Earlier today, Xiaomi unveiled three new products – the Mi Notebook Pro, Mi MIX 2, and Mi Note 3. The Mi Note 3 is the most surprising of all three as it has redefined what Xiaomi’s Mi Note series stands for.
It is no longer the flagship phablet that competes against rivals like the Galaxy Note series and Huawei Mate series but has now been reduced to a larger but less powerful version of the flagship Mi series, in this case the Mi 6. To further complicate things, Xiaomi even priced it the same as the Mi 6.
This is a comparison of both devices to see which one truly deserves your money.
Display
This is the single most visible difference between both phones when placed side by side. Yes, some folks may not realize that the shades of blue are different.
There is really no winner here as it is a matter of choice. If you like your device small and compact, buy the Mi 6. If you want a bigger one, go for the Mi Note 3. Both displays are IPS LCDs and most people won’t notice the difference in ppi actually.
Processor
The Snapdragon 835 is the most powerful Qualcomm processor in the market right now. It also features the most powerful Adreno GPU (540). Add the fact that it is a 10nm chip with greater efficiency and lower power consumption and also has support for faster uplink and downlink speeds. Then its easy to see why it bests the 14nm Snapdragon 660 SoC.
The Snapdragon 660 is not a slouch either. It will handle anything you throw at it just not as fast as the Snapdragon 835. The Mi 6 wins this round.
Cameras
The Mi 6 and Mi Note 3 both have the same rear camera configuration. A 12MP 1.25um f/1.8 wide-angle lens paired with a 12MP 1.0um f/2.6 telephoto lens. However, Xiaomi says the Mi Note 3 produces better portrait images as the algorithms have been improved.
The Mi Note 3 also wins in the front camera category. The 16MP f/2.0 sensor comes with an upgraded beauty software for breathtaking selfies. The 8MP camera on the Mi 6 isn’t bad judging from reviews but if you are a selfie lover, you are better off with the Mi Note 3.
Storage
You may be wondering why there is a comparison for storage since they both come with the same capacities. The difference is the type. The Mi 6 uses UFS storage but the Mi Note 3 uses eMMC 5.1 which has slower read and write speeds.
IP Rating
The Mi 6 is nearly waterproof. If Xiaomi had added a rubber seal to the USB type-c port, you would be able to take it swimming. However, splash resistance is better than no resistance at all which is why the Mi 6 wins this round.
Battery
The Mi 6 is a 5.15-inch phone that packs a 3350mAh battery. The Mi Note 3 is bigger at 5.5-inches and comes with a bigger 3500mAh battery. Until we get to see a full review, we can’t decide on the winner here. Though we expect the difference won’t be much but the Mi Note 3 should still take the lead.
Price
As at the time of writing, the black 64GB Mi 6 is priced at ¥2499 ($383) on Xiaomi’s official website. The blue and black 128GB model sells for ¥2899 ($444). The ceramic black Mi 6 with 128GB goes for ¥2999 ($460).
The black Mi Note 3 64GB version also sells for ¥2499 ($383) and its 128GB version sells for ¥2899 ($444). It doesn’t have a ceramic black version but a blue variant with 128GB of storage sells for ¥2999 ($460).
READ MORE: Xiaomi Mi A1 Android One Phone is Official with Flagship Dual Cameras, Stock Android
Conclusion
So for the same amount, you can pick up the more powerful and faster Mi 6 but with a smaller battery and display. However we do not think splurging the same amount on the Mi Note 3 because of its improved cameras, slightly larger battery and bigger display is a wise decision. If you want all that, we advice you add a little more and get the base model of the OnePlus 5 or save yourself some cash and purchase the Mi 5X or Mi A1.
