14 DAY TRIAL // As expected, Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has taken the wraps off its cheap mid-range Android smartphone, the Redmi 3.
The device has been teased a few times in the last couple of days, and everything has pointed to a January 12 reveal.
However, Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Redmi 3 today and has announced the smartphone will hit shelves in China on January 12.
Customers will be able to pick this one up for just 700 yuan outright, which is about $105 or €95. The handset is available in four color versions: Gold, Classic Gold, Silver, and Dark Grey.
Although Xiaomi has not shared any details about a global rollout of the Redmi 3, we can safely assume the smartphone will be available in other countries as well.
Aside from the low price, Redmi 3's main selling point would be the massive 4,100 mAh battery that boasts fast charging technology under the hood.
It's also worth mentioning that Xiaomi Redmi 3 will ship with MIUI 7 based on Android Lollipop operating system, but we hope the Chinese company will provide a Marshmallow upgrade in the coming months.
Great CPU for a mid-range smartphone, excellent camera
On the back, Redmi 3 packs a 13-megapixel camera that features phase detection autofocus, LED flash, and video recording, while on the front there's a secondary 5-megapixel selfie camera.
Hardware-wise, Xiaomi's mid-range device comes equipped with a 64-bit 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 processor, coupled with an Adreno 405 graphics processing unit and 2GB of RAM.
Xiaomi Redmi 3 features with 16GB of storage inside, which can be expanded up to 128GB via microSD card slot. Also, the handset offers both 4G LTE and Hybrid dual-SIM support, but also comes with other connectivity options like 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS with AGPS and GLONASS.
The Redmi 3 sports a decent 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution. It also features a diamond pattern on the back side, which is made out of 4,166 stars and should become visible when light falls on it at a particular angle.
