Xiaomi today took the wraps off of the Redmi Note 3, just a few months after the announcement of the Redmi Note 2. And while the Redmi Note 3 shares some features with the Redmi Note 2, the new model has some notable upgrades.
The Redmi Note 3 packs a 5.5-inch 1920x1080 display on its face as well as a 5-megapixel front camera, and around back there’s a 13-megapixel shooter with two-tone flash and phase detection autofocus that Xiaomi says will let the camera focus on a subject in 0.1 seconds. The back of the Redmi Note 3 is also home to one of its new features: A fingerprint reader that’ll let you unlock your phone in 0.3 seconds.
Meanwhile, living inside the Redmi Note 3 is an octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor, 2/3GB of RAM, 16/32GB of storage, dual SIM slots, and Android running beneath the MIUI 7 user interface. Powering all of those goodies is a 4000mAh battery, an upgrade from the Redmi Note 2’s 3060mAh juice pack. And then we have the final Redmi Note 3 upgrade, which is a 8.65mm-thick full metal body, which is only 4 grams heavier than the Redmi Note 2 and its plastic frame.
Xiaomi will sell the Redmi Note 3 in silver, gold, and dark gray versions. Pricing will be set at 899 yuan ($140 USD) for the 2GB RAM/16GB storage model and 1099 yuan ($172 USD) for the 3GB/32GB variant.
Along with the Redmi Note 3, Xiaomi today introduced the Mi Pad 2, its new tablet. The Mi Pad 2 features a 7.9-inch 2048x1536 display, Intel Atom X5-Z8500 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16/64GB of storage, 8-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front cameras, USB Type-C port, and a 6190mAh battery, and like the Redmi Note 3, all of those features are wrapped in a full metal body, and this one measures 6.95mm thick.
Also like the Redmi Note 3, the Mi Pad 2 will run Android beneath a custom MIUI 7 UI. One thing that makes the Mi Pad 2 different, though, is that it’ll also be offered in a Windows 10 flavor. This model will feature many of the same specs as the Android model, including 64GB of storage, just with a different OS.
The Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 will be available in dark gray and champagne gold colors. The base 16GB model will cost 999 yuan ($156 USD), while folks that want 64GB of storage will pay 1299 yuan ($203 USD), a price that applies to both the Android or Windows models.
This looks like a solid pair of devices from Xiaomi. The Redmi Note 3 includes a premium build and a fingerprint reader — a feature that’s become quite popular on flagship Android phones lately — while retaining the affordable price points that Xiaomi hardware is known for. Meanwhile, the Mi Pad 2 is quite a bit thinner than its predecessor, and its 6190mAh battery is larger than the 5124mAh battery found in Apple’s iPad mini 4, a competing tablet of the same size.
Unfortunately, the Redmi Note 3 and Mi Pad 2 will probably only be sold in China and perhaps a couple of other countries, meaning that most of us won’t ever get to try them. If you had the chance, would you buy a Redmi Note 3 or iPad mini 4?
