Xiaomi has refreshed its Redmi Note phablet smartphone and has introduced the attractive Redmi Note 3 in India which is also the first product offering from the Chinese smartphone giant for the year 2016. The announcement was a traditional large-scale event in New Delhi which included "Mi fans" and company vice president Hugo Barra announcing the handset and explaining all the details right from the hardware to the design and software features.
The Redmi Note 3 comprises of a metal body which curves at the back. It has a unibody design and feels comfortable for a 5.5-inch smartphone. Speaking of which, the display is really good and offers quality colour reproduction along with the company's Sunlight Display technology that adjusts the contrast to make content more visible under bright daylight. The overall construction feels premium and feels a lot better than most of the smartphones in the same price category.
It is powered by a Snapdragon 650 processor, which is claimed to be faster and more efficient than last year’s Snapdragon 810 which was the flagship processor for many high-end smartphones. The handset is also the first device from Xiaomi that incorporates a fingerprint scanner at the back which from unlocking the smartphone, offers a number of useful features incorporated into software including the ability to lock apps, access hidden folders, and even take a front or rear camera selfie. You get a huge 4050mAh battery that can last all day and supports quick-charge technology so it can fully charge in about three hours. Even with the large battery, the company has managed to keep handset relatively thin at 8.65mm by curving the back. It comes with a 16MP rear camera, with Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) for faster focusing and a 5MP front camera for taking selfies.
Xiaomi has confirmed that it will support all Indian LTE bands, including LTE Band 5, with support from Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology that will bring in HD voice quality once cellular network providers start rolling it out.
The Redmi Note 3 will be available on Amazon.in and Mi.com starting 9 March. There will be two versions including a 2GB RAM and 16GB storage which is priced at Rs 9,999, while the version with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage will go for Rs 11,999.
Apart from this, the company also launched a new 20,000mAh power bank with a lighter plastic build and a neat looking Bluetooth Speaker both of which will be available in March. Hugo Barra also confirmed that the recently launched flagship, the Mi 5 is also headed to India and will be arriving in a month.