Xiaomi Redmi 3 launched with Snapdragon 616 and a whopping 4100 mAh battery at a budget price!
Xiaomi recently announced the Redmi 3 Metal, their new budget smartphone with terrific specifications that will put even the big budget smartphones to shame. This five-inch device, sporting a full metal body along with a new diamond lattice framework, sports an incredible battery and is powered by the new Snapdragon 616 processor.
All Xiaomi devices are being upgraded from simple plastic to metal casing including the Redmi 3 which was revealed in December, but it does not include the fingerprint sensor for cashless payments and the like.
Salient Features of Redmi 3 Metal
The phone uses a metal shell that is innovative and quite unique for the price range. With a thickness of just about 8.5mm and a weight of 144 grams, Redmi 3 is light and incredibly thin too. The phone’s back side features a delicate yet attractive lattice design that consists of 4166 stars woven together in it.
Redmi 3 Metal is going to cost less than $125 and has stuffed features of phones double the price.
- Redmi 3 Metal will be sporting a larger battery with 4100 mAh capacity that will provide the device with extra 80 percent of juice.
- It will also feature an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor with a fast 2GB of RAM, handy 16GB of on-device storage, and the like. The Snapdragon 616 processor is extremely fast with its 8 cores and a terrific speed of 1.7GHz.
- Furthermore, the smartphone will feature a 13-megapixel rear camera and a clear five-megapixel front camera especially for clicking selfies, which are both a bump compared to the camera features offered by the Redmi Note 2.
- The comparatively smaller battery size is huge owing to its 5-inch screen that will last long, really long in such a device. It has a built-in Doze mode can put the phone to sleep which will prolong the battery capacity even longer! The resolution of 720p is an added feature to prolong the life of a single battery charge.
- The smartphone also supports micro SD cards in a time when most high-end phones are sticking to a non-expandable storage model.
- You can use two SIMs simultaneously or use one slot for a microSD card to expand the existing storage options to up to 128 GB.
It hasn’t been revealed if the Redmi 3 will feature the Android’s latest platform version – Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Yes, there is an additional layer of the company’s own MIUI 7 Android software that will be existing over the Android version.
The Impact on Sales for Xiaomi
Xiaomi had undershot its target of 80 million sales last year when it revised its expected target of initial 100 million. The company has made huge ground in the last few years but the demand has reduced in its domestic ground. It will take some time to replicate its tremendous success overseas and hence it would certainly opt to take things steadily this time around.
- The Redmi 3 Metal is expected to pitch in serious competition with other smartphones launched by the bigwigs.
Last year, it posed a serious threat to sales of $180 Moto G and even the classy Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 that was priced at a heavy $250.
- It remains to be seen how Redmi 3 Metal will utilize its massive battery optimally and along with MIUI OS deliver a performance-oriented experience along with the promised extended battery life.
For now, Xiaomi has not revealed its plans to bring Redmi 3 to India. One can expect tremendous buzz in the budget market when it launches in India. It can again create the expected flutter in the market, which is a big one for budget smartphones.
Pricing and Launch
The Redmi 3 Metal went on sale on January 12 for a price of 699 CNY, which is around $106. In India, one can expect the price to be in the range of about Rs.7,000 to Rs.8,000.
Keval Padia is the founder & CEO of Nimblechapps, a fast-growing mobile app development company. The current innovation and updates of the field lures him to express his views and thoughts on certain topics.