- Looks good, built well
The Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime looks like a mini Redmi Note 3 from nearly every angle. It sports an all-metal body which means that the device itself feels premium regardless of the price tag it carries. At 144 grams, the Redmi 3S is slightly heavy for a budget device, but the curved sides make it easy to grip. The extra weight can safely be put down to the massive battery inside the smartphone.
- Quick and accurate fingerprint sensor
One of the major differences between the Redmi 3S and the Redmi 3S Prime is the former doesn't include a fingerprint scanner. The round sensor at the back is easy to reach and use. During our review period, we had no trouble unlocking the device at any time using the fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner on the Redmi 3S Prime worked well even with wet fingers.
- Impressive battery life
One of the biggest highlights of the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime has to be the 4100mAh battery and we were definitely impressed with battery backup of the handset. The non-removable 4100mAh battery even with heavy usage managed to last through an entire day, with a good percentage of juice still left in the battery.
- Heating issues with camera use
Camera performance of the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime was satisfactory. We were especially impressed with indoor shots in well-lit conditions. The low-light shots were however slightly washed out. The phone did heat up a bit while using the camera app, but it never became too uncomfortable to use. Notably, there was no heating while charging the phone or talking on calls.
- Hybrid SIM slot
The Redmi 3S Prime uses a hybrid SIM slot which means it accepts one Micro-SIM and another Nano-SIM or microSD card for storage. Unfortunately, this means that users will have to choose between a second SIM and a microSD card.
