Oct 10, 2016 01:23 AM
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The Redmi Note 3 is the latest large-screen, low-cost phone from Chinese handset maker Xiaomi – the company often referred to as "The Apple of the East", thanks to its dominant position in that particular part of the world.
The company's Redmi Note series has traditionally been focused at the low end of the market – even more so than Xiaomi's other astonishingly good-value offerings, such as the flagship Mi5 series. However, it offers premium features such as metal bodywork, a fingerprint scanner, 5.5-inch IPS screen and a surprisingly fast octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor – all for around £130 for the base model. It isn't entirely made of metal, though – the top and bottom edges are plastic, which blend in seamlessly with the rest of the design – but this definitely feels like it's in a class above most budget blowers. The construction is also rock-solid, with no noticeable movement when gripped tightly The power and volume controls are on the right-hand side, falling just under your thumb. However, the real star here is the fingerprint scanner, which resides on the rear of the device, just below the 13-megapixel camera. It's the same location that LG chose for the scanner on both the Nexus 5X and LG G5, and is almost effortless to reach.
In fact, the moment you scoop the phone up off a table or lift it out of your pocket, your index finger naturally comes to rest over the scanner, allowing you to wake the phone and unlock it in one movement. The downside of having the scanner on the back of the phone is that you can't access it when the handset is resting on a table, face-upwards.
Along the top edge of the Redmi Note 3 you'll find the 3.5mm headphone socket and an IR blaster, something that's quite common on phones intended for the Chinese market. While it might seem like a throwaway addition, being able to change TV channels or adjust the volume on your stereo using your phone never becomes old and I'd personally like to see it featured on more handsets.
On the bottom edge of the handset you'll find the micro-USB charging and data port sitting alongside the in-call microphone. While Xiaomi has embraced USB Type-C with its Mi4C and Mi5, the Redmi Note 3 sticks with the older connection standard – just like Samsung did on its Galaxy S7.
