Last year, Xiaomi had said that it aimed to sell about 100 million smartphones in just 12 months. Unfortunately, the company fell short of this target, reportedly selling less than 75 million units. But looks like this year, Xiaomi is all set to achieve this target.
First it unveiled the revolutionary Redmi 3 budget smartphone with Snapdragon 616 chipset on board. Now, the company has released a special Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered variant of the existing Redmi Note 3 mid-ranger. Both these smartphones are being offered at killer prices!

The announcement came as a surprise since the Redmi Note 3 by itself was a pretty good value for money device. But this particular version comes with the brand new Snapdragon 650 processor (earlier known as Snapdragon 618) which will be much more powerful than the Helio X10 chip found inside the previous version. It features 2x Cortex A72 cores and 4x Cortex A53 cores, along with Adreano 510 GPU. What’s even more interesting is that the company has decided to price it at just 999 Yuan which comes to around $156. This makes it one of the cheapest 650 powered mid-range smartphones available in the market right now.

The base variant comes with the same 2GB + 16GB internal storage option as before, but there’s a higher-end version as well which features 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. Expect it to be a few hundred Yuans higher than base price of 999 Yuan. As for the display, you have a 5.5-inch FHD 1080p screen up front.

Other notable features of the new Redmi Note 3 include support for entire network, VoLTE, 4G+ network, Sunlight Display and 4050mAh battery. As for the camera, you get an upgraded 16MP rear camera sensor with 0.1s ultra-fast PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus). Up front, you have a 5MP shooter.

There seems to be no difference in the design of the two models. So, its basically a better version of the Redmi Note 3 but at the same price.

So, what do you think about the Redmi Note 3 with Snapdragon 650? Do you think with such releases, Xiaomi can achieve its 100 million smartphone sales target in 2016?

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In the past few weeks, there have been so many leaks and rumors about the Redmi Note 3, that its hard to keep track of everything. So, as promised, in this article, I will summarize what we know about the device till now. Given that the launch is tomorrow, I don’t expect much to change after posting this article. So, this is pretty much everything we know about the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 DESIGN

If you have been following Xiaomi for the past few months, you would know that almost every model from the company comes with the same basic design as the rest, featuring plastic. Design wise, I personally liked the Xiaomi Mi Note series, but it still featured a plastic body disappointing some metal lovers.

However, the company aims to redesign its lineup with the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and its following generations. This particular smartphone will be of great importance to the company given that it will be Xiaomi’s first all metal device. Also, it will be the first smartphone from the company to feature a fingerprint sensor, which is something that’s found in most flagship and even mid-range smartphones these days.

Redmi Note 3 TENAA images

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So, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 will feature all metal body as well a fingerprint sensor at the back, something that has been repeatedly confirmed via leaked images as well as TENAA certification.

To be honest, it looks like Xiaomi may have taken some inspiration from Meizu’s recent releases like the Meizu Metal.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 SPECS

Despite the fact that the new model will be called as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, there won’t be much difference in terms of specs between this model and the Redmi Note 2.

The Redmi Note 3 is expected to feature the fast Helio X10 MT6795 octa-core chip clocked at 2.0GHz. There will be two versions of the device, as confirmed by an updated TENAA listing. One with 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage and the other with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. The display will be the same as Note 2, 5.5-inch with FHD 1080p resolution. At the back, you will most probably find a 13MP camera with PDAF with dual LED flash and a 5MP shooter up front. Although initially we expected the battery to be 3060mAh, recent reports have said that the Redmi Note 3’s battery will be much larger, around 4000mAh. If true, this would be a great achievement given that the body measures just 8.75mm in thickness. TENAA confirms this thickness and further adds that the phone will weigh 165 grams. As for the OS, we are quite sure that the new device will feature MIUI 7 OS based on Android 5.0.1 version. 

As mentioned in the design, the phone will also come with a fingerprint sensor at the back.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 PRICE 

Xiaomi is known for its aggressive pricing, something that we have witnessed in the past few months, especially with the Redmi Note 2 which costs just 799 Yuan ($124). So, we are expecting the new Redmi Note 3 to be priced around the same lines, only slightly costlier. Although we don’t know the official pricing yet, our best guess would be 999 Yuan ($155) for the 2GB + 16GB version. The 3GB + 32GB version could be priced at 1099 Yuan ($172). 

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 RELEASE

Xiaomi has officially confirmed that it will release the Redmi Note 3 at tomorrow’s Grand Finale event. So, we just have to wait for a few hours more to meet the device officially.

If this pricing and specs turn out to be real, competitors like Meizu Metal will be in real trouble. The Metal starts at 1099 yuan ($172) for the 2GB version. So, on paper, at least for now, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 looks like a winner.

I think, I covered everything that we know about the Redmi Note 3 till now. If you have any more questions feel free to ask them via the comments section below. I ll try my best to answer them.

Meanwhile, you can check out my earlier post on what to expect from tomorrow’s Grand Finale event from here.

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