Xiaomi had introduced the MIUI 9 proprietary Android skin in July last year. The company began the roll out of the MIUI 9 Global Stable ROM from November. Xiaomi’s Global VP and Managing Director for India confirmed on Twitter earlier this week on the list of Xiaomi phones that are eligible to receive the MIUI 9 update. The eligible devise list reveals that even four-year old phones such as Mi 3 and Redmi 1S will be treated with the MIUI 9 update.

Here is the list of 21 Xiaomi phones that are eligible to receive the MIUI 9 update:

Redmi series: Redmi 1S, Redmi 2, Redmi 2 Prime, Redmi 3, Redmi 3S Prime, Redmi 4, Redmi 4A, Redmi Y1, Redmi Y1 Lite

Redmi Note series: Redmi Note 4G, Redmi Note Prime, Redmi Note 3, Redmi Note 4

Mi series: Mi 3, Mi 4, Mi 4i, Mi 5, Mi Max, Mi Max Prime, Mi Max 2, Mi MIX 2

Read More: Xiaomi Redmi 5 Priced at Rs. 7,999 Has Arrived In India with Full Screen Design

Some of the aforementioned smartphones have already received the MIUI 9. Newer handsets such as the Redmi Note 4, Redmi Y1, Redmi Y1 Lite, Mi MIX 2, Mi Max 2 are receiving the Android Nougat flavored version of MIUI 9 update. However, some of the older phones such as Redmi Note 3 are receiving Android 6.0 Marshmallow flavored MIUI 9 update which lacks some of the features like split-screen mode.

The MIUI 9 Global Stable ROM should automatically arrive as OTA update on the above listed phones. Alternatively, users can manually check for the arrival of the MIUI 9 update by navigating to Settings > About Phone > System Update. It is recommended for users to perform the data backup for their device before installing the MIUI 9 Global Stable ROM.

(source)

The post MIUI 9 Global Stable ROM Officially Confirmed for 21 Xiaomi Phones in India Including Redmi 1S appeared first on Gizmochina.

Gearbest has a new top brand sale going on, which kicks off today, wherein products from trusted manufacturers like Xiaomi, ONDA, UMi and other brands are up for sale. The sale which starts today offers products ranging from smartphones, smart bands, earphones to motherboards and robot vacuum cleaners. Xiaomi, Teclast, ILIFE, SHCAM are some of the top known brands that are in the sale. To make things easy, you can select the brand from the hovering menu option on the side as seen on Gearbest’s dedicated sale page.

So, what are some of the top products up for sale?

If you are looking for Xiaomi products, then the Redmi 3 is available at $125, the Redmi Note 3 at $197.69, Original Xiaomi earphones at $16 and even the Chinese version of Mi Router 3 at $29.99. The Mi Band 2 smartband is also listed at $31.59.

Then there are tablets from Teclast with cheap options like the Teclast X80 listed at $80,the X98 2-in-1 listed at $159.99 and the Teclast Tbook 11 at $165.99.

There are robot vacuum cleaners from ILIFE as well, starting at $120. Sports Cameras lik SJCAM SJ4000 and M20 2160p models are listed at $69.99 and $104.69 respectively. Other products include TV Boxes from Beelink, Quadcopters from HUBSAN, IP cameras from Sricam etc.

You can check out the entire products up for sale from the dedicated sales page on Gearbest. Check out the link below for details.

The post GEARBEST: Top Brand Sale Brings Redmi 3 at $125, Mi Band 1S at $15 + More Deals appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi seems to be releasing new Redmi models every few months. In June, the company unveiled two new Redmi models, the Redmi 3S and the Redmi 3X (carrier version of the 3S). Now, we might have just spotted two more Redmi variants.

Two new models with code numbers 2,016,020 and 2,016,021 are seen at National Quality Certification Center’s website in China. Both are equipped with 5V/2A charger specifications and dated for 29th June. Judging this info, we might say these are probably the new Redmi series models, or maybe new variants of the Xiaomi Max series with 2GB RAM options.

For now, there is no announcement from Xiaomi about these phones, let’s see what will come up in the next days.

RELATED:

Over 100 million shipments for Xiaomi’s Redmi series. 

The post Two New Xiaomi Models Spotted, New Redmis Coming ? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Gone are the days where you would have to spend upwards of $300 to get a decent powerful smartphone. Thanks to the efforts of the Chinese smartphone companies, powerful smartphones have become cheaper and cheaper, and now we get more bang for the buck than ever before. It is at these times buying a smartphone becomes difficult. You get multiple options, which look equally good that you eventually end up getting confused.

Both Xiaomi and Meizu are two value for money handset makers, and both Meizu M3 and Xiaomi Redmi 3 phones are the best budget devices that you can currently get in the market. Given that Meizu announced the new M3 earlier today, it becomes necessary to see whether it has an edge over the existing champion, the Redmi 3. Today’s comparison will be solely on the basis of their specs, mainly because we haven’t got the M3 for review yet. So, let’s take a look at the Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 comparison.

By the way, in case you are wondering why I didn’t compare it with the Redmi 3 Pro version, it’s because it would be unfair. The Pro version comes with a fingerprint sensor and is priced higher than the top-end version of the M3. So, the regular version seems to be the apt competitor for the device.

DESIGN:

Different people have different preferences when it comes to the design, so we can’t really make conclusions in this department. Both are good looking handsets, with the Meizu M3 coming with a custom polycarbonate body while the Redmi 3 sporting a gorgeous metal body, much like the Redmi Note 3. Plus, if you are a big fan of the plaid design, you’ve got that at the back of the Redmi device.

So, let’s take a look at the dimensions. Both are 5-inch smartphones, so technically, they should have very similar sizes.

Meizu M3: 141.5 x 69.5 x 8.3mm

Redmi 3: 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5mm

Personally, I feel Redmi wins here, because its a bit more compact. And another reason is that with just 0.2mm increase in thickness, you get a humungous battery on the Redmi 3. Can’t beat that.

Meizu M3 Weight: 132 grams

Redmi 3 Weight: 144 grams

You already know why Redmi is heavier among the two. Apart from the battery, the metal body should also be responsible for the heavier weight of the phone.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SCREEN:

Both have a 5-inch  720p IPS LCD display on board. Even the screen to body ratio is similar, with the Redmi 3 having an edge with a slightly better 71.1% coverage. Nothing else to talk about in this department.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 SPECS:

Meizu has continued its tradition of sticking with Mediatek chipsets. This time it’s the all new MT6750 octa-core SoC clocked at 1.5GHz. You get Mali T860 MP2 GPU inside. Now, the Redmi 3 also comes with a similarly specced Snapdragon 616 with octa-core Cortex A53 based architecture and Adreno 405. In our official review of the Redmi 3, we got over 33,000 points on AnTuTu benchmark. On the other hand, Meizu revealed in its official event today that the MT6750 inside the M3 scores over 39,000 in the same test. Does this mean that the M3 is significantly better than the Redmi 3? Most likely not! Manufacturers are known to reveal the best scores of the device officially, and real life tests scores turn out to be much lower. So, on paper, Meizu could have an edge, but only by a little margin. And this is based on just one AnTuTu test. Real life performance could differ, especially considering we have not yet tested out the Flyme 5.1 UI powered by YunOS on the M3.

Other specs like 2GB RAM, 16GB storage come as standard on both the devices. The M3 has a 3GB RAM + 32GB ROM version as well ($123). On the other hand, there’s the Redmi 3 Pro version which comes with 3GB RAM, 32GB storage but it’s slightly costlier ($138). But for that additional price, you get a fingerprint sensor. One thing to note here is that the Meizu’s storage will be much faster since it is of eMMC 5.1 standard! Also, both have expandable storages but they are hybrid slots (uses SIM2).

At the back, the Meizu M3 features a 13MP f/ 2.2 camera with PDAF and dual tone flash. Up front, you get a 5MP f/ 2.0 shooter. As for the Redmi 3, you have a 13MP f/2.0 camera at the back with PDAF and single LED flash and 5MP f/2.2 shooter up front. Can’t comment on the camera quality of the M3 yet, so we will have to wait for a review, which should be real soon.

If you are confused which one to pick till now, you might finally be able to make a decision in the next few seconds. The Meizu M3 comes with a decent battery, bigger than its predecessor, with a capacity of 2870mAh. Now this is pretty good for a 5-incher and will last a day. But after seeing what Redmi 3 is offering, a massive gigantic 4100mAh battery, the M3 looks like its missing something big. And it is! In our review, we saw that even after super heavy usage, the Redmi 3 couldn’t be drained completely within a day. We got a good 7 hours screen on time on the device, which is just plain amazing. The Meizu M3 doesn’t even come close in this department.

I personally feel Meizu should have done a better job. This is kind of a deal breaker when you have the mighty Redmi 3 as an option. The Meizu M3 Note was a much better competitor in its segment.

As for the software, both run on Android 5.1 Lollipop. Meizu M3 comes with Flyme 5.1 powered by YunOS while the Redmi 3 comes with the familiar MIUI 7.

Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3 PRICING:

Well, Meizu has done a good job in this area, with the Meizu M3 starting at just $92 for the 2GB RAM variant. The 3GB + 32GB variant retails for 799 Yuan which comes to $124. Still pretty cheap. On the other hand, Xiaomi Redmi 3’s official pricing starts at 699 Yuan ($106) for the 2GB RAM version. If you want a 3GB RAM model, you can get the Redmi 3 Pro for $138.

So, the M3 is the cheapest, and for that price you get a lower capacity battery. On the other hand, for $15 more, you get a super large battery on the Redmi 3.

What are your thoughts? Which one would you pick?

The post Meizu M3 vs Redmi 3: Budget Phones Never Looked So Good! appeared first on Gizmochina.

Huawei recently unveiled the Holly 2 Plus smartphone in India for a competitive price tag of Rs. 8499. It’s actually a pretty good phone for its price, with decent specs and a large battery. However, when we have a smartphone like Redmi 3 that was launched recently, it becomes necessary to compare the new model from Huawei to see how it fares against the powerful Redmi 3. So, without wasting anymore time, let’s move on to the Holly 2 Plus vs Redmi 3 comparison.

Holly 2 Plus vs Redmi 3

DISPLAY:

In the display department, there are hardly any surprises. You get the usual 5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel resolution IPS LCD screens on both the devices. So, the display quality should be more or less similar.

CPU & MEMORY:

In the CPU department, there’s actually one major difference. The Huawei Honor Holly 2 Plus comes with a modest MT6735 quad-core chip, which currently powers other low-end Chinese smartphones. On the other hand, Xiaomi has impressed us by using a much more powerful Snapdragon 616 processor with eight cores. This chip with Adreno 405 GPU will any day blow away Holly 2 Plus in performance.

As for the RAM, both the phones come with 2GB RAM on board. You get 16GB storage on both the devices, and both are expandable. However, the Holly 2 Plus is only expandable up to 32GB while the Redmi 3 can be expanded up to 128GB. There’s another catch, unlike the Huawei model, the Redmi 3 uses SIM 2 slot for MicroSD, so you will lose dual SIM function if you want to expand storage.

CAMERA:

We can’t really judge the camera quality without actually testing it in real life conditions. You can check out our Redmi 3 review for camera samples, but for the Holly 2 Plus, you will have to wait for some time.

On paper, Redmi 3 seems to have a better setup with PDAF (Phase Detection Autofocus). Both come with a 13MP rear sensor with LED flash. As for the front camera, you get 5MP shooters on both the models.

BATTERY & SOFTWARE:

In the battery department, both Huawei and Xiaomi have done a great job. The Honor Holly 2 Plus comes with a large 4000mah battery and the Redmi 3 comes with an even larger 4100mAh battery. So, both the models should easily give you a couple of day’s battery life. Another thing to note is that both models support fast charging.

As for connectivity, you have the usual 4G LTE, dual SIM dual standby, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc. And for software, both come with Android 5.1 but with their respective manufacturer skins on top i.e. EMUI 3.1 for Huawei and MIUI 7 for Xiaomi.

PRICING & AVAILABILITY:

Honor Holly 2 Plus is priced at Rs. 8499 in India which comes to $125. On the other hand, the Redmi 3 is officially priced at $106 in China, but its launch in international markets is still unclear.

So, the Huawei model does have an edge as it is available to pre-order right now in India. On the other hand, you may have to wait for a few months more to get your hands on Redmi 3 officially. But then, if you are impatient, you have the option of third-party retailers as well.

To make the Holly 2 Plus vs Redmi 3 comparison easier, check out the table down below.

The post Honor Holly 2 Plus vs Redmi 3: Budget Phones With Large Batteries appeared first on Gizmochina.

A week back, Xiaomi announced the Redmi 3 budget smartphone, which turned out one of the best low-cost devices we have seen till date. The phone came with a 5-inch 720p display and a large 4100mAh battery which meant that you could use the device for days without having to charge it. Moreover, such a large battery was put inside a relatively compact 8.5mm thin body, which once again was quite impressive. Other specs of the device like 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, 13MP rear camera with PDAF, 5MP front shooter and an all metal body are all best in its class. And you get all this for just $105!

Given that the company managed to keep the thickness of the body limited to 8.5mm, we had to see how the company stuffed all the components inside the device. So, below is a teardown of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 smartphone.

Some of the key highlights of the Redmi 3 teardown are as follows:

1. Redmi 3 comes with a metal body with a plaid design on the back shell.
2. The back cover is extremely thin, measuring just 0.3mm. This is probably why Xiaomi decided to use metal body instead of plastic as the latter won’t be strong if it’s so thin.
3. The unboxing revealed that in case you ever plan to replace the 4100mAh battery inside the Redmi 3, you will void the official warranty.
4. The camera is protected by a sturdy Zinc Alloy frame.
5. Xiaomi has applied a reasonable amount of thermal paste on top of the chipset and flash memory chips in order to avoid overheating issues.

You can check out all the Redmi 3 teardown pictures of the device from down below.

1 of 15

The post Redmi 3 Teardown: See What’s Inside This Compact 4100mAh Battery Powered Device appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi just officially announced the Xiaomi Redmi 3 budget smartphone earlier today and it’s more than what we could expect from a 699 Yuan ($106) smartphone. The phone comes with mid-range specs, which are quite impressive for its segment along with a killer metal body (well, some may disagree) that puts other budget phones to shame.

So, now that the cat’s out of the bag, we can expect third-party retailers to stock up the device as the demand is definitely going to be strong. Like tradition, even Giztop has listed the Redmi 3 handset for pre-order and it’s available for a price tag of $149 at the moment. It’s a bit on the high side but then the retailer promises free shipping, and No Custom / VAT charges for most countries. Not a bad deal, considering the value that you get for this price.

In case you missed our previous article on the Xiaomi Redmi 3, here are the official specs of the device. The phone comes with the mid-range Snapdragon 616 processor with an updated X5 LTE modem. There will 2GB of RAM on board which will ensure smooth multi-tasking along with 16GB of internal storage, further expandable up to 128GB via MicroSD. The screen will be of 5-inches with 720p HD resolution.

At the back, you will find a 13MP rear camera with PDAF focusing in just 0.1 seconds. Up front, you get a 5MP front facing shooter. One of the major highlights of the device is the battery onboard. Inside the thin 8.5mm body, the Xiaomi Redmi 3 features a large 4100mAh high-density battery, which is really impressive. The company CEO says that you should easily get around 2 days of usage with this battery.

Overall body is made out of metal, which will be sturdy as well as looks good. Also, if you are a fan of the plaid design, you would be happy to know that the phone features such a pattern at the back. And for those who hate the back design (and I see that there are many), you can always go for a back cover for the device. The phone is available in three colors, silver, gray and gold.

The post Xiaomi Redmi 3 Now Up For Pre-Order at $149 (No Customs/ VAT) appeared first on Gizmochina.

Like tradition, Xiaomi is teasing many features of the upcoming Xiaomi Redmi 3 budget smartphone before it’s launch tomorrow. However, this time around, the company and its executives have given away almost everything about the smartphone. Today, Lin Bin, Xiaomi’s co-founder confirmed that the Redmi 3 will be priced at 699 Yuan ($106).

Given the placement of the Xiaomi Redmi 3 and the pricing strategy followed by the company for its previous budget smartphones, we were estimating the phone to be priced at around $100. But with co-founder confirming the price tag of 699 Yuan, there’s hardly any surprises left about the device.

Apart from the price tag, Xiaomi has also confirmed that the phone will feature a large 4100mAh battery. This makes the device a killer deal in its price segment, as there are hardly any 5-inch phones out there that can boast of such a large battery. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about the phone being too thick as it will reportedly be just 8.5mm thin.

As for the battery life, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun had said that according to his personal use, the phone last for two days easily and sometimes even for 3 days. Also, the phone is said to come with a pretty good standby time, as a recent screenshot from the CEO showed that the phone was still at 94% after 18 hours. Not bad for a budget phone that costs $105.

Other specifications confirmed by the company include Snapdragon 616 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM with MicroSD card slot that supports cards up to 128GB, 13MP rear camera with PDAF that focuses in just 0.1 seconds, 5MP front camera, MIUI 7, dual SIM dual standby and an all metal body with a unique plaid design.

The Redmi 3 will reportedly come in, at least, two color options, silver, and gold. Both the colors have been revealed by the company in the recent teasers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r70ijsD_3Ic

The phone will be available for purchase starting tomorrow in China. Xiaomi is yet to reveal the availability details of the device in international markets like India.

The post Xiaomi Redmi 3 Specs & Price Confirmed, Will Go On Sale Tomorrow appeared first on Gizmochina.

A few hours ago, Kevin quoted a post from the Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin, stating that the Redmi 3 comes with Snapdragon 616 inside. The new Snapdragon 616 chip is the upgraded version of last year’s Snapdragon 615. The chip comes with the same octa-core Cortex A53 cores but the clock speed is increased from 1.5GHz/ 1.0GHz to 1.5Ghz/ 1.2GHz. GPU is still Adreno 405. What’s new is the baseband which is the latest X5 LTE modem.

If the company keeps the price as low as 699 Yuan ($106), then Redmi 3 with Snapdragon 616, 2GB RAM and a unique plaid design metal body will turn out to be a pretty good deal.

Xiaomi has already confirmed the phone’s release on January 12. You can read more about it from our previous coverage.

So, what would you prefer, Snapdragon 616 or Helio P10?

The post Xiaomi Redmi 3 Will Most Likely Feature Snapdragon 616 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has a tradition of teasing its products a week or two before launch. However, for the Redmi 3 handset, the company decided to directly reveal the launch date as well as a couple of features of the device.

In a teaser released earlier today, Xiaomi confirmed that the Redmi 3 budget handset will be meeting us on January 12. We knew the release was around the corner given that the phone recently passed TENAA certification and was also spotted on the Chinese Radio Certification website. The teaser has confirmed that date, i.e. next Tuesday and also reveals that the phone will feature a 5-inch display.

Further, like the Redmi Note 3, the new Redmi 3 model will also come with an all metal body. But the back of the phone is quite unique, thanks to the plaid design. You can clearly see the rear shell design in the teaser.

As for the specs, back in December, the phone had hit TENAA, which revealed most of its specifications. The Redmi 3 model will reportedly come with a 5-inch HD 720p display with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. While we are not quite sure of the chip inside, it could be either MT6753 or the new MT6755 Helio P10. Further, the phone comes with 2GB of RAM on board and 16GB of expandable internal storage.

The rear camera was of 13MP while up front, there was a 5MP selfie shooter. Like the Note 3, the phone is expected to come with a large battery, around 4000mAh. This would explain the 8.5mm thickness of the device. The phone supports 4G LTE networks with dual SIM dual standby. As for software, it should come with MIUI 7.1 based on Android 5.1 Lollipop OS.

Pricing is expected to be at 699 Yuan, which would make the device quite competitive. For more official details, we will have to wait for a few days more.

The post Redmi 3 Launching On January 12 Featuring All Metal Body & Plaid Design appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi’s Redmi lineup is due for an update next year and looks like we have already got a glimpse of the upcoming Redmi 3 smartphone. The phone just passed through TENAA recently with the model number 2015815, revealing most of its specifications as well as the design.

The TENAA listing reveals that the Redmi 3 will feature a similar design as the Remi Note 3. The device seems to come with an all metal body, much like its elder sibling. So, it looks like Xiaomi is going to start a trend of releasing metal clad Redmi smartphones in the coming months. It’s not the thinnest of smartphones in the market, measuring 8.5mm, but it’s pretty decent for its size. Moreover, like the Redmi Note 3, we may see a large battery inside the device, which will justify its thickness.

As for the specs, the Redmi 3 handset will feature a 5-inch 720p display with an octa-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It could either be the Snapdragon 616 chip or the new Helio P10 MT6755 chip. There will be 2GB of RAM on board along with 16GB of storage. The phone will support dual SIM dual Standby with 4G LTE support. As for the software, the listing reveals the phone will run on Android 5.1.1, which should be based on the company’s MIUI 7 OS. Unfortunately, the listing reveals nothing about the phone’s battery capacity.

Overall, the Redmi 3 turns out to be a good handset in the budget category. According to the latest rumors, the phone should be priced at around 699 Yuan which comes to just $108. Not at all a bad deal, considering the phone’s looks and specs.

As for the release date, we can expect to meet the device sometime next year. The best guess would be a launch alongside the Xiaomi Mi 5 flagship in January. But as of now, nothing is confirmed.

The post Xiaomi Redmi 3 Hits TENAA With A Metal Body & 5-inch Screen appeared first on Gizmochina.

In the past few days, Xiaomi has revealed a lot of information about its November 24 Grand Finale event that will be held at the Chinese National Convention Center in Beijing.

For the first time, it looks like the company will make more than one major product announcement in an event. This is why we decided to summarize everything we know about the upcoming Xiaomi event in one article. Things were getting confusing with rumors, teasers and leaks all around, and this article should help you to understand what exactly to expect from the Grand Finale event next week.

WHY IS XIAOMI CALLING IT AS THE GRAND FINALE EVENT?

At the November 24th event, Xiaomi will be announcing a number of new products simultaneously. Its going to be a big event for the company as well as its fans worldwide. This is the first time the company is releasing so many products together, which is probably why Xiaomi is calling it the “Grand Finale” event.

HOW MANY XIAOMI PRODUCTS ARE GOING TO BE ANNOUNCED?

As of today, we know for sure that there are going to be at least two product announcements at the event. Xiaomi’s President Lin Bin confirmed via multiple teasers that we will be meeting the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 tablet at the next week’s Grand Finale Event.

However, I think there could more than two announcements. We had recently seen a new metal Xiaomi device painted in gold, which was a bit different than the Redmi Note 2 Pro pictures that were leaked earlier. This could be a smaller device, probably from the Redmi family (could be called as Redmi 2 Pro or Redmi 3) and could launch alongside the Redmi Note 2 Pro at the Grand Finale event. For now, Xiaomi has not officially revealed any details about the device, so we can’t be sure.

So, at the moment, you can expect at least two announcements on Nov 24, namely Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro and Xiaomi Mi Pad 2. 

WILL XIAOMI ANNOUNCE MI5 AT THE GRAND FINALE EVENT?

UNLIKELY! If Xiaomi were to release a flagship like Mi 5 at the event, we would have definitely heard about the phone by now, either by way of teasers or via leaks/ rumors. Since the internet has been silent about Mi 5 till now, I don’t think we’ll see Mi 5 next week.

Another reason for dismissing this possibility is because of the importance of the launch of a device like the Mi 5. Its going to be the flagship smartphone of the company after more than a year. So, the company wouldn’t want to take away its glory by announcing it together with so many products.

Well, this is all we know about the Grand Finale Event for now. I will be updating this article in the coming days to include more details.

Also, in case you are interested in knowing the specs, features, pricing etc of Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro and Xiaomi Mi Pad 2, we will be covering both these devices in detail in our upcoming articles. So, stay tuned.

Meanwhile, let us know what you think about the Xiaomi’s Grand Finale Event.

The post Xiaomi’s November 24 Grand Finale Event: All Your Questions Answered! appeared first on Gizmochina.