since this is one of the most inexpensive phones we’ve reviewed, it makes an excellent choice for a casual user. The phone will work great for calls, texts, social media and web browsing. When paired with the enormous battery life, I’d happily recommend this phone to anyone who is constantly on the go and needs to be connected at all times. You can get it on Amazon here
Noah is a technology enthusiast at heart. He writes about tech, various topics trending on digital media and offers solutions to everyday gadget issues | Facebook Profile
