Why You Can Trust CNET Xiaomi's budget Redmi Note 3 aims to wow with metal body and fingerprint sensor (hands-on)
The 5.5-inch phablet from the Chinese electronics giant is offering premium finishing and features at a low price.
BEIJING -- Xiaomi's latest handset, the price-friendly Redmi Note 3, isn't the new flagship phone that many fans have been waiting for. However, with a metallic makeover and the Chinese electronics company's first fingerprint sensor, the 5.5-inch device is still set to dazzle.
Priced at 899 yuan, which converts to around $140, £95 and AU$195, the Note 3 is the third iteration in Xiaomi's line of Redmi budget phablets, and looks to be the best so far. It will go on sale in China on November 27 and, given the company's usual modus operandi, will likely hit the rest of Asia in the next few months.
Shop for Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
See all pricesThere's no word on whether Xiaomi will finally relent and sell the Note 3 in western markets, so if you're lusting for one, and live in the US, UK or Australia, your best best will likely be third-party online resellers for now.
Design
Available in silver, dark grey and gold, the metal-bodied Redmi Note 3 looks nothing like the plastic Redmi Note 2. Xiaomi typically reserves premium materials for its higher-end Mi line, so a metal-clad Redmi phone is a pleasant surprise.
Despite a significantly better build quality, the Note 3 is just 4 grams heavier than its predecessor, which is not enough to make it feel any heavier. At 8.65mm, it's only slightly thicker than the 8.3mm Note 2.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said a design priority was the smartphone's metal case, which does give the phone a smooth, premium touch. Despite its low price, the Redmi Note 3 looks and feels like a flagship phone.
Hardware and software
Though the range was given an external makeover, the phone's specifications are similar to the Note 2's. The main exception is the fingerprint sensor on the back, which Xiaomi claims is able to unlock the phone in 0.3 seconds. It works as advertised, though your finger needs to be placed precisely on the scanner in order for it to register. Sometimes my finger was a little off, and the phone wouldn't unlock. The Note 3 also has a 4,000mAh battery, significantly larger than the Note 2's 3,060mAh one.
The fingerprint sensor of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is located on the rear below the camera.
It shares the rest of its specs with the Note, including its MediaTek Helio X10 octa-core 64-bit processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. The 5.5-inch full-HD screen has a resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. There's also a 13-megapixel rear camera with phase-detection auto focus, and 4G dual-SIM slots. If previous phones are anything to go by, the Note 3 will support 4G networks such as Three and EE in the UK, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone in Australia, but no LTE networks in the US.
The Note 3 will use Android as the operating system, but with Xiaomi's MIUI 7 skin layered over. MIUI offers users a tweaked Android experience, with apps residing in the home screen like they do on the iPhone, and with various cosmetic themes to choose from.
Outlook
Xiaomi's latest smartphone effort is a stunner, and will no doubt further blur the line between premium phones and low-cost devices. That's been Xiaomi game all along, and it's likely to find continued success with the Note 3 when it launches later this month. Stay tuned for a review.
Xiaomi's Redmi Note 3 feels and looks like a flagship phone despite its low price.